Japan Winter Wonderland

We went to Japan in January 2024! The impetus of the trip was to ski on the world famous powder snow, followed by attending the 6 times per year Shirakawago light-up festival. 

So is the Shirakawago light-up festival worth it? Continue reading to find out more! 

Our overall trip itinerary is as such (entirely used public transport): 

1. Arrive at Chubu Centrair International Airport, Nagoya

2. Nagoya city, Nagashima (Mitsui Outlet, Nabana no Sato)

3. Day trip to Takayama and Shirakawago

4. Kiso Valley (Tsumago and Magome)

5. Hakuba Valley

6. Yamanouchi (Snow monkey park and Shibu Onsen)

7. Back to Nagoya. Depart from same airport in 1.

3 Best Experiences

#1 Shirakawago in Winter 

We had been to Shirakawago and Gokayama once in autumn, both were beautiful amidst the colourful autumn leaves and we stayed at the gassho house in Gokayama! I liked the Gokayama atmosphere more as it was peaceful and authentic, whereas Shirakawago had more impressive scenery but was more commercialized and crowded. 

This trip presented a different side of Shirakawago. Yes, it was still commercialized and crowded, in fact more crowded than the last trip (due to the winter light-up) BUT it simply transformed into winter fantasy! Think of Smurf looking snowcapped roofs, traditional houses on a cushy bed of white, all nested within a comforting wide valley. Although it was crowded, we could still find quiet spots to soak in the atmosphere and take nice photos. 

It had snowed heavily the day before, leaving snow during our visit (yay!). I heard of visits where there was no snow, or too snowy on the day itself that blocked the highway. As for the light-up festival (read more here), we got the tickets for the light-up without admission to the observatory. There were online reviews that the light-up was not worth it and the crowd killed the mood. Our verdict - worth going as it is a rare sight for the gassho houses to be lit at night. It was wise for the organizer to limit the number of people, as it was crowded but not overly so. However, visiting the light-up is not a must, as Shirakawakgo in winter daytime is more magical, a sight to behold! 

💡Tips on booking the tours: The sites to book the buses departing from Takayama, Takaoka and a few others started sales in early Oct 23 (announced in Aug 23 or earlier under Announcement in tourist association), however those sites with English simply hung on us when we tried to access within the first few minutes of sale. By the time we could finally access, they were sold out. Then on 5 Nov 23, we chanced upon the agency tours departing from Nagoya to Takayama and Shirakawago but only tickets without observatory were available and they were slightly more expensive. We paid about SGD203 per pax without meal (from getyourguide). I am not sure when the tour bookings open but I believe one can start looking out earlier. Even Klook has the tours :) 

#2 Onsen town, our fabulous ryokan stay and its meals 

Visiting onsens during winter is one of the best experiences. Our experience was elevated by visiting an onsen town, Shibu Onsen! Shibu Onsen looked like a sleepy Japanese old town when we first stepped foot on it but became alive after sky fell when the souvenir and games shops opened. There was a quiet Japanese charm as we walked along the streets. Shibu Onsen is known for its 9 public baths (numbered 1 to 9), each with a special name and curing different ailments. We tried 4 of them and the experience of walking around in Yukata and trying the different baths was fun and especially befitting in winter. We then returned to our ryokan Shunran no Yado Sakaeya to enjoy their onsens (it had a combination of hot spring from no. 2 and 3).  The onsens were another level, best among all we went during the trip! Finally, the ryokan’s service and food were top notch. Their dinner was sumptuous, and it felt like omakase. We enjoyed every bit of the stay, highly recommended! 

#3 Winter Scenery without the Cold Discomfort - including hiking at Kiso Valley

The winter scenery was mesmerizing! The snowy landscape with its white hues and bare trees, felt like a captivating painting, drawing me in. We had seen old towns like in Samurai times, bamboo trees and mountains amidst this winter backdrop. And powder snow, so soft and fluffy. 

One fun activity that we did was the 3hr hike from Magome to Tsumago. During research, we did not find much information on doing the hike in winter, so we wonder if it was achievable. Fortunately, there was great weather on the day. The lady at the Nagiso station Tourist Information said it was doable but needed to be careful due to the snow, whereas the lady at Magome Tourist information (who appeared bo-chup) just said it was dangerous. We decided to go with our gut feeling and try the hike. The most is U-turn back. It turned out to be a rewarding walk and we enjoyed it! It was like our own guided snowshoeing experience, skipping the need to pay SGD100 for a guided snowshoe trip elsewhere 😊. About half of the trail had some snow but it was fine to walk as long as one had the right shoe support (see “snow cleats” below). 

The temperature during Japan mid-winter was manageable and we felt comfortably cold. It mostly hovered around 0°C. We only wore 3 layers of clothing – inner layer thermal (extra warm or ultra warm heattech from Uniqlo), a thicker long sleeved top, and a winter coat or windbreaker with inner layer.  

Best Decisions of the Trip 

• Brought snow cleats.

  The snow cleats bought from Shopee before the trip turned out to be one of the best buys! I wore it over my waterproof hiking boots (from Decathlon) at Shirakawago (where we saw many people slip and fall), snow hiking at Kiso Valley, walking to and fro the monkey park. They served me very well and I could walk fast on show and ice without fear of falling down. My companion wore snow hiking boots (from Decathlon) but felt the support was insufficient. 

• Bought Nagano food souvenirs at Nagano station. 

  The ryokan staff told us the Nagano food souvenirs could not be found in Nagoya (our departing city), so we decided to buy all the Nagano souvenirs at Nagano station. Glad that we did so, as indeed we could not find the Nagano souvenirs at Nagoya station or airport, and some of them turned out to be very tasty!  

What Should We Change

• Only rent ski equipment near the skiing school when you are a novice. 

  We booked group skiing lesson at a ski school at Tsugaike (Hakuba) and were told to prepare our own ski equipment before the lesson. Hence, we rented the gear at our hotel at Happo-one which offered a discount. Travelling from Happo-one to Tsugaike involved some walking and a bus ride. In the ski boots and carrying the heavy and bulky skis, a 5 min walk (including slight upslope at some parts) became a 30 min walk, and going up and down the bus was very tedious and clumsy! 

• Never buy ski pass before the lesson, unless you are explicitly instructed to do so. 

  We bought the Tsugaike ski pass for 6,400 yen each before the full day ski lesson as an email from the ski school led us to a website that suggested so. However, on the day of ski lesson, the instructor DID NOT bring us up the lifts at all! We ended up wasting the ski passes. 

Remember to get your data eSIM or SIM before your trip! We got from 2 different vendors, to hedge our connectivity.

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