Takayama - Shirakawago - Kanazawa - Kyoto - Osaka

This trip was planned almost 1 year ago. When I first saw the picture of this beautiful village, Shirakawago on internet, I fell in love with this place immediately. After months of looking at their pictures, I finally had the chance to visit this UNESCO Heritage site at the Gifu region. Shirakawago is famous for their traditional gassho zukuri farmhouse, some of them are more than 250 years. With it's beautiful backdrop of magnificent mountains, this little quiet village is so unique that one has to come here at least once in their lifetime.

The suspension bridge between bus terminal and the village, That's Shokawa River.

Dusk in Shirakawago. It's getting colder especially after the sun is gone at about 5pm. I wanted to take few more shots but my partner was rushing me go back to our farmhouse. It's so irritating when you travel with someone who is not so keen in photography and keep asking me: are you done =_=''''


Getting here and around

From Takayama
Shirakawago was one of the highlight in this December winter trip. We took Nohi bus from Takayama station and arrived Shirakawago after 50 mins bus ride. The bus ticket cost ¥2400/pax one way. Click here for more information.

You can also take taxi from Takayama.
Miyagawa Taxi tour - http://www.joyful-taxi.com/english/index.html
Hato Taxi tour - http://www.taxisite.jp/hato/english/
Kanto Tourism Taxi

From Kanazawa
Niho bus departs from Kanazawa to Shirakawago 3 times daily. Reservation is required. The bus ticket cost ¥1800/pax one way. Click here for more information. If you can understand Japanese, you can make the reservation on Nohi website (Japanese version). I wrote email to Shirakawago Tourist Association info-e@shirakawa-go.gr.jp and get them help to reserve bus ticket.

[Update 20th Oct 2016] It seems that Shirakawago Tourist Association doesn't help to reserve bus ticket. Below is the email they sent it to a friend of mine who is going to Shirakawago in November

When you need bus reservations and other details operated by Nohi Bus, Hokuriku Tetsudo Bus and Gifu Bus, please call them directly. Reservations are accepted one month before you take. 

To customers who have "Shoryudo Pass," reservations are accepted at the ticket desk only, not by phone.  To customers who have "Hokuriku-Area-Tourist Pass," reservations are accepted by phone and at the Nohi bus ticket desk. For more details, please ask freely to Nohi Bus Company by email.  

Nohi Bus
TEL: (0)577-32-1688
HOURS: 9:00 - 18:00 
http://www.highwaybus.com (only Japanese) 
http://willerexpress.com/en/ (from Takayama to Tokyo or Osaka) 
email: nouhi-websystem@nouhibus.co.jp 

Hokuriku Tetsudo Bus
TEL: (0)76-234-0123
HOURS: 9:00 - 18:00

Gifu Bus
TEL: (0)58-240-0489
HOURS: 9:00 - 18:00/17:00(sat, sun & holidays)
  
Nohi Bus & Hokuriku Tetsudo Bus
Timetable Takayama - Shirakawa-go - Kanazawa. 
http://www.nouhibus.co.jp/new/shirakawago_kanazawa.html

Gifu Bus 
Nagoya - Shirakawa-go 名古屋～白川郷　 
The fare: 3.600 yen/one-way/person. 7.200 yen/round/person 

Nagoya       Shirakawago  until March 31 
 9:00           11:45 
11:00          13:36 
from April 1 
9:00            11:53 
9:50            12:26   

Shirakawago    Nagoya 
15:00          18:01 
16:00          18:44

My friend made her bus ticket booking directly via Nohi bus website (in Japanese). She created an account and booked from there. She doesn't understand Japanese so she used Google translate and she managed to book her ticket without much problem.

From Tokyo
There is no direct bus service from Tokyo to Shirakwago. You will need to transfer bus at Takayama. Nohi bus has direct bus service between Tokyo Shinjuku and Takayama 7 times daily. It takes 5 hours and 30 mins to travel from Shinjuku to Takayama. The bus ticket cost ¥11,700/pax one way. Click here for more information.

