Japan: Nagoya and Takayama - 9 days Itinerary and Expenses

Japan: Nagoya and Takayama - 9 days Itinerary and Expenses

Travel Date: 03-11 December 2024

What is the planned route for this trip?

We wanted to see snow again, but we do not want to experience hard-core heavy snow as of the levels of Sapporo. We initially planned for Toyama for this year's snow experience. However, most of the activities and places of interest are already by first day of December. 

Good thing that the autumn foliage forecast keeps on delaying for Nagoya. And it moved to 09-Dec for year 2024, which is timely for our travel dates. Thus, we changed our trip from winter to autumn theme.

Arriving at Chubu Internation airport, we based our first 3 nights in Nagoya.  We have revisited Senmi Shikizakura no Sato and Korankei in Toyota. And visited first time to other autumn areas in Nagoya. 

We continued to Takayama for 3-night stay. On the day of our transfer, Nagoya has still a fair weather. On our way, we can mountains filled with autumn tress.

Not long after, it is raining heavy on the road. Suddenly, its already snowing. Vehicles slowed down, and thankfully our bus driver has been careful slowed down as well. 

We spent our first two days in Takayama raining. Apart from the Takayama old town, we decided to stay in lowlands of Hida-Furukawa. 

We have monitored the status of live camera of Shinhotaka and decided to move it to our last day as the weather will get better. During our stay, we woke-up one morning at 4 am suddenly watching snow fall. After few more hours, Takayama went white. It keeps snowing in Hida no Sato. 

According the couple we came across in Hida no Sato, it was the first snow fall in the area.  True to their words, according to the news, "Due to the strengthening of the winter pressure pattern, snow fell in the mountainous areas of Gifu Prefecture on the 8th of December, and snowfall was observed in the city of Takayama for the first time this season. As of 11:00 a.m., 2 cm of snow was recorded in the city of Takayama, the first snowfall observed this season."

Everything on the road on our way to Shinhotaka is just white. It was truly a majestic experience for both of us. 

We went back to Nagoya for 2 more nights, with side trip to Gifu for the library. Spent our last night sipping hot wine at Nagoya Christmas Market. Then, headed back to the airport the next day. 

As my sister mentioned, we experienced three seasons for this trip: Senmi Shikizakura no Sato for spring, Korankei for autumn and Shinhotaka for winter. Blessed and thankful to experience this. 

Itinerary: Places to go, Things to see, What to do?

Day	Places to See	Food and Restaurants	Accommodation
1	Osu Shopping Street Illumination	Konparu Paopaotei Katsuya	Compass Hotel Nagoya
2	Senmi Shikizakura no Sato Korankei	Tsubodon Barbara Good Beer Restaurant	same
3	Shirotori Garden Kōshō-ji Buddhist temple Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul	Saryo Shioiri Delica Kitchen	same
4	Takayama Archery	Hidagyu Maruaki Tohouen Funasaka Sake Brewery	Hotel around Takayama
5	Miyagawa Morning Market Hida-Furukawa private onsen	Ohako café Hids' cafe & bar	same
6	Hida no Sato open-air private onsen		Takayama Ouan Hotel
7	Shinhotaka	Matsuki Burger	Meitetsu Inn Sakuradori
8	‘Minna no Mori’ Gifu Media Cosmos Library Nagoya Christmas Market	Cascade bakery Starbucks	same
9	Airport	Starbucks	n/a

Reviews and Random Thoughts

• Try to book no cancellation fee for your accommodation. It will then be easy for you to change hotels in case you want to change your itinerary. 
• Follow official social media accounts of places you will visit and local tourism channels. For example, in Shinhotaka, they announce cancellation of ropeway service or visibility status from the viewing deck. 
• Follow news channels. Although it is too late for us to know, according to the news, "An unexploded bomb found at a church in Higashi Ward, Nagoya City was removed on December 15th." We were already back in Manila when we saw this news. And the church is the one we went to during our visit. 
• Day before you head back to the airport, check the easiest way like where is the escalator or the elevator. 
• Monitor the weather, not just to plan what clothes to bring, but for safety. We do love forest bathing, simple hiking and going to the mountains, but if it will rain, we do cancel our plans. This time, we decided to stay in lowlands or town proper while it is raining. We did not book any ticket in advance as we also knew that we would change our itinerary. 
• Know the bus schedules. Plan and try to take the second to the last trip, as you will still have a chance to take the last trip. Otherwise, do not be afraid if you missed your transportation. Ensure that you have budgeted this kind of scenario, go to Agoda, and find a place to stay. Do not ruin your trip and be calm. 

Accommodations: Where to stay

Compass Hotel Nagoya (3 nights)

Hotel around Takayama, Ascend Hotel Collection (2 nights)

Takayama Ouan Hotel (1 night)

Meitetsu Inn Nagoya Sakuradori (2 nights)

Expense Report: Budget Travel Guide

Other sample itineraries and expense reports:
For my further sample itinerary, expense, trip reports and PDF guides, please visit links below:

Japan: Traveling for the First Time
Fukuoka: Spring Itinerary (2016 May)
Fukuoka: Spring Itinerary (2017 May)
Fukuoka and Saga: Autumn Itinerary (2022 Dec)
Nagano, Hakone to Tokyo: Autumn Itinerary (2019 Dec)
Nagoya: Autumn Itinerary (2015 Nov)
Nagoya: Spring Itinerary (2019 Mar-Apr)
Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka: Autumn Itinerary (2023 Nov)
Osaka, Kyoto: Autumn Itinerary (2012 Dec)
Osaka, Okayama, Kobe, Kyoto, Japan: Spring Itinerary (2014 May)
Sasebo, Oita and Fukuoka: Spring Itinerary (2023 Apr)
Tokyo: Autumn Itinerary (2014 Oct)

*Remember, you still need to decide for yourself based upon your attraction and fascination over a place or activity.  As well as to consider the pace you want to have while traveling.  Planning too many targets on a day will either exhaust you rather than give you peace and joy on the culture and tradition.

Create your own road, rather than taking someone else's path.  

It can only be a road when one passes it.