I had been wanting to see these places for some time now and since doing the two places independently would not be very cost/time effective, we booked a 2-day bus tour with H.I.S. for the weekend which covered both areas (and then some) for a really affordable price. Also, the fact that I didn’t have to plan all the details of the trip was a nice break since this trip involves a lot of different transportation and planning had I done it on my own. Marie booked the tour online… here’s a general link to their bus tours:
For about ¥31000, included is all transportation and admissions, one night hotel, a seafood dinner buffet, and a breakfast buffet. We departed from and returned to Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. The price to me was totally worth it and the itinerary hit all the things on my list. Our guide spoke a little English to some other people but for the most part it was all in Japanese.
Day 1
Caught the 0526 train from Nihon-Odori to Shinjuku-Sanchome… once there, it was a little bit of a walk to the Metropolitan Government Building (west exit). We found the bus terminal around 0640 and there were no HIS tour guides there yet (only other tour groups – yokoso) and since the bus wasn’t supposed to leave until 0730 we wanted to find breakfast somewhere. Important to note that finding a convenience store that’s open early in the morning near the bus terminal is not that easy, but we managed to get some breakfast food from the mini-stop across the street once they opened at 0700. We got back to the bus terminal around 0715 and both the bus and tour guide were now present. Checked-in with the guide and boarded the bus which was all reserved seats (not having to fight for seats is good). Mix group of people on the bus, mostly Japanese and Chinese… I seemed to be the only American which was fine by me. The AC was strong (good) but couldn’t recline seats very far back without bothering people behind (bad). The guide also gives an optional order form w/ envelope to order lunch in advance for both days… we chose to do this just to save time at each lunch stop which in hindsight I think was for the best.
We departed the bus terminal at 0730 with a long bus ride ahead of us. Made rest stops at Dangozaka (@ 0820 for 15 minutes), Suwako (@ 0958 for 15 minutes; also got some good soft serve here), and Alps Kaido Hirayu (@ 1147 for 30 minutes). We got our pre-ordered Hida pork katsu sandwich (¥700/ea) and some souvenirs (key chains, towels, etc.) at the Alps Kaido Hirayu rest stop. The katsu sandwich was different from the one I’m used to eating, with the orange sauce and no cabbage, but in a good way…. I thought it was even better than the usual Maisen sandwiches (though a little on the small side).
After crossing into the mountains on Route 158, we finally arrived at our first major stop of the day in Hida Takayama at 1300. We had a little over an hour here to walk around the small town, mostly up and down the Edo period shopping street near the Miyagawa River. Many souvenir shops here and also lots of stands selling dango and Hida beef. We got to try both and they were worth the price to try… the grilled beef on a stick was especially good… well deserving of it’s reputation/popularity! The street itself can get crowded and reminded me a little of Kawagoe. On the walk back we stopped into the Sarubobo souvenir shop on the main street. Sarubobo (baby monkey) is the famous mascot of Hida area and is used as a good luck charm. The absence of a face allows the owner to project their own feelings onto it.
We got back on the bus and left Takayama around 1415 heading towards our main destination for the day, Shirakawago. Shirakawago is a UNESCO world heritage site famous for their traditional gassho-zukuri farm houses. We arrived around 1505 and parked in the lot across the river from the village. We were given a little over an hour to walk around on our own which was not enough time to go up to the lookout point on the top of the hill. Most of the pictures of the village that I had seen prior to this trip were of the triangle shaped roofs covered in snow, like a winter wonderland. Given that this trip was in May, I knew not to expect that but what I did get to see was still a little underwhelming. A peaceful area no doubt, minus the crowds, but a little more touristy than I had expected… that and there were more than a few modern buildings inserted here and there that kind of made it hard to get a picture with just the traditional houses in it. We just took our time walking around the village in a big loop… didn’t go in any of them, for example the Wada house charges ¥300 to enter. Farmers were still busy planting probably first crops of the year and I just thought how annoying it must be with all the tourists walking around their homes/yards… but they also make money too? hhhmmmm… same as any tourist based economy I guess? ***Insert debate here*** Overall, it was still enjoyable and relaxing for both of us, especially when surrounded by the greenery and mountains all around.
Can read more about the village below:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5950.html
We departed Shirakawago at 1615 and drove through the rest of the mountains into Toyama. We arrived at our hotel (APA Hotel Toyama) at 1730 and our tour company gets bonus points for having checked us in already. Considering we were the second tour bus of people to arrive at the same time, it was nice to be able to just go straight to our rooms from the bus and have the key waiting for us there already. The room was pretty nice considering most APA’s I’ve been in were just small business hotel rooms and the hotel also had a pretty decent seafood buffet (sashimi & crab) which was included in the tour price. Relaxed in our room for a bit (so nice to lay down after sitting in the bus for so long) and then had dinner from 1900-2000. The dinner wasn’t like a 5-star hotel restaurant or anything but it was more than good enough with a nice selection (sashimi, steak, chicken, crab legs, salads, pork, etc.) and all-you-can-eat soft serve hehe.
