Last weekend was Golden Week in Japan; a series of national holidays strung together, giving people the opportunity to take a break and enjoy the amazing Japanese springtime. Golden week is therefore also the time when airfares, bus fares, hotel charges, restaurants, and everything of monetary value costs double that of the normal price. I didn't plan ahead for Golden Week this year since I was neck deep in a tiny little thing called "The Ph.D Thesis", so a few days before Golden Week, I found myself desperately trying to put together an affordable trip, terrified with the prospect of wasting valuable holidays sitting at home!
My friends and I however did manage to have an amazing trip on Golden Week and here is the story of that great adventure!
The plan was to take the Nohi bus from Kyoto Station to Takayama, then take a bus from Takayama to Shin Hirayu (to enjoy a outdoor mixed gender onsen where bathing suits are allowed), then come to Hirayu Onsen and take the bus to Kamikochi where we would camp overnight before returning the following day.
What we hadn't considered, was that the people of Japan spend half of their Golden Week on the road, trying to get to their destinations! So, the bus ride from Kyoto Station to Takayama that was supposed to take 4 hours, took 6 hours. We didn't have time for the onsen, so we went straight to Kamikochi.
Kamikochi was simply magical! Don't believe me? See for yourself!
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Now I am sure that you are itching to go there on the next long weekend. So here is all the information you will need for your trip to Kamikochi from Kyoto:
1. Nohi Bus has 3 buses daily between Kyoto Station Hachijoguchi exit, and Takayama. This is quite cheap at 4200 yen one way. Tickets must be reserved in advance. To make reservations, call on one of the phone numbers listed below (I made my reservation using the Nohi Bus Reservation Centre, where the representative spoke in English!). You will be given a reservation number on the phone. You must go to the Kintetsu Midori no Madoguchi at the Hachijoguchi exit at Kyoto Station before you travel, to pick up your tickets. Click here for information about the bus timetables.
My friends and I however did manage to have an amazing trip on Golden Week and here is the story of that great adventure!
The plan was to take the Nohi bus from Kyoto Station to Takayama, then take a bus from Takayama to Shin Hirayu (to enjoy a outdoor mixed gender onsen where bathing suits are allowed), then come to Hirayu Onsen and take the bus to Kamikochi where we would camp overnight before returning the following day.
What we hadn't considered, was that the people of Japan spend half of their Golden Week on the road, trying to get to their destinations! So, the bus ride from Kyoto Station to Takayama that was supposed to take 4 hours, took 6 hours. We didn't have time for the onsen, so we went straight to Kamikochi.
Kamikochi was simply magical! Don't believe me? See for yourself!
Now I am sure that you are itching to go there on the next long weekend. So here is all the information you will need for your trip to Kamikochi from Kyoto:
1. Nohi Bus has 3 buses daily between Kyoto Station Hachijoguchi exit, and Takayama. This is quite cheap at 4200 yen one way. Tickets must be reserved in advance. To make reservations, call on one of the phone numbers listed below (I made my reservation using the Nohi Bus Reservation Centre, where the representative spoke in English!). You will be given a reservation number on the phone. You must go to the Kintetsu Midori no Madoguchi at the Hachijoguchi exit at Kyoto Station before you travel, to pick up your tickets. Click here for information about the bus timetables.
Nohi Bus Reservation Center
TEL (0577) 32-1688
9:00 ~ 18:00
9:00 ~ 18:00
Kintetsu Kosoku Reservation Center
TEL (06) 6772-1631
9:00 ~ 19:00
9:00 ~ 19:00
2. You can choose to stay at Takayama to see this scenic old town. If you do, the J-Hoppers Hostel is a very cheap and comfortable option. They also have daily trips to the Shirakawa-go and Gokayama areas of the beautiful Hida villages. The Nohi Bus also connects these areas to Takayama. Since we had already seen all these things last winter, we decided to not spend any time in Takayama on this trip.
3. The Nohi bus has a low frequency bus service to Hirayu Onsen and the other onsen villages in the Oku-Hida area. For information about timetables and bus fares, click here. It is necessary to go to Hirayu onsen to take the connecting bus to Kamikochi.
4. The bus trip from Hirayu onsen to Kamikochi costs 2050 yen for the round trip and takes about 30 minutes one way. It does not require reservation. For information click here. The route is incredibly scenic. If you don't have much luggage, I recommend getting off the bus at Taisho Ike bus stop and walking along the amazing nature trail to reach the Kamikochi camping ground. This will take around 30 minutes on foot.
5. The office at the Kamikochi camp ground closes at 7 pm, so make sure you reach before that time (we made it just by a whisker). There is also a nice little cafeteria where you can have a warm meal or some snacks. Bringing your own tent will cost you 800 yen per person for camping. Tents, blankets and other equipment are also available for rent at the camp office (but new tents from amazon.com cost nearly the same as one night's rent - so I cant imagine why anyone would rent tents!)
6. For information about what kind of clothes to carry, and the local must see spots, as well as some interesting history of the area, refer to this website. We went in early May and it was ABSOLUTELY FREEZING at night. I had a sleeping bag, but the tent floor was really really cold which kept me up most of the night. Although the camp ground provides many amenities which make "roughing it" extremely comfortable, carry the essentials such as a flashlight, some extra socks, etc. There is even a sento in the camp ground to wash off the weariness!
We had an amazing time at Kamikochi. Although we did spend about 16 hours in the bus, we had a wonderful group of friends who made the journey lots of fun. I hope our experiences can help someone else have a wonderful trip to the Japanese Alps!
