How I wish you could come at least a month later so you could tick all you say off your wish list! Yes, I had to cogitate on them before typing this so I wouldn't act as if I wanted to rain on your parade... Without further ado, I would suggest:
1)May 22
Do the castle before coming in the alps, since it is along your way there if you depart from Tokyo. After the castle, you can hit Shin Hotaka (rather than come directly to Kamikochi) to stay overnight here by taking a Nohi Bus from Matsumoto. Note onsen places are galore, but that many if not most of them aren't as *extroverted* as you may like, communication/booking-wise... Should you want me to recommend some, I will if I know your budget.
2)May 23
Do the Ropeway (and go beyond it to reach a mountain hut, 1hr-long trek required, and from here continue on to the lowest peak of the West Hotaka Mountains, 50meter-long quasi/easy rock climbing involved, and get back to the said hut from where you either hit Yakedake and descend all the way to Kamikochi, a long day for sure for your family, OR you skip Yakedake and climb down to Kamikochi..., all of which are doable during summer months.) As of now, you are denied access to/from Yakedake from/to Kamikochi because they dismantled ladders/bridges so they wouldn't get damaged by avalanches. You may be able to 'climb down' to KK, but foot traces may not be spotted as clearly as you'd want. So to err on the safe side, you may like to bus it back to Hirayu and from here take a KK-bound shuttle bus. Stay in KK.
3) May 24
Do the walk all the way along the river: takes 4hrs, give or take, time to rest exluded. Maybe half as long again, or an hour or so longer than that, I guess. So call that a day. You sure spot macaques somewhere, that I can assure you.
4) May 25
I would suggest hitting Karasawa and stay one night..., if interested then see pics in here:
http://www.karasawa-hyutte.com/山口孝フォトギャラリー/
if you were all adult hikers... (Trekking 7hrs all the way up into it is pushing the envelope in your milieu, still more if getting back on the same day even for young and robust adults.) So my suggestion is, you hit Dakesawa Hut instead as a day hike, which will eat up the better part of the day: 5-6hrs return. Your children will sure say they want to return here years later so they can have a huge reward by summiting peaks right over there.
5) May 26
Hit Takayama, which is about 80min bus ride away from KK (transfer needed at Hirayu). Walk on the preserved old streets and visit Jinya (and also Shiroyama Park if time allows). Opinion may differ, I know, but Takayama is a must in your itinerary, IMO.
Lastly, campfires are prohibited in KK, so don't do. You need to wear ankle-covered trek boots preferably. Yes, caravan shoes may probably be ok, depending on the amount of lingering snow. Talking about snowfall, it's incredible the way KK has it during the wintertime. I came in KK 1st week of March this year, when I had to struggle against knee-thigh-deep stuff immediately after crossing Tashiro-Hotaka Bridge, which place would command very nice views of the alps and the riverflow (along with Yakedake) weather permitting. I didn't think at that time that snow would melt so fast in April: I did some google-search for my next visit here during the latter half of Golden Week we are now in already, so I know all too familiar snow-blanketed mountain sites in that week have now turned into snow-capped ones this year. Extraordinary event, snow-wise, I gather. But that'll do you good in trekking through KK and a bit beyond.
Have a blast!
<<I would like an interesting mix of activities and sights (mountain huts, onsen, campfires, maybe the ropeway, Yakedake, monkeys, a bit of rock-climbing, and Matsumoto Castle). I'd like the weekend to be a continuous hike, rather than day trips separated by bus rides.>>
Edited: 5 years ago