Kyoto, Sapporo, Shirawakawa-go and Osaka

Hi there,

While I think that the itinerary is technically possible, I would recommend to carefully review the all the routes you will travel and the travel time involved. I just think there's too much travel time and not enough time to enjoy each area.

To travel to Shirakawa-go take the JR Thunderbird express from Kyoto - Kanazawa and bus from there to Shirakawago.

To get to Sapporo from Shirakawa-go is not easy, I am not aware of any flights in the area you could use.

The train tickets can be purchased in Kyoto and flight tickets can be purchased on the website of the carrier.

Good luck!
Daniel

Hi,
It would take you 75 minutes from Shirakawago to Kanazawa, and then over 11 hours on trains to get to Sapporo. It would basically kill the entire day, and seeing that you only have 6 days in Japan it simply is not practical. You can fly on Jet Star from Nagoya though for as low as 6300 yen.

Thank you Daniel-san and Toraneko-san for the useful information. May I ask anothe questions?

1. How long it takes using JR Thunderbird express from Kyoto - Kanazawa? And bus from Kanazawa to shirakawa-go?
   And do you have an information about the price?

2. If supposed we took JR from Kyoto to Nagoya and then bus from Nagoya from Shirakawa-go how long it will takes and how much the cost?

If we go to shirakawago, we plan to take an airplane from Nagoya to Sapporo which the cost is low enough. So we need the information of bus/ train to and from Nagoya to Shirakawago

Thank you so much

Hi,
You can see regular fares, routes and schedules on Hyperdia.

Kyoto - Kanazawa is about 135 minutes. There is no rail access to Shirakawago, only by bus. Kanazawa - Shirakawago is as I mentioned, about 75 minutes. A one-way fare is costs ¥1850. Between Nagoya and Shirakawago there are 2 direct buses per day, costing one-way ¥3600 and taking 3 hours. Otherwise from Nagoya you can take a train to Takayama, and then a bus to Shirakawago, which takes 50 minutes and costs ¥2470 yen. There are about a dozen bus departures every day. For rail, you can see everything you ask for on Hyperdia, and Kyoto-Takayama via Nagoya by rail is a bit over 3 hours.

Good luck.

Dear Toraneko-san,

Thank you so much for the information.
If our time is too limited, which one should I choose? Sapporo or Shirakawago?

Thank you again

Hi,
Honestly, I would leave Sapporo and Hokkaido for a future trip. Shirakawago can be seen in just a few hours, but there are many other great sights nearby, such as Gokayama. Seeing Kanazawa is well worth it as well - the Korakuen Garden is rated by many as the finest traditional historic gadens in the whole country. Takayama has some good areas to see as well.

Best wishes.