Honjin Hiranoya Kachoan Ryocan in Takayama

We are visiting Japan for the first time from the UK and planning a 2 night stay in the Honjin Hiranoya Kachoan Ryocan in Takayama (after arriving in Tokyo a couple of days before and travelling by train using a Japan Rail Pass).

Has anyone stayed there have any information about it they could share with us? The only reviews on Tripadvisor are in Japanese, so we can%26#39;t read them.

We would also be interested in any other advice on what to do while we are in Takayama, given it will be our first real experience of Japan

Honjin Hiranoya Kachoan Ryocan in Takayama

No personal knowledge of the ryokan, but I love Takayama and you can%26#39;t beat the location. You should know that this is a modern ryokan (the other section, Honjin Hiranoya Bekkan, looks like a concrete hotel from the outside-- japaneseguesthouses.com/db/鈥iranoya.htm near bottom of page; where you%26#39;re staying might not be so obvious japaneseguesthouses.com/db/鈥achoan.htm ).

Here is what I like:

The main historic area, San-machi Suji, can get crowded, but you will be able to stroll there before the tour groups descend. Go in any house that%26#39;s open as a museum, especially Kusakabe mingei-kan amd Yoshijima-ke, which are a just outside the San-machi area. At the nearby Takayama Yatai Kaikan (Festival Floats Exhibition Hall, take time to view the video. Takayama Jinya (Old Government House) is not far from your ryokan.

hida.jp/e-kankou/e-point/e-point.htm#kusakabe

All the above are a stroll from your ryokan, but will probably want to take a taxi when visiting the Hida Folk Village--it%26#39;s a long boring walk from town.

But besides the sights, most of Takayama is a tidy modern town, an easy place to stroll and see how everyday people live, eat and shop.