A neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood guide to where to stay in Kanazawa: Korinbo, Omicho Market, Higashi Chaya, the station, and Katamachi. 23 hotels reviewed across luxury, mid-range, and budget tiers, with verified Booking.com and Agoda links and the trade-offs nobody else mentions.
There is no Shinkansen to Takayama. That single fact, more than anything else, decides how you make this trip. The
The wild Japanese macaques bathing in the natural onsen at Jigokudani in Yamanouchi, with the practical bits: when to go (winter, first hour), the walk in, Yudanaka and Shibu Onsen at the base, and how it slots into a Japan Alps trip.
Most guidebooks file Hida Folk Village as a Shirakawa-go-lite. They get it wrong. A close read of the 30 buildings, four Important Cultural Properties, working artisans, the kurumada paddy and Takumi Shrine, plus how to combine the museum with central Takayama in a single day.
