Get from Kawaguchiko to Takayama

Hi there,

Your best option depends (a lot!) on what time you travel. There are a few buses that go from Kawaguchiko to Mishima station, from where you can get on the Shinkansen to Nagoya, and finally the train to Takayama. You do need to time this right, as transfers are not always good.

The JR Pass covers the train, but not the bus. It is also the easiest option, but again you need to have your schedule planned ahead of time.

Kind regards,
Daniel

Hey Daniel San.
Thanks for your reply re. getting from Kawaguchiko to Takayama.

I've investigated your suggestions and come up with our 3 options below.

There are 3 of us, each with a medium to large suitcase and a camera backpack.
We will depart Kawaguchiko from 11:00am onwards. We probably won't have JR Passes.

via Kofu and Matsumoto (bus, train, bus)
8:13 hrs (12:05pm - 8:18pm) 5:00hrs travel. 3:00 wait
• Kawaguchiko - Kofu (Bus) Thur 16 May 12:05pm → 1:32pm ( 1h 27min ) 1500JPY • 2:00 wait • Kofu - Matsumoto (Train) Thur 16 May 3:37pm → 4:39pm ( 1h 10min ) 3560JPY • 1:06 wait • Matsumoto - Takayama (Bus) Thur 16 May 5:45pm → 8:18pm ( 2h 33min ) 4400JPY

via Mishima and Nagoya (bus, train, bus)
8:10 hrs (11:17am -7:23pm) 5:30hrs travel, 2:30hr wait
• Kawaguchiko - Mishma (Bus) Thur 16 May 11:17am → 12:52pm ( 1h 35min ) 2500JPY • 0:54 wait • Mishima - Nagoya (Train) Thur 16 May 1:46pm →3:01pm ( 1h 15min ) 7910JPY • 1:37 wait • Nagoya - Takayama (Bus) Thur 16 May 4:38pm → 7:23pm (2:45min ) 3400JPY

via Mishima and Nagoya (bus, train, train)
7:30 hrs (11:17am - 6:45pm) 5:30hrs travel, 2:00hr wait
• Kawaguchiko - Mishma (Bus) Thur 16 May 11:17am → 12:52pm ( 1h 35min ) 2500JPY • 0:54 wait • Mishima - Nagoya (Train) Thur 16 May 1:46pm →3:01pm ( 1h 15min ) 7910JPY • 1:02 wait • Nagoya - Takayama (Train) Thur 16 May 4:03pm → 6:45pm ( 2h 42min ) 5610JPY

Do you see us encountering luggage issues on any of the journey legs mentioned below?

Should we book these tickets before we get to Japan?

Is there one site we should be using for all our bookings, or do we just search & book each service separately?

Thanks, Dave

Hi Dave,

I do not foresee any problems with your luggage, that said, you may consider a luggage forwarding service. As, it will make your transfer a lot easier. Think of Ta-kyu-bin or similar.

I'd book the tickets a few days ahead of time if possible, you can do so directly with the operating company. During normal days (not public holiday periods) you can very likely even book the tickets at time of departure.

Kind regards,
Daniel

Hey Daniel

Thanks for your suggestions so far. We investigated the luggage forwarding but we need to travel too quicky for that to work.

We decided to travel from Kawaguchiko to Takayama via Kofu & Matsumoto. (as the Kansai JR passes we bought don’t cover this area)

We booked tickets for the 2:27pm train from Kofu to Matsumoto and bus from Matsumoto to Takayama.
However, we are having difficulty booking the 12:08pm bus from Kawaguchiko to Kofu.

This timetable shows the bus we want but we cannot find a way to book tickets online….
https://japantravel.navitime.com/en/area/jp/depArrTimeList/00026089/00632510/00055343?direction=down&date=2024-05-16

Do you know if it's possible for us to pre-book tickets on this bus at all? We'd prefer not to just turn up at the bus stop and hope it's not full.
We only have 2 nights (1 full day) in Takayama, so if we can't get on this bus it all falls apart.

Also, this bus seems to do a lot of stops, would they let us on with our luggage?!

Any suggestions?
Thx, Dave

Hi Dave,

It seems to be a local bus, so you just pay the fare as you get on/off. Luggage should not be a problem.

Maybe it sounds obvious, but you could also send your gear a few days early to Takayama and just bring the minimum you need to Kawaguchiko?

Kind regards,
Daniel

Hmmm, OK, so its a bit scary that we cant book this bus.

How likely would it be that the bus is full be the time we try to get on?
If so, we would then miss our connections and not make it to Takayama at all.

What would you do? Risk it? or cancel the tickets we have bought and try to book the Nagoya route?