The train journey from Tokyo to Takayama requires quite a bit of traveling and transfers. Here's an outline of the journey there: Tokyo - Nagoya - Takayama. It took us 6 hours from Narita airport to Takayama, 12pm to 6pm. You can also fly to Nagoya (Singapore Airlines offers direct flight from Singapore to Nagoya) and you can skip 3 and 1/2 hrs train ride. Don't forget to purchase Japan Rail Pass. Without the Japan Rail Pass, you would have to pay ¥17,770/pax for one way up to Takayama from Narita Airport. We paid only ¥29,110/pax 7 days unlimited train ride in Japan. Read more about JR pass in this post.

From Osaka/Kyoto
There is no direct bus service from Kyoto/ Osaka to Shirakwago. You will need to transfer bus at Kanazawa or Takayama. Nohi bus has direct bus service between Kyoto/ Osaka and Takayama 2 times daily. It takes about 5 hours to travel from Kyoto/ Osaka to Takayama. The bus ticket cost ¥2700 - 3200/pax one way. Click here for more information.

You can also take JR train (limited express Thunderbird) from Kyoto to Kanazawa which takes about 2 hours. One way train ticket costs ¥6510/pax. Check the train schedule from hyperdia.com

[Update 30th May 2015] Now there is a new pass Takayama Hokuriku is available for tourists who travel to this region, Nagoya, Takayama, Kanazawa, Shirakawago, Osaka and Kyoto. Click here for information.

Accommodation

Most people will choose to settle just a day trip here from Takayama or Kanazawa, but we decided to spend a night instead to experience the unique farmhouse stay. It is a great way to experience a traditional Japanese family home. We stayed in one of the farmhouse, Kanjiya Minshuku and it was just lovely. More than a dozen gassho-zukuri farmhouses around this place are now functioning as minshuku, family run Japanese style B&B. You can make the reservation via Japanese Guest House, another different site of Japaneseguesthouses.com or you can email Shirakawago Tourism Association at info@shirakawa-go.gr.jp and request the minshuku of your choice. You can also call Shirakawago Tourism Association. List of accommodations in Shirakawago can also be found here.

I booked Kanjiya minshuku (Kanjiya also have their own website) via Booking.com. Some minshuku can be booked direct from their website, for example Shimizu (number 5 in map below), Koemon (number 14 in map below), Ootaya (number 67), Bunroku (number 41), Nodaniya (number 6), Isaburo (number 64), Juemon (number 4).  

Click to download JNTO Takayama and Shirakawago tourist map and Shirakawago pdf map here.  


Kanjiya (or Kanja) minshuku is located at the end of the village. The accomodation is not fancy but basic and clean. The village is very small, a 10 mins walk from main bus stop to this minshuku is not a problem at all. But it can be a pain to lure a big luggage in snow. You may want to consider staying in a minshuku nearer to the main bus stop. There is no unit number or street name. You have to prepare yourself an rough idea where the minshuku located which you have booked before you reach Shirakawago. You should also try to remember minshuku Japanese name (or print the name out) as they usually will display it outside their minshuku.

There is house rule to follow since we stayed in local Japanese home. The minshuku owner didn't chat with us at all maybe because they do not speak English. There is an old lady in 80s, I guess she is owner's mother, attended us most of the time. She's friendly and know the village well. I tried to locate the 3 beautiful gassho houses location which we will always see in the postcard and she knew where they are! I spoke to her in English and she answered my question in Japanese, I couldn't understand Japanese but I still got what I wanted. I showed her the poster and village map, she then pointed out that 3 houses location on the map. Lol. Also, she helped to dry our wet shoes though we didn't ask to. That's very nice of her.

There are total 4 rooms in the farm house just for the guests. Everyone (just the guests) will eat dinner and breakfast at the main dining hall. The family of this farm house is staying in another corner which we won't get to see them. 2 toilets (male and female) and bathroom are shared among all guests.  


We paid ¥9500/pax for a night stay included dinner and breakfast. All shops and restaurants there close at 6pm, it's recommended to opt for the half board option. Special meal request is also available such as vegetarian (no fish but with fish broth) or no pork (but the meal it's not halal).

