Chubu
Nagoya · Takayama · Kanazawa · Japanese Alps · Shirakawa-go
The mountains between Tokyo and Kyoto
Chubu is the middle of Japan, and it is what most itineraries skip. Tokyo and Kyoto sit either side of it and the Shinkansen runs straight between them, so the mountains in the centre pass by the window at 270 km/h. Getting off is the best decision a second-time visitor can make: the Japanese Alps, the merchant town of Takayama, the thatched farmhouses of Shirakawa-go under deep winter snow, and Kanazawa — a city that came through the war intact and kept its samurai and geisha districts and one of the country's three great gardens. Chubu is the widest part of Honshu and the only region touching both coasts. Down its centre run the three ranges collectively called the Japanese Alps, several peaks above 3,000 m, which split the region into two climates: the Pacific side around Nagoya, mild and dry in winter, and the Sea of Japan side around Kanazawa, which catches Siberian weather and becomes one of the snowiest inhabited places on earth. Shirakawa-go's steep thatched roofs are a direct architectural response to that snow.
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Where Japan feels least rehearsed
Kenrokuen in Kanazawa, especially under snow when the pines are roped into their winter frames. Takayama's morning market along the river. Shirakawa-go seen from the viewpoint above the village. And the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, cut through walls of snow well into spring.
A region with four distinct seasons
Chubu is the one Japanese region where the season changes the destination rather than just the weather. Spring opens the alpine route and its snow corridor. Summer is the season for Kamikochi and the high valleys — the coolest place in Japan. Autumn brings colour through the Alps. Winter is why many people come at all: Shirakawa-go under snow is the region's signature image, and access needs planning.
Rail to the edge, bus into the mountains
✈ Arriving
- Chubu Centrair (NGO) serves Nagoya
- Shinkansen to Kanazawa or Nagoya from Tokyo/Kyoto
- Often added between the two rather than flown into
🚌 Into the mountains
- Takayama and Shirakawa-go connect by bus, not rail
- Winter services answer to the weather
- Book mountain buses ahead in peak season
🎫 Passes
- Hokuriku Arch Pass covers the Tokyo–Kanazawa corridor
- Regional bus passes for the Takayama area
- Driving is fine in summer, specialist in deep snow
Six days through the Alps
Kanazawa
Kenrokuen twice in different light, the Higashi Chaya district and the contemporary art museum.
Shirakawa-go
The valley and the viewpoint above it — better as a night than a stop.
Takayama
The morning market, the old merchant streets, and the sake breweries behind them.
The Alps
Kamikochi in summer, or the Tateyama snow corridor in late spring.
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