7-dayNagoya → Takayama → Shirakawa-go → Aso

Central Japan: 7 Days Beyond the Tourist Trail

Nagoya → Nakasendo → Takayama → Shirakawa-go Okay, we'll admit it - we're biased. We live in Nagoya, we spend our weekends in Aichi, Gifu, and Central Japan.

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Nagoya → Nakasendo → Takayama → Shirakawa-go Okay, we'll admit it - we're biased. We live in Nagoya, we spend our weekends in Aichi, Gifu, and Central Japan. We think Central Japan is the best part of the country, and this is our attempt to convince you! This route takes you through the part of Japan that most visitors fly over on their way between the famous cities. It starts in Nagoya - Japan's fourth largest city, chronically underrated, and home to some of the best regional food in the country. From there it heads north into the Kiso Valley, where the historic Nakasendo trail cuts through cedar forest between Edo-period post towns that have barely changed in four hundred years. Then north into the Japanese Alps to Takayama, a small mountain city with an old town so well preserved it feels like the rest of the modern world simply forgot to arrive. The week ends in Shirakawa-go - a UNESCO World Heritage valley of enormous thatched farmhouses sitting beneath mountain peaks that looks, in almost any season, almost too beautiful to be real. No bullet trains. No queuing for photos at 6am. No feeling like you're following the same route as everyone else. Just the Japan that locals actually love, seen at the pace it deserves!

🗓 Day by day

Nagoya: First Impressions & Ancient Spirits
Nagoya doesn't ease you in gently! Day one starts with a castle that looks like it stepped out of a Studio Ghibli film, moves through the forested grounds of one of Japan's most sacred Shinto shrines, and ends with the city skyline glowing from a rooftop terrace above the station. Japan's fourth largest city has always been overshadowed by Tokyo and Kyoto - which means you get all of this almost entirely to yourself.
Nagoya: Into the Forest of Stories
Day two belongs to Ghibli Park, set in the quiet greenery of Nagakute. This isn't a theme park of rides and mascots, but feels like stepping directly into the films. Tickets sell out months ahead so definitely book ahead for the 45-minute trip from Nagoya. For Ghibli fans, it is essential. Evening brings you back to the city for a slow walk around Mirai Tower and Hisaya Odori Park as the lights come on, before a dinner of hitsumabushi (grilled eel eaten three ways).
The Nakasendo: Walking the Edo Road
A note on how to do this day: Our recommendation is to base yourself at Onn Nakatsugawa and do this day independently - the route is straightforward, well-signed, and completely manageable without a guide. Take the Chuo Line from Nagoya to Nakatsugawa, hop on the bus to Magome, walk the trail to Tsumago at your own pace. If you'd prefer a guided experience, there are excellent tours that run the Magome–Tsumago route from Nagoya - a good option if you want the history and context brought to life along the way. Most return to Nagoya at the end of the day, but if you're continuing on to the valley, simply hop off at Nagiso Station on the way back and make your own way to Nakatsugawa from there - it's one stop south on the Chuo Line.
The Kiso Valley: River Rocks, Dragon Gods
Day four threads north up the Kiso Valley and back again - a stunning blue waterfall wrapped in legend, ancient rock formations carved by a river, and a ruined hilltop castle with views over the whole valley. The Chuo Line does the heavy lifting. Keep your camera out on the train.
Into the Mountains: Kiso Valley to Takayama
Today is a travel day, but not the kind you want to sleep through. The Chuo Line from Nakatsugawa rolls you back through the valley to Nagoya in around an hour, where you connect onto the Hida Limited Express - one of Japan's great train journeys. Follow the Hida River north through gorges, cedar forests, and mountain passes. Have your camera ready and arrive in Takayama by early afternoon with the rest of the day ahead of you.
Takayama: Old Town & Open Air
Takayama is small enough to feel completely manageable and dense enough that a full day still leaves things undiscovered. Start at the river before the town wakes up, spend the morning in the old town, and give the afternoon to one of Japan's finest open air museums. By the time you sit down to Hida beef for dinner you will understand why people extend their stays here without much persuasion.
Shirakawa-go & the Road Home
The final day earns its ending. A 50-minute expressway bus from Takayama drops you into Shirakawa-go — a UNESCO World Heritage village of gassho-zukuri farmhouses sitting in a wide mountain valley that looks, in almost any season, almost too beautiful to be real.

Nagoya → Nakasendo → Takayama → Shirakawa-go Okay, we'll admit it - we're biased. We live in Nagoya, we spend our weekends in Aichi, Gifu, and Central Japan.

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🗓 Day by day

Nagoya: First Impressions & Ancient Spirits

Nagoya doesn't ease you in gently! Day one starts with a castle that looks like it stepped out of a Studio Ghibli film, moves through the forested grounds of one of Japan's most sacred Shinto shrines, and ends with the city skyline glowing from a rooftop terrace above the station. Japan's fourth largest city has always been overshadowed by Tokyo and Kyoto - which means you get all of this almost entirely to yourself.

Nagoya: Into the Forest of Stories

Day two belongs to Ghibli Park, set in the quiet greenery of Nagakute. This isn't a theme park of rides and mascots, but feels like stepping directly into the films. Tickets sell out months ahead so definitely book ahead for the 45-minute trip from Nagoya. For Ghibli fans, it is essential. Evening brings you back to the city for a slow walk around Mirai Tower and Hisaya Odori Park as the lights come on, before a dinner of hitsumabushi (grilled eel eaten three ways).

The Nakasendo: Walking the Edo Road

A note on how to do this day: Our recommendation is to base yourself at Onn Nakatsugawa and do this day independently - the route is straightforward, well-signed, and completely manageable without a guide. Take the Chuo Line from Nagoya to Nakatsugawa, hop on the bus to Magome, walk the trail to Tsumago at your own pace. If you'd prefer a guided experience, there are excellent tours that run the Magome–Tsumago route from Nagoya - a good option if you want the history and context brought to life along the way. Most return to Nagoya at the end of the day, but if you're continuing on to the valley, simply hop off at Nagiso Station on the way back and make your own way to Nakatsugawa from there - it's one stop south on the Chuo Line.

The Kiso Valley: River Rocks, Dragon Gods

Day four threads north up the Kiso Valley and back again - a stunning blue waterfall wrapped in legend, ancient rock formations carved by a river, and a ruined hilltop castle with views over the whole valley. The Chuo Line does the heavy lifting. Keep your camera out on the train.

Into the Mountains: Kiso Valley to Takayama

Today is a travel day, but not the kind you want to sleep through. The Chuo Line from Nakatsugawa rolls you back through the valley to Nagoya in around an hour, where you connect onto the Hida Limited Express - one of Japan's great train journeys. Follow the Hida River north through gorges, cedar forests, and mountain passes. Have your camera ready and arrive in Takayama by early afternoon with the rest of the day ahead of you.

Takayama: Old Town & Open Air

Takayama is small enough to feel completely manageable and dense enough that a full day still leaves things undiscovered. Start at the river before the town wakes up, spend the morning in the old town, and give the afternoon to one of Japan's finest open air museums. By the time you sit down to Hida beef for dinner you will understand why people extend their stays here without much persuasion.

Shirakawa-go & the Road Home

The final day earns its ending. A 50-minute expressway bus from Takayama drops you into Shirakawa-go — a UNESCO World Heritage village of gassho-zukuri farmhouses sitting in a wide mountain valley that looks, in almost any season, almost too beautiful to be real.