Day 2
The second day started with breakfast from 0600-0630. Pretty good breakfast and we had those mini sausages so all was good. We were supposed to be on the bus by 0720 but we ended up leaving 10 minutes late because of one family (they didn’t even apologize when getting on the bus). At 0810 we pulled over at a rest stop (about midway between Iwakuraji & Yokoe Stations) for 15 minutes before finishing the drive to Tateyama Station. Seemed they were just opening… small souvenirs and snacks as well as what looked like a goat farm next door hehe. At least today was much less bus time in the morning.
After getting dropped off at Tateyama Station, the bus left to go to the pick-up point on the other side of the mountain range (Nagano). From Tateyama Station, the alpine tour starts and we had to travel as a group for each of the transportation modes. The day basically consisted of taking various modes of transportation from station to station, with extra long stops at Murodo (snow corridor) and Kurobe Dam. The Tateyama Cable Car (to Bijodaira) was first but we didn’t depart until 0930. FYI, you can pick up a visitor’s guide (in multiple languages) here and get it stamped at each station if you’re into that sort of thing (final picture later). At least it seemed we were one of the first bus loads to arrive that day so we were ahead of the curve.
@ Bijodaira 0940-0945 (0950 Tateyama Highland Bus to Murodo)
Just a quick transfer here… made sure to get our stamps though. There was no view of the supposedly popular waterfall as we were basically driving in the clouds. The direct bus to Murodo was about 40 minutes since we didn’t stop at the waterfall viewing area. The snowy mountains felt like a completely different country and they even draw comparisons to the Sound of Music movie. Looking at the visitor guide, I realized there was so much more to do/see along this route… worth spending a week here just doing various hikes/sightseeing even in the summer.
@ Murodo 1030-1205 (1210 Tateyama Tunnel Trolley Bus to Daikanbo)
Had an early lunch here… good thing we did the lunch pre-order to get a seat right away (big time saver). The unlucky ladies next to us (shared table) had an order mistake which they seemed none all too happy about… it was a good meal but a little pricey. After lunch, a quick walk to the conservation center side, then an ice-cold, super-windy walk to see a lake, followed by the bus road walls and finally the souvenir shop (got another towel). Tons of Chinese tourists and selfie sticks… the main snow corridor was the most crowded area of course. Something I din’t know before is that Mt. Tateyama is one of three holy mountains in Japan. Also saw some people skiing/snowboarding/hiking around the mountains but the snow was so icy I thought it couldn’t be good. Didn’t get to see any raicho (ptarmigan) birds on this trip unfortunately.
@ Daikanbo 1220-1235 (1245 Tateyama Ropeway to Kurobedaira)
Short stop with a quick lookout point…. not much to see here, just got our stamps before leaving again.
@ Kurobedaira 1250-1305 (1325 Kurobe Cable Car to Kurobe Dam)
Short stop again… don’t think the garden here was open. They had a good size souvenir shop but we didn’t buy anything.
@ Kurobeko/Kurobe Dam 1330-1415 (1435 Kanden Tunnel Trolley Bus to Ogizawa)
Just took a short walk here… didn’t feel like going up or down to lookout points since there was no water being pumped out during this month. Kurobe Dam is often compared to the Hoover Dam in the US but really I think it was much smaller (though been a while so my memory could be off). They had a small snack stand where we got ice cream and a small souvenir shop upstairs with history movie room on the side. Noticed some people drinking straight from the purification cup and also filling their water bottles from the fountain (so dirty!). Off to the side is a memorial for the construction workers but it wasn’t open. We had perfect weather here and the lake was a nice emerald color. The contrast of white snow and green trees on the mountainsides was so nice.
@ Ogizawa 1445-1515
This was the last stop of the alpine route where we met back up with our original HIS bus. There were some small souvenir shops for last minute purchases and a restroom but not much else here… just a parking lot really. They gave us 30 minutes here but that seemed like a long time compared to other rest stops.
@ Suwako Rest Stop 1630-1645
Same area as before but on a different side of the expressway (sometimes this makes a big difference!)… plus Starbucks!
@ Shakado Rest Stop 1740-1755
Shingen mochi of Yamanashi! Last stop before hitting the dreaded traffic…
@ Ishikawa Rest Stop 1930-1940
Ton of traffic but we got off the expressway for little while, still making good time. Did wish they’d turn off the lights in the bus at night. Very short stop here where we just got some Family Mart for dinner!
Arrived Shinjuku Station 2015
5 hours later but at least not at 2200 like the initial estimate put us at! Made good time considering the traffic and they dropped us off nearer to the station, not back at the metropolitan building (better for us). I was still stiff from so much sitting in the bus over the weekend.
JR Train Shinjuku –> Yokohama 2029-2102
Overall, glad we got to check these items off the bucket list but I think the real star of this trip were the mountains themselves more so than the attractions. Found myself enjoying the scenery more so than the crowded snow wall roads or the touristy old farm houses… though nice as it was to see all of it.
Till next time!