The dinner was a very memorable meal for us. The authentic Japanese dinner was with many different dishes like the famous melt-in-the-mouth Hida beef, miso soup, grilled fish, mushroom, tempura (fried vegetable) and etc. This was a meal that we enjoyed a lot.




What to do in Shirakawago?

Tiger Air operates 3 direct flights between Singapore and Lombok 3 times per week, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Flight journey is about 2 and 1/2 hours. Silk Air has direct flights too between Singapore and Lombok 3 flights per week. Garuda Airlines flies between Kuala Lumpur and Lombok everyday with a stop over at Jakarta. Air Asia operates direct flight between Kuala Lumpur and Lombok too. Jetstars flies from Australia direct to Lombok also. 

[Update 23rd Apr 2014] Tigerair is no longer flying to Lombok as of 22nd April 2014 due to network review.

Airport departure tax is Rp 30,000 for domestic departures and Rp 100,000 for international departures. Cash only on departure. 

If you are transferring from Bali, you can travel by Garuda Airlines, Lion Air, Merpati Airlines and Trans Nusa Air. There are also numerous speed boat services operating between Bali and Lombok. 

Rome - Florence - Venice - Rome

Click here to read my post for Florence and Rome.
Getting into Venice

Venice is easy to get to and from, by air, by rail or even by ferry. Venice has a small airport, Marco Polo Airport, that serves flights from Italian cities and other parts of Europe. Lufthansa, British Airways, Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Air France, Swiss, KLM, Qatar Airways and SAS fly to Venice. For something more adventurous, you can opt for the ferry from Greece, Croatia or Slovenia. Check out Venezialines, Greek Ferries.

It took us 4 hours train ride from Roma Termini station to Venice Venezia Santa Lucia station. Train ticket was not cheap, about 140€. Need we say more. It's Venice, everything is expensive in Venice. Venezia Santa Lucia station is located on the Grand Canal bank. Do not get off the train at Venezia Mestre station which is on the mainland. Some high speed trains do not continue to St. Lucia after Mestre. You can buy your train ticket from Trenitalia or ItaliaRail.

Accommodation

We stayed at Locanda Orseolo boutique hotel. Venice is a very romantic and beautiful place. So does this hotel. We took 45 mins water bus ride from train station to the hotel. It's located a few meters from St Mark's Square. Room was clean, big and nice. The breakfast was awesome! Omelette, crepe, sausage etc. Room rate was on high side, maybe because I booked it too last minute.  

Rome - Florence - Venice - Rome

Click here to read my post for Venice and Florence.

From airport to city

By train
We landed Rome Fiumicino airport early in the morning and took Leonardo Airport Express to Rome Termini train station (the cost of the ticket is 14€ one way) before heading up to Florence. You can buy your train ticket from Trenitalia or ItaliaRail. Read more about Leonardo Express here. Get your ticket stamped in a yellow validation machine just before using it. The ticket will expire 90 minutes after validation. 

Taxi fare is fixed at 48€ from Fiumicino airport to Rome downtown or vice versa. Beware some taxi drivers will try to charge more. Sometimes taxis in the queue at the airport are not from Rome but from the nearby town of Fiumicino. These taxis are not bound by the fixed fare rule and are best to avoid. Some airport staffs may direct you to a "taxi" if you ask them for direction and the "taxi" could end up being a limo cab which will cost you double fare of a normal taxi and it may be too late when you realize that and your luggage has locked in the limo cab's boot.

By bus

The bus stop is located at ground level outside of Fiumicino Airport Terminal B & Terminal C. You can buy ticket at the tobacco shop, look out for blue sign (Tabaccheria). Click here for more information. You can also take Terravision shuttle bus from airport to Rome city, click here.

