Originally Posted by
jfh1107
I wouldn't consider doing all of that in one day. I'd want to spend one or two nights in that area. I'm also thinking about Takayama and/or Kanazawa as I do more research. Is there one place (Matsumoto?) that might make a good 2-night base to explore this area so I'm not spending single nights in different places?
Distances as the crow flies are relatively short, but the railway network doesn't work that way.
Takayama and Kanazawa are a 3 hour journey apart. From Matsumoto to Takayama or Kanazawa, you're looking at 4-5 hours by train. So I wouldn't recommend using one of those cities as a base to see the others.
In terms of a "base" for a night between Takayama and Kanazawa, you might consider spending a night under thatch in
Gokayama or Shirakawa. You could reach the villages by bus from Takayama and then take a bus to Kanazawa. Unfortunately, the connection in the middle might be a little tricky. It's one area where renting a car makes a lot of sense.