How we check facts
This page explains the method. The tables below print the live numbers for this guide.
Where facts come from
Facts come from named public sources, in this order of preference: official and government sites and the operators’ own sites first, then booking agents, Wikivoyage, Wikipedia and news.
Each fact is stored with its source link, a word-for-word quote from that page, the day it was read and a date for its next re-check. The quote is matched against the live source page. Pages are written only from these stored facts.
| Source | Facts | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Google Maps | 241 | |
| japan-guide.com | 118 | |
| hida.jp | 109 | |
| nouhibus.co.jp | 101 | |
| KNT | 91 | |
| japan.travel | 85 | |
| okuhida.or.jp | 77 | |
| Dormy Hotels & Resorts | 75 | |
| And 120 more sources | 1421 | – |
- Facts on file: 2318
- Checked against their source: 2270
- Last check: October 2026
- Tour links opened and checked before linking: 14 (checked October 2026)
- Places to eat and drink checked on Google Maps: 27 (checked October 2026)
- Attractions checked on Google Maps: 27 (checked October 2026)
- Driving times from OpenRouteService routes: 7 (valid for 12 months)
- Places to stay with a booking link checked in a browser: 25 (checked October 2026)
- Data refresh: every 2 to 3 months
One fact, start to finish
A fact starts as a line on a source page. It is saved with the quote and the link, tested against the page as it appears today, and only then used in a guide page, where a number next to it points back to its source.
Here is a real fact from this site, as stored:
| Fact | Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is 50 minutes by bus north of Takayama. |
|---|---|
| Source | Takayama & Around | Travel Japan (JNTO) |
| Line quoted from the source | Fifty minutes by bus north of Takayama is Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO World Heritage site |
| Last read on the source | |
| Due for a re-check |
How often things are re-checked
Every live site gets a data refresh every two to three months. A refresh re-checks a batch of facts against their live source pages, the oldest and the riskiest first: prices, fees, timetables and opening months. It also checks the source links, the tour pages and the places to stay.
If a source no longer shows a fact, the fact is flagged, never dropped silently. It is updated from the source, moved to a better source, or taken off the page.
| Kind of fact | Valid for | Facts | Next re-check due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prices and fees | 6 months | 457 | April 2027 |
| Timetables | 6 months | 89 | April 2027 |
| Opening hours | 12 months | 178 | October 2027 |
| Seasons and opening months | 12 months | 74 | October 2027 |
| Rules | 12 months | 333 | October 2027 |
| Counts | 12 months | 87 | October 2027 |
| Driving times and distances (routing data) | 12 months | 7 | October 2027 |
| Exchange rate (for the US dollar amounts) | 2 months | 1 | December 2026 |
| Other facts | 12 months | 565 | October 2027 |
| Places and distances | No set date | 286 | – |
| Google Maps details of places to eat | 6 to 12 months | 109 | April 2027 |
| Google Maps details of attractions | 6 to 24 months | 132 | April 2027 |
When sources disagree, and what is left out
When two sources give different answers, the page gives a range and names both sources. A fact that cannot be confirmed is left out.
How tours, food, sights and stays are picked
Tours. Tours are picked from each booking site’s list for this place. Each tour page is opened and checked before it is linked. Its title must name the place, and the page must not say the tour is unavailable. A tour whose page has gone is never linked. The booking sites appear in a set order: first the one that listed the most tours for this place when the site was planned, then a fixed default order.
Places to eat and drink. These were found in Google Maps listings around the main areas of town. Each place was opened in a browser and checked before it is shown. The table is ordered by area, then by the places people search for by name, then by Maps search order, never by rating. Any rating shown is Google’s, with the date it was read. Nobody paid to be listed.
Attractions. These also come from Google Maps listings around the main areas, and each was opened in a browser and checked. Opening hours are Google’s. The entry fee, the time to spend and the notes for children are used only when a source states them. The order follows area and what people search for, never rating. An attraction that Google Maps lists as closed is not shown.
Places to stay. These are the ones people search for by name, most searched first. Price, what is included and who a place suits come from named sources, listed on each card. No stay shows a booking link yet. A link appears only once it is checked in a browser and the booking site approves the site’s account.
Who writes and who reviews
An AI model, Anthropic’s Claude, writes the guide pages from the stored facts only. Every page then goes through automatic checks. The publisher reviews every page before it goes live and again after launch, and corrects what the review finds.
Photos are never AI-made. Only the logo and favicon may be. Photo credits are on the image credits page.
Recent changes
- · Takayama Japan: First written
- · About this Takayama guide: First written
- · Affiliate disclosure: First written
- · Compare: First written
- · Contact: First written
Every guide page ends with its own page history.
Found an error?
Write through the contact page. Name the page and the fact, and send a source if you have one.
Page history · last changed 24 October 2026
- First written