Things to do in Takayama

I am so worried at first because I cannot get any information before the day of the trip. But when I go to meet point, I find out that BaBa san can speak fluent English and his partner can speak fluent Mandarin! They are really good match with each other!

I made a last-minute reservation the night before, and since I could select the Korean guide option, I booked right away! Nagoya is a must-visit destination, but meeting our guide 'Im-ho,' who is fluent in three languages (English, Korean, and Chinese), made it a truly special and fun trip. From the meeting point, he told us it was strong out in the sun and to wait in the shade across the street. With his tsundere charm, he recommended must-eat local restaurants and always clearly held up a sign with the meeting time so we wouldn't get confused. Thanks to him, it was a safe and enjoyable trip! ^^

The three of us signed up together as friends, and it was a truly satisfying tour. Instead of having a dedicated lunch break, we saved that time to leisurely explore even more places, and all the snacks the guide recommended along the way were delicious, making it so much fun. It was great to comfortably tour key attractions, from the serene streets of Takayama to the picture-esque traditional village of Shirakawa-go and Gujo Hachiman, which was wonderful to walk through while listening to the sound of flowing water. Thank you for the kind guidance!

Tour was amazing, our guide Kana was super friendly and provided all the info in advance while on the way, so when you arrive you already know what to prioritize and have a map to go around easily. tour starts early but then, when you arrive, is not that crowded which is nice. Better to follow her recommendation and go to the observatory first, when I went after arrival was almost empty but one hour later it was super full and it continued like that the rest of the day. Lunch was great and nice opportunity to try a traditional lunch. Both places were honestly breathtaking and we were super lucky to have a super sunny day. Bus was also great and it honestly felt nice to not have to check 10 times the public info for transport to make sure I was going in the right direction :) . Overall I think the experience is definitely worth it if you are in the area!

Since these locations are over two hours from Nagoya by car, it is definitely worth joining a local tour. The guide was excellent—responsible, well-organized, and provided plenty of free time, which was more than enough for the visit. I loved the first stop the most, it is well worth the trip. The 'Silver Clock' meeting point is very easy to find, and the maps and suggestions provided by the guide were detailed and easy to follow. They also set up WhatsApp and WeChat groups to ensure seamless communication throughout the day.

Cici was a great guide, she was fluent in 3 languages, she gave us freedom to follow her around or to explore by ourselves. Felt a bit rushed in gujo hachiman, but the rest felt we had much much spare time to explore. Going with a tour like these is way cheaper than going by yourself.

Shirakawa-go and Takayama Tour is one of the best tours you can get in Nagoya. The tour consists of going to Takayama with some guided excursions. The orientation while inside the bus with the maps provided by the guide was enough for us to be well-guided with the best places to go in Takayama and Shirakawa-go. This tour provided observation deck access, which allowed us to take pictures and buy souvenirs. The tour in Takayama is one of the best tours we had since we were able to roam freely. In Shirakawa-go, we were also able to roam freely.

We started and ended on time. Our tour guide, Ceasar, was helpful and knowledgeable about the tour. Special thanks to our bus driver, Yamafuji, who brought us back safely to Kanazawa.

I believe this is a must-visit place if you're traveling to Japan. I once took a ropeway up to the summit of the Alps in Chamonix Mont Blanc, France. While this experience didn't quite match that in scale or awe, I still found it to be a rare and impressive experience for Asia. I also appreciated that the distance from where we parked our rental car to the ropeway entrance was very short. The ropeway facilities were clean, and the views from the observation deck, as well as the perennial snow trail, were excellent. I was concerned it might be cold on the observation deck, but they had installed underfloor electric heating, similar to 'ondol,' throughout the entire area, which made it surprisingly warm and pleasant. This trip was a family vacation with children, so we had to travel by rental car, but if I get the chance in the future, I'd love to visit by hiking. There were quite a few hikers walking up to the observation deck with the perennial snow. I think it would be wonderful to visit in winter, and it would be especially amazing to try the night stargazing ropeway program, which takes place in early May (I missed it by a day or two). I personally regret missing the opportunity to see the stars pouring down from the mountain summit with perennial snow. I hope to visit again someday when this night stargazing program is running.