The Japanese Alps

Soba, Hida beef, sake breweries, and castle towns in the mountains between Tokyo and Kyoto.

The Second Trip

Where to Stay in the Alps

Kanazawa is your hub. 2.5 hours from Tokyo on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, about 2 hours from Kyoto via Tsuruga transfer, which makes this a natural stopover between the two or a standalone 4-5 day trip. The Takayama-Hokuriku Tourist Pass (¥19,800/5 days) covers the main circuit. Business hotels in Kanazawa start around ¥8,000/night.

This is the interior of Japan: castle towns, soba country, Hida beef, sake breweries, and onsen villages connected by mountain rail lines. Most connections between towns are 2-3 hours by train or bus. Build travel time into your schedule.

Stay Overnight

Featured Destinations

Kanazawa as your hub, plus mountain towns, castle cities, and onsen villages across the Alps.

2.5 hrs from Tokyo

Kanazawa

Japan's Other Cultural Capital

Samurai districts, geisha quarters, Kenrokuen (one of Japan's three great gardens), and Omicho Market for the freshest sushi outside Hokkaido. Kanazawa was spared wartime bombing, so the old quarters are genuinely old. Two to three nights lets you settle in. The crowds are growing, but nothing close to Kyoto yet.

Your base for this region
2 hrs from Kanazawa

Matsumoto

Castle Town at the Alpine Gateway

Matsumoto Castle is one of Japan's twelve original castles, and the black-and-white exterior against the Alps is the postcard shot. The city has a strong craft and arts scene, plus soba restaurants that rival Nagano's. From here: bus to Kamikochi (60 min) or train to the Nakasendo walking route.

1–2 nights recommended
20 min from Kanazawa

Toyama

The Sea-and-Mountains Gateway

Toyama Bay sushi is among the best in Japan: the fish comes straight from the deep bay to the counter. Starting point for the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route (open April to November). 1% of international tourists visit Toyama Prefecture. If you're doing the Alps and skipping Toyama, you're missing the food.

1–2 nights recommended
2.5 hrs from Kanazawa

Takayama

Edo-Era Mountain Town

The Sanmachi Suji old town has preserved wooden merchant houses, sake breweries, and a morning market along the Miyagawa River. Hida beef rivals Kobe at half the price. The spring and autumn Takayama Matsuri festivals rank among Japan's three most beautiful. Day trip from Kanazawa or overnight to catch the morning market before the buses arrive.

1–2 nights recommended
2.5 hrs from Tokyo

Nozawa Onsen

Snow Village with Free Public Baths

A compact mountain village with 13 free public onsen (sotoyu) scattered through narrow streets. Winter is ski season; the rest of the year it's a quiet onsen village where locals cook eggs in the hot spring water at the central Ogama. The Dosojin fire festival in January is one of Japan's most dramatic. Accessible via Shinkansen to Iiyama, then 25-minute bus.

1–2 nights recommended
80 min from Tokyo

Nagano

Temple City & Soba Capital

Zenkoji Temple has drawn pilgrims for 1,400 years, and the approach street is lined with soba restaurants serving some of Japan's best buckwheat noodles. The snow monkeys at Jigokudani are 40 minutes by bus. Nagano works as a day trip from Tokyo or a one-night base for reaching Nozawa Onsen, Obuse, and the Togakushi shrine trail.

1–2 nights recommended

Keep Exploring

If You Like This Region

Northern Japan

If Takayama's wooden merchant streets hooked you, Kakunodate's samurai district and Hakodate's port-side warehouses take you further north with the same Edo-era feel.

Beyond Kyoto & Osaka

Love the Nakasendo? The Kumano Kodo is Japan's other great walking pilgrimage: ancient forests to coastal shrines across the Kii Peninsula.

Greater Tokyo

Heading back through Tokyo? Kusatsu Onsen and the Izu Coast extend the mountain-and-onsen experience without leaving the Kanto region.