Beware of gypsies and scam artists at Termini station. We were looking for the right platform to board the train to Florence and we were in a hurry. Then a man appeared and offered to help us out. I showed him our e-ticket and he brought us to the right platform where our train was. I thought this was nice and thanked him for it. But but but .... He asked us to pay him for his efforts, he asked for 20€ each. We refused to give and wanted to leave but he stopped us! We were at the basement, no one was there so we couldn't get anyone to help us. Furthermore we were in a hurry to catch the train and we couldn't even run with 2 big luggage and 1 laptop bag. We also saw one of his gang walking towards us. To avoid any danger he could potentially cause for us, we decided to pay him. My partner took out his wallet and this conman saw bigger notes in there and he demanded total 60€. It's certainly not a great way to start a wonderful vacation! Shake your head and say NO when that ever-so-helpful someone appears. If someone attempts to help you with your luggage or try to guide you with the train ticket vending machine, make sure they actually work for the train station. Also, you must beware of taxi scam. Many Rome taxi drivers are honest. Some are not. There was a taxi driver trying to overcharge me when I asked him a rough estimated fare from Termini station to Holiday Inn hotel. He told me 60€. I checked with the hotel before and they told me 30€ was more than enough. So obviously this man was trying to con us. So be careful of such trap! 

You can leave your luggage in storage room located at the basement. Look out for sign "Left Luggage" or "Deposito Bagaglio". The storage fees is charged 5.00€ for the first 5 hours, 0.70€/hour from the 6th to the 12th hour and 0.30€ for every additional hour. You can store your things there not more than 5 days. Check out more information here and here.

Transport in Rome

By subway

Tickets must be purchased from a tobacconist or newsstand before you board the bus, train, subway or tram. Ticket vending machines are available in all metro stations. Bus, subway, tram and ATAC-owned railways use same kind of ticket. A Biglietto semplice B.I.T (single ride ticket) costs 1.50€. You are allowed to change bus, tram, train or subway (in and out) during one journey and valid for 100 minutes. If you take more than 4 rides per day, you can consider to get Biglietto Giornaliero B.I.G (1 day ticket) which costs 6€ and valid until midnight only. Biglietto per 3 giorni B.T.I. (3 days tourist ticket) at 16.50€ is available for tourist who spends more than 3 days in Rome. It is valid for 3 days in a row on any public transport. Biglietto settimanale C.I.S (7 days ticket) is sold at 24€, it is valid for 7 days in a row. Remember to get your ticket stamped in a yellow validation machine before using it.

I have marked down some attractions within the city centre in Rome subway map as well as the main attractions in Rome centre map.

Click File from the tool bar at the top right corner then Download.

You may want to consider Roma Pass, a 3-day pass which costs only 34€. You get to enter any first 2 museums or archeological sites (including Forum, Colosseum etc) for free then a 30% discount on each additional museum or site. It also allows you to enjoy unlimited access to tram, subway, bus, and train (including the Lido/ Ostia train line) for 3 days. Many tourists buy the pass also because they get to skip the long line at Colosseum, Forum etc. Note that you cannot use Roma Pass to visit Vatican Museums as they (including the Sistine Chapel) are not part of the circuit of museums that can be visited with the pass.

By taxi

Taxi is the most expensive way to get around Rome. The traffic in the city centre can be chaotic. Personally I would still prefer to travel by subway. Some private cars are decorated like cabs and they will wait for passengers at airports or railway stations. Beware of these people who don't display a licensed taxi ID and meter. Use only authorized taxi, taxis in Rome are white.

By foot

Once you are in the city centre, it’s best to walk. Grab a copy of Rome city map from your hotel and you are ready to roam. It’s Rome! 

What to do in Rome?

Colosseum 
Definitely one of the must see in Rome. You can buy Colosseum entrance ticket online at 13.50€ (1.50€ processing fee) which allow you to bypass the long queue.

It’s the official residence of the President of Italy

Vatican Musuems

The smallest country in the world. You can buy Vatican museum entrance ticket online. It's a pity that I couldn't visit Vatican due to some reason. 

Trastevere

This charming neighborhood is located at the south of the Vatican, on the west bank of the Tiber, full of narrow cobbled streets, beautiful antique alleys and many pretty Piazzas. This busy and lively district has the look and feel of a traditional small Italian town. A lot of good eateries and cafes can be found there. It’s a perfect place for a drink at bar, a slice of pizza or an ice cream. Visit The Santa Maria church. Take train to Roma Trastevere railway station and hop on tram # 8. Alight at Viale di Trastevere.