This is my third time going to Japan and I was traveling with extended family who had never been. I remember hating Osaka and Kyoto and finding them very overwhelming so I decided to do Tokyo then 2 days in Kanazawa and 2 days in Takayama.
Kanazawa and Takayama were amazing. I wish Id spent 3 days in each. Travel wise, because we were a group of 7 with luggage we actually rented a minibus and road tripped for our four days. We essentially got a day and a half in each city. I got very lucky that there was no rain and I even got blue skies for most of the trip. I would not come back at the start of September though. 31 degrees is not ideal for walking.
Having spent 5 days in Tokyo, Kanazawa was a relaxing breath of fresh air and Takayama felt like floating on a giant lily pad in a serene lake.
Kanazawa:
Day 1 we did museums. Then museums here are all small and take between 30 to 45 minutes to complete.
Ninja Weapon Museum – Cute. Throwing Shiruken was fun.
Dolls Museum – Surprisingly fun.
Yoshiro Architecture Museum – The upper garden/tea room are gorgeous. And if you're into architectural history its probably a lot of fun. It was pleasant and nearby to the other museums so why not.
Nomura ke Samurai Residence – Such beautiful stunninf gardens. Amazing. Kanazawa samurai town was so beautiful to walk in. You never knew what random garden you would find.
Gelateria Ritorta was so good. I got melon flavour gelato and baci and it was delicious. They do many other intriguing flavours like fig, smoky nut, black sesame?
I wont comment on food because I have the palate of a 5 year old but Vechio Albero does a sexy sexy seeeeexy margarita.
The next morning we did Kenrokou En garden. There are no words to describe how truly stunning this park is. It just felt healing for the soul. This park was definitely worth visiting.
Takayama
A beautiful walkable samurai town.
Hida Folk Village was stunningly beautiful. Would absolutely recommend visiting. Just walking through the town itself is such a fun experience. We randomly discovered a ninja cafe where we did blowdarts and a ninja VR game.
The drive between Kanazawa and Takayama was 2 hours.
We made a pit stop to Kurobe Gorge Railway which as pretty as it was…I wouldn't go again. Its a train that rides for 45 minutes through a gorge past 3 stops, has a 20 minute break and then makes its way back. The views are in the first 15 minutes of the train ride. The remaining 30 minutes are mid. It was an experience but not one I would recommend trekking out for.
Wanted to share this for anyone who might benefit from it.
by Suspicious_Week_2451
12 comments
There’s a great tempura restaurant at the bottom of the hill below Kenroku-en by the loop bus stop. Fukuten it’s called.
Thank you for the trip report! We are considering visiting Kanazawa on our next trip and appreciate this information.
I’ll give a shout to the “ninja temple” in Kanazawa (not the weapon museum). No actual ninjas involved, but the tour was very fun (and it’s amazing how they can run something like 8 tour groups in parallel without them intersecting – really shows you what a labyrinth the building is).
Good report, thanks.
I rteally enjoyed Takayama for the difference from other places and Kanazawa for the lower levels of crowds but that may have changed as it has been a while.
To be fair, Kurobe Gorge Railway was impacted by an earthquake damaging a bridge so it can only offer a stunted experience at ~50% n/a. Across the damaged bridge there are some great views, walking oportunites (brief and longer) and observation points.
Excited. Both are on my itinerary. Leaving in a week and will spend 3 days in Kanazawa and 1 day in takayama. Little worried about Takayama since most of that day/night will be at a nearby ryokan.
Amazing. We go to Japan on Weds and we will be spending 4 nights around Takayama. Your review has made me even more excited!
How were the crowds at both towns?
If you had to pick between the two due to time, which would did you like more? We are looking to add a couple quieter days to our itinerary out of the busy cities.
Appreciate you sharing! I am headed up to Kanazawa in a few months so definitely nice to read about your experiences
I spent a day in Takayama, and a day in Kanazawa and I loved Takayama. Small but lovely and not crowded at all.
I didn’t spent enough time in Kanazawa to visit any museums so for me it was okay.
We also visited Shirakawago and it’s absolutely stunning.
Thanks
I was not going to include it in my itinerary, now I think I will, thank you!
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