Japan 2011 Plan - Postponed!!!
 

Ok, so my in laws can't make up their mind about the June trip, my wife got pissed off because they keep making all kind of plans that conflict with the original plan. As such, we are going to cancel the June trip, and just my wife and I are going in October-ish November.

This time we want to visit Takayama. Probably a 3-4 days in Takayama, 2 days in Yokohama, and 4 days in Tokyo.

That said, I am rather familiar with Yokohama and Tokyo, but am still open to ideas on what to see. I am looking for recommendation for Takayama. I know its nice and all, but what must I see? I've never been to Takayama ever...

Thanks

Going to Kamakura or Hakone seems to be happier than it goes to Yokohama.
Are Fuji Five Lakes where the movement is troublesome tried?

I've been to Kamakura a couple of times before, and Hakone as well, so I am skipping it... I may just use the onsen at Takayama, i was doing some research, maybe its worthwhile to take a side trip to kanazawa?

Do you go to see an old street?
My purpose:Nature-views or fishing
mmmmmmmm......

How about the movement from the takayama to the east and going to Matsumoto? There is a genuine castle that is not the replica.
Matsumoto Castle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

the izu peninsula is a nice area too .. u might want to check it out.

good point, i heard izu is nice... whats there to see? can you recommend something?

the coastal area there is very beautiful.

the places we visited last time was jogasaki kaigan valley, shimoda, 7 falls of Kawazu and Shuzenji onsen

we stayed at this ryokan : 伊豆 天城・河津温泉郷 -天城温泉　禅の湯-
its cheap, but clean and the food was just lovely

some information :

http://www.odakyu.jp/english/freepass/minami_izu.html
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/sightsee/izu/index.html

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6310.html


I heard Nishi-Izu is also nice but we run out of time the last time we were there ..

I also put some pictures in my blog

Maniniyot

Kanazawa is very nice, and worth the visit, especially for the park. When I visited Takayama I saw the Hida Folk Village, which was unique and interesting, well worth a half day or so. Nearly were the giant statues of the 7 Lucky Gods. Impressive, but not a must see. I also walked around the Takayama old-fashioned shopping area, visiting various shops. The next day I took a bus to Kamikochi and hiked in the Japan Alps all day, taking a 2nd bus to Mastumoto in the evening. The next day I visited Mastumoto castle, which is very nice... of all the castles I visited in Japan, it was 2nd most impressive for the exterior (1st being Himeji, which is currently being reconstructed), and probably #1 for the interior, which was full of suits of armor, cannons, dioramas, displays, pictures, etc.

Here are some shots of the places I described:
The top 2 pictures are Kanazawa park, the bottom is a temple near Takayama.



Some of the 7 Lucky Gods statues:



Kamikochi/Japan Alps:





Matsumoto Castle:





Sorry, I don't have any photos of Hida Folk Village scanned in, but search for it online, it's pretty famous.

Thanks for the suggestion. What about Wakayama, since i am west already, should I consider making a stop? For all my previous trip, i usually travel and stay at cities along tokkaido sen, so some of these cities I have never been...

yes wakayama is nice too. try going to Koyasan and stay at one of the temples there and experience the life of a monk.