Itinerary advice during golden week 2019

Hi there,

Yes, the JR Pass is valid on all these routes (excluding the car hire) and you'd make good savings compared to purchasing normal tickets. You will be traveling during a busy period, so reserve your seats about 2 days in advance. Doing so will make sure you can travel without any problems.

Generally, 1 day is plenty to see Takayama, Kanazawa is a city I personally enjoy and would stay there for 2 days. For Onsen, I went to Gero-Onsen (20min south of Takayama by train) a couple of years ago and it was definitely worth the experience. Another great option is to go to Kaga-Onsen, a bit west of Kanazawa. There are 3 area's here with great Onsen resorts, the main is called Yamanaka-Onsen. These are less frequented by foreign visitors and therefore feel a bit more authentic.

Hope this helps :)
Daniel

Thank you Daniel-san!
Would it make reasonable sense to stay in Kanazawa, and rent a car to visit Takayama rather than staying there overnight? Do people do it this way?
Can you visit these onsens - Kaga Onsen as a daytrip without staying in the resorts, or does this not provide the real experience do you feel?
Also, regarding the pocket wifi - can you tell me how large/heavy it is, and whether the trains already have free wifi on them or not (I read that they did).
Kindly, Jenna

Hi Jenna,

I do think most would book 1 night in Takayama but you could just come early explore the town and drive out in the evening. Most tourism spots close after 5p.m. and there's not much to do unless you want to try a local dinner.

It would be possible to visit some of the local bathhouses for a small fee but I always found that the real charm is to combine a Ryokan visit with a (private) onsen. Ryokan includes a traditional breakfast but you can opt for the full kaiseki service that includes dinner as well. It can cost a bit of cash but these are experiences you'll remember.
That said if you would just like to see what Onsen are like, yes it would be possible to drive down there, hop in an onsen for an hour or two and travel on.

For Pocket WiFi, I can heartily recommend one. They are fast and reliable, the weight is about the same as a smartphone though the size is smaller. There are a few trains that have free WiFi, like the Narita Express but most trains don't, like any local train or most Shinkansen. On the Tokaido Shinkansen there is paid WiFi but last time I tried (about a year ago) it was only in Japanese. Most big stations in Tokyo do have free WiFi. Pocket WiFi also be great when traveling with kids, you can keep them occupied with Netflix, Youtube or something similar.

Hope this helps :)
Daniel