The Takayama City Guides answer the questions every visitor here ends up asking: where Hida beef is worth the money and where it is not, when to walk the old merchant lanes before the coach groups pour in, which museums keep children happy on a snowy afternoon, how to get a bus seat to Shirakawa-go and which ramen counters are still open after lunch. Each guide is a short, honest list that tells you why a place deserves your time, what to order or look for and one practical tip, and it opens in your browser as soon as you have paid.
About the Takayama City Guides
- 99 places
- 5 guides
- 8 languages
- Works offline
- Print or PDF
- Instant access
- Free updates
The five Takayama guides
Food guide
21 places
Hida beef from street snacks to a proper steak, hoba miso and soy-sauce ramen, hand-cut soba, two morning markets, sake breweries and one dinner worth booking ahead.
Things to do guide
19 places
The old government house and merchant homes, the river and its shrines, the temple path on the eastern hill, the open-air folk village and trips into the Alps.
Family guide
20 places
Riverside markets and quiet shrines, museums with old toys, festival floats and a working retro arcade, a limestone cave, a mountain ropeway and meals children will finish.
Day trips guide
21 places
The thatched villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama, the carp canal of Hida Furukawa, Okuhida ropeways and hot springs, Gero and Gujo Hachiman, then Kanazawa and Matsumoto.
Budget guide
18 places
Free shrines, bridges and old-town lanes, museums that cost little or nothing, sake tasting by the token and filling ramen lunches for about ¥1,000.
Why an interactive guide beats a list
Tick places off
Mark each place as done and watch your progress, so you always know what is left.
Your own notes
Write notes on any place and add your own finds. They stay on your phone.
One tap to Maps
Every place opens in Google Maps, and the day route puts your picks in a sensible order.
Open now, near me
Filter by what is open right now or what is closest to you.
Works offline
Open the guide once with a connection and it keeps working without data.
Print it or save as PDF
On a computer, print any guide or save it as a PDF to take with you.
Three places from the guides
Menya Shirakawa
Aioimachi, west of the old town
There is only one thing on the menu: Takayama ramen, with thin wavy noodles and slices of chashu in a clear soy broth. The owner welcomes everyone who walks in, and a filling bowl costs about ¥900. From the food guide.
Higashiyama Teramachi/Higashiyama Promenade
Tenshojimachi, the hill east of the old town
A signposted 3.5 km trail that strings together around a dozen temples and shrines, old cemeteries and cedar forest before ending in the former castle park. Give it up to two hours and expect to meet very few people. From the things to do guide.
Setogawa and Shirakabe Dozou Street
Hida Furukawa, 15 to 20 minutes by local train
A narrow canal flows past white-walled storehouses, crowded with fat carp. Buy a bag of fish food and they jostle at the edge, which children adore, and the little town feels wonderfully calm after busy Takayama. From the day trips guide.
Plan your days in Takayama
Day one: browse the Miyagawa morning market from the food guide, walk the Sanmachi lanes before the tour groups arrive, then spend the crowded middle of the day on the Higashiyama temple path from the things to do guide and sit down to an early Hida beef dinner. Day two: ride the local train to Hida Furukawa for the carp canal and a sake brewery, or take the Nohi bus to Shirakawa-go, both from the day trips guide. For a rainy or slow day, pair the Shōwa-kan and the free history museum from the family and budget guides with a bowl of Takayama ramen and a long soba lunch in the old town.
Questions about the Takayama guides
What do the Takayama City Guides include?
Five guides covering 99 places: food, things to do, family, day trips and budget. Each entry explains why it is worth going, where it is, notes on opening days and one tip you can actually use.
How do I receive the guides once I have paid?
The links show up on your order confirmation page and in the email that follows. They open in the browser of any phone, tablet or laptop, with no app to install and no account to create.
Can I use the Takayama guides without internet?
Yes. Load each guide once while you are connected and it works offline from then on, ticks and notes included. Opening a place in Google Maps needs mobile data.
Which languages are the Takayama guides available in?
The guides open in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. You can switch the language inside the guide at any time.
How much do the guides cost?
One guide is €4.99, two are €8.99, four are €15.99 and all five together are €19.99.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.