How Do You Get Around Takayama? Loop Buses, Taxis and Walking Times

Published 2026-10-04 · Sources checked 2026-10-04 · Treasure Hunting Co., Ltd.

This guide is for visitors who have arrived in Takayama, in Gifu Prefecture, and want to know how to get around. It covers the bus centre at the station, the two cheap loop buses, the one-day pass, taxis and walking times to the old town.

We used pages from Hida Takayama Tourist Information, which is run by Takayama City, and from the bus operator Nohi Bus. We read them on 2026-10-04. Fares and timetables change, so check the operator's current information before you travel.

The short answer: walk the old town, take a bus for the rest

Takayama's old town lies close to the station. The city's tourism pages give these walking times from JR Takayama Station:

• Sanmachi Traditional Buildings Preservation Area: 12 minutes.
• Shimoninomachi-Ojinmachi Traditional Buildings Preservation Area: 12 minutes.
• Miyagawa Morning Market: 15 minutes.
• Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall: 20 minutes.

For places farther out, such as the Hida Folk Village in the south-west, the city points visitors to its loop buses.

Start at the Nohi Bus Center

When you leave JR Takayama Station, you will find the Nohi Bus Center behind the police box (koban). The city says this is where the loop buses in Takayama and the buses for Okuhida leave. Express buses for Shirakawa-go, Tokyo and other cities also leave from here.

The centre also keeps large bags that do not fit in a coin locker. The city gives the price as 500 yen a day.

How to ride a bus

The city describes the same steps for the city loop buses, route buses and express buses:

1. Buy a ticket at the ticket office. The city says basic English is spoken there. Check the terminal number and departure time on the electric display board. Terminals are numbered 1 to 6.
2. Board by the front door and show your ticket to the driver.
3. Press the button when your stop is announced.
4. Leave by the front door.

If you board somewhere other than the bus centre, take a numbered ticket as you get on. Pay the fare shown on the front display when you get off. The fare for a route bus depends on the distance.

Bring coins. The city warns that the fare box gives no change. There is a change machine at the bus centre.

The Machinami Bus and the Sarubobo Bus

Two loop buses cost 100 yen a ride:

• Machinami Bus. A brown bus that makes a 30-minute round trip. The city says it passes the train stations, tourist spots, shopping streets, public facilities, hospitals and car parks in the centre. Children before school age ride free.
• Sarubobo Bus. It runs from Takayama Station towards the Hida Folk Village and the Hida Earth Wisdom Center in the south-west.

The city lists these places on the Machinami Bus route: Sanmachi Street, the Takayama Historical Government House, the Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall, the Kusakabe Folk Museum and the Takayama Museum of History and Art.

On the Sarubobo Bus route it lists the Hida Folk Village, the Hida-Takayama Museum of Art, the Hida Takayama Festival Forest and the Hida Earth Wisdom Center.

The one-day pass

An adult one-day pass costs 500 yen. The city says it includes discounts on admission to 13 tourist spots in Takayama. You can use it on all Machinami Bus, Sarubobo Bus and Nora My Car lines.

Taxis

The city says a taxi can cost less than people expect, depending on the size of your group. Sometimes it is the only way to reach lodging far from a bus stop. Its figures are:

• The starting fare is 660 yen. At night, 20 to 30 percent is added.
• You usually have to call a company or wait at a taxi stand near the station or on a busy street. A phone booking adds 100 yen.
• On weekends, at the end of the year and on snowy days, the wait can be more than an hour.
• No tip is needed.

Reaching Takayama in the first place

The city's "How to get to Takayama" page shows maps of the main routes from Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Toyama, Kanazawa and Matsumoto. It says the Japan Rail Pass is valid on the train lines shown, except on certain Shinkansen trains. It links to the Mitsuboshi Kaido route site, a Takayama–Mt. Fuji express bus and a discounted bus ticket between Matsumoto and Takayama for JR East Pass holders.

Nohi Bus's English site lists route buses and express buses. Its menu includes lines to Shirakawa-go, Shinhotaka, Kamikochi and Norikura.

Information offices

The city lists three tourist information offices: Hida Takayama Tourist Information Office, Nakabashi Tourist Information Office and Sanmachi Tourist Information Office. It says staff give information in English and Japanese and offer multilingual brochures and maps. The main office is open from 8:30 to 18:30 from April to October, and from 8:30 to 17:00 from November to March.

If you plan to drive in winter

The city asks visitors not to drive rental cars with normal tyres in winter. See our winter safety guide for what it says.

What we could not verify, and therefore left out

• Journey times and fares from Tokyo, Nagoya and other cities. The city's access page shows its routes as images we could not read.
• Current timetables for the Machinami Bus, the Sarubobo Bus and the express buses. The city links them as PDF files, which we did not read.
• Whether the one-day pass can be bought by IC card or only in cash, and where.
• Any temporary bus detours or suspensions. Nohi Bus posts them on its operation status page.

Related guides

• What is the Autumn Takayama Festival (Hachiman Matsuri)?
• How do you stay safe in Takayama? Winter roads, bears and disaster tools

Sources

All URLs retrieved 2026-10-04.

1. Transportation in Takayama (Hida Takayama Tourist Information, Takayama City) — (bus centre, how to ride, Machinami and Sarubobo buses, fares, one-day pass, taxis)
2. How to get to Takayama (Hida Takayama Tourist Information, Takayama City) — (route maps; Japan Rail Pass; bus links)
3. Tourist Information Office (Hida Takayama Tourist Information, Takayama City) — (three offices; languages; opening hours)
4. Sanmachi Traditional Buildings Preservation Area (Hida Takayama Tourist Information, Takayama City) — (12 minutes on foot from the station)
5. Shimoninomachi-Ojinmachi Traditional Buildings Preservation Area (Hida Takayama Tourist Information, Takayama City) — (12 minutes on foot from the station)
6. Miyagawa Morning Markets (Hida Takayama Tourist Information, Takayama City) — (15 minutes on foot from the station)
7. Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall (Hida Takayama Tourist Information, Takayama City) — (20 minutes on foot from the station)
8. Nouhi Bus Home (Nohi Bus) — (English site menu: route bus, express bus, Shirakawa-go, Shinhotaka, Kamikochi and Norikura lines)