Tripologist: To visit Italy’s small villages, should you travel by car or train?

We plan to travel to Rome then Puglia, up the east coast from Bari to Foggia, Pescara, Ancona, Rimini, Ravenna to Bologna. Should we do this by car, so we can visit small villages, or by train? We then plan to go to Piedmont, can you suggest a small town to base ourselves?
E. Plummer, Mont Albert VIC

You need a car, but if you’re not planning to make any stops between Rome and Bari I’d be inclined to take the train to Bari and pick up your hire car there. The trip takes just over four hours on the fastest trains and it’s a tedious drive if you’re on the autostrada the whole way. Take care driving through villages in Puglia, the roads are narrow and treacherous.

In Piedmont I’d be planning two stops with about three nights in each. One is Bra, birthplace of the Slow Food movement, also known for its artisanal cheeses. It’s a middle-sized town with an excellent choice of dining and accommodation and is an ideal base for exploring the surroundings. Bra is close to the Barolo wine region, one of Italy’s most celebrated and photogenic. Second base, Orta San Giulio. It’s a hidden gem, a small town on the edge of Lake Orta. Explore the gorgeous surroundings, take a ferry out to San Giulio, the island in the middle of the lake, and don’t miss the ride on the Domodossola–Locarno railway line, the Vigezzina-Centovalli, one of the world’s greatest rail journeys.

We will be celebrating a 70th birthday on the ski fields as a group of 12 adults and five children. Currently we are considering Japan as dates will be December/January and want to avoid long-haul flights.
J. Toop, Hawthorn VIC

Located on the northern island of Hokkaido between volcanic cones, Niseko is rated one of Japan’s finest ski areas. Niseko gets an average dump of more than 15 metres of dry powder and the four interlinked ski resorts boast almost 900 hectares of skiable terrain, all accessible via an “All Mountain” lift pass. The season