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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Suspicious_Week_2451 on 2025-09-07 08:48:27+00:00.
This is my third time going to Japan and I was traveling with extended family who had never been. I remember hating Osaka and Kyoto and finding them very overwhelming so I decided to do Tokyo then 2 days in Kanazawa and 2 days in Takayama.
Kanazawa and Takayama were amazing. I wish Id spent 3 days in each. Travel wise, because we were a group of 7 with luggage we actually rented a minibus and road tripped for our four days. We essentially got a day and a half in each city. I got very lucky that there was no rain and I even got blue skies for most of the trip. I would not come back at the start of September though. 31 degrees is not ideal for walking.
Having spent 5 days in Tokyo, Kanazawa was a relaxing breath of fresh air and Takayama felt like floating on a giant lily pad in a serene lake.
Kanazawa: Day 1 we did museums. Then museums here are all small and take between 30 to 45 minutes to complete.
Ninja Weapon Museum - Cute. Throwing Shiruken was fun.
Dolls Museum - Surprisingly fun.
Yoshiro Architecture Museum - The upper garden/tea room are gorgeous. And if you're into architectural history its probably a lot of fun. It was pleasant and nearby to the other museums so why not.
Nomura ke Samurai Residence - Such beautiful stunninf gardens. Amazing. Kanazawa samurai town was so beautiful to walk in. You never knew what random garden you would find.
Gelateria Ritorta was so good. I got melon flavour gelato and baci and it was delicious. They do many other intriguing flavours like fig, smoky nut, black sesame?
I wont comment on food because I have the palate of a 5 year old but Vechio Albero does a sexy sexy seeeeexy margarita.
The next morning we did Kenrokou En garden. There are no words to describe how truly stunning this park is. It just felt healing for the soul. This park was definitely worth visiting.
Takayama
A beautiful walkable samurai town.
Hida Folk Village was stunningly beautiful. Would absolutely recommend visiting. Just walking through the town itself is such a fun experience. We randomly discovered a ninja cafe where we did blowdarts and a ninja VR game.
The drive between Kanazawa and Takayama was 2 hours.
We made a pit stop to Kurobe Gorge Railway which as pretty as it was...I wouldn't go again. Its a train that rides for 45 minutes through a gorge past 3 stops, has a 20 minute break and then makes its way back. The views are in the first 15 minutes of the train ride. The remaining 30 minutes are mid. It was an experience but not one I would recommend trekking out for.
Wanted to share this for anyone who might benefit from it.