29 Mar 2025
The experience was very smooth as expected. We were picked up on time and due to our own need for a quick breakfast-to-go pic-up at a convenience store along the way, we were slightly delayed but the driver made up most of the delay with his expert driving and knowledge of the route.
Lunch was delicious (watch out for the tasty grilled meat fumes though!) and we managed to spend adequate time at both locations with the help of our guide and our driver.
Lesson learned: This is probably a 2-day excursion if you want a more leisurely, involved exploration of Takayama and Shirakawa-go. A day trip is good but probably doesn't do justice to what the two places can offer especially as it takes almost 2 hours to reach from Nagoya.