Shirakawa-go & Takayama by Car from Kanazawa, Licensed Guide
Description
Visit Shirakawago in the Japanese Alps to see the historical and beautiful old thatched houses of Japan stand strong. These houses are over 150 years old and still are lived in today. After seeing the natural beauty of Shirakawago, head to Takayama to see the various traditional crafts the area keeps alive. Join one of our tour guides and learn about history and culture in a way that you would have never been able to on your own! This private and customizable tour will take you to Shirakawago and Takayama at your own pace. Once you place your reservation, a guide will be in touch with you to plan out the details of your tour. Be sure to let your guide know where you would like to visit and your interests so they can plan out an itinerary for you! If you will not have time to visit all the sights on your must-see list, contact us directly regarding extension fees. Learn about this world heritage site with us! We hope to guide you soon!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Start your adventure here! Meet your Guide and driver and off to beautiful Shirakawago!
Learn about old Japanese farm houses and how they were made. The Wada house is still lived in today!
Another beautiful thatched roof house that still stands after it was constructed in 1850.
Take in the beautiful view of Shirakawa village from these castle ruins.
Sanmachi Street is a popular sightseeing area in Hida-Takayama. As an old town, the area has houses and stores from the Edo period (1603 - 1868). The area is lined with shops carrying local specialties such as Japanese sake, senbei (rice crackers), barbecue yakiniku Hida beef, and croquettes. The area has a lively atmosphere with people shopping and eating.
Matsuri no Mori (Festival Forest Museum) offers a glimpse into the vibrant world of Takayama’s famous festivals. The museum features full-sized replica floats (yatai), richly decorated with gold leaf and lacquer, as well as mechanical karakuri dolls that perform traditional dances in a dramatic underground hall. In addition to the festival exhibits, visitors can explore a nature museum with a global insect collection and meet cute animals like squirrels and rabbits. There is also a peaceful tea house and a small art gallery on-site(10min walk from Matsuri no Mori). Blending culture, nature, and local charm, Matsuri no Mori is an enjoyable stop for visitors of all ages.
Hida Folk Village (飛騨の里, Hida no Sato) is an open air museum exhibiting over 30 traditional houses from the Hida region, the mountainous district of Gifu Prefecture around Takayama. The houses were built during the Edo Period (1603 - 1867) and were relocated from their original locations to create the museum in 1971.
Return to Kanazawa after a wonderful day sightseeing with your private guide. Enjoy the view as you relax on the way back to your hotel.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
This private tour is a day tour with a private vehicle and guide with departure and return to Kanazawa. Please have Japanese Yen on hand for any personal costs. A maximum number of passengers: 7.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Only one reservation per group allowed. You cannot combine multiple reservations into one group.
- There are only a limited number of car seats and booster seats. Rear-facing car seats are not available. You must contact us directly if you need them.
Reviews(2)
Hideharu Yoshino was an amazing guide!! He was incredibly knowledgeable and very professional. We did the Shirakawago and Takayama tour in a private vehicle from Kanazawa and had a great experience. We would highly recommend this tour.
Thank you so much for the review. I was very happy to see your enjoying each place to visit in Takayama & Shirakawa village. Lots of nice pictures would remind you of good memories in Japan! Yoshi
Despite the guide and driver being lovely and full of information, which I really appreciated, time needed in travelling to various locations, meant we could only spend very short times at those places. A local market in the first town could only be a quick walkthrough. I think I would have preferred to visit less sights (for example: one village is smaller and has only the traditional houses while the other has only a small number of traditional houses and the rest of the village does not appear to have building guidelines to maintain the spirit of new dwellings there). I would have preferred to spend time at the smaller village. There was in any case no time to wander through the larger village, only to drive through and to see from the lookout above. I also had an opportunity to see how Japanese washi paper is made and staying longer doing this type of traditional activity there and at the smaller village would have been more appealing to me. Visiting the floats at the local museum was really enjoyable and the floats were beautiful. despite the time constraints my guide was a very kind, intelligent and helpful man who took a lot of effort to provide me with information about the area and Japan. He also took trouble to select a very nice restaurant and that my dietary requirements were faithfully met. I really appreciated his help and all the efforts that both he and his driver went to. They made the day worthwhile.
We thank you for choosing our experience and taking your time to leave us the honest feedback. We are so sorry to hear that you could not enjoy the tour with our guide. We are constantly striving to further improve our service and apologize for not being able to provide you with the experience you expected this time. Please let us know if there is anything further we can do for you. Japan Guide Agency
