Hello!
My partner and I are making our first trip to Japan this December. We're doing 4 nights in Tokyo, then 4 nights in Kyoto, but we have a couple extra nights in between before we have to make our way back to the airport. We were trying to plan a "special" side stop, somewhere that we could stay and have a really special experience. We've been eying Takayama as a place that sounds really amazing and should be beautiful in winter.
I've been researching hotels in the area, and it seems like there's a sort of split—there's places in Takayama the town, and then there's a whole gathering of spots about an hour away from the station further into the foothills of the Alps.
I was wondering if people who have been there have any feeling about "staying in town," as it were. We love the idea of a really out of the way retreat, but we only have a couple of days and are wary about tacking on more train rides/not being able to really see Takayama itself. Would love for thoughts from people who have been in the area!
Also, as an added bonus, if you're like "oh, if you want a special two day visit between Kyoto and Tokyo, forget Takayama—you should really go HERE", I'm very open to hearing that too. Thank you!!
by hwoodo94