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The Japanese Alps
Home » Japan » Japan - Week Itinerary » The Japanese AlpsDay 1 – Settle into Nagoya, gateway to the region's many destinations. Visit Nagoya Castle and the Tokugawa Art Museum.
Day 2 – Spend the morning touring a few more Nagoya attractions such as the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium or Noritake Square. In the afternoon, head to Inuyama City and its Meiji Mura open-air architectural museum. If it's summer, stay in Inuyama and observe the evening cormorant fishing.
Day 3 – Depart Nagoya by train on the Chuo Honsen Line to either Nagiso or Nakatsugawa Station (about 30 minute) and then board a bus for either Tsumago or Magome. Here you can have a pleasant 3-hour hike along the old Nakasendo Highway, one of feudal Japan's several highways connecting Edo with the provinces, and tour the old post towns of Tsumago and Magome. You can spend the night here, or continue onward to Matsumoto in the Japan Alps.
Day 4 – Spend the morning seeing Matsumoto's two most important sights – Matsumoto Castle, with Japan's oldest existing donjon, and the Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, one of the best woodblock-print museums in Japan. In the afternoon, take the train north to Kanazawa on the Sea of Japan.
Day 5 – Spend the day in Kanazawa. Be sure to stroll through Kenrokuen Garden, considered one of Japan's finest, and tour the nearby Seisonkaku Villa and the excellent Ishikawa Prefectural Museum for Traditional Products.
Day 6 – Take the bus onward to Shirakawago (there are two buses daily from mid-March to November), a tiny village of rice paddies and thatched farmhouses. Spend the night in one of these farmhouses.
Day 7 – Take the bus to Takayama in the Japan Alps. Spend the afternoon strolling through its picturesque historic district and visiting a few of its many unique museums. Spend the night in a traditional Japanese-style inn. Before departing Takayama, visit the colorful morning market by the river.
Sources
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/japan/0229032970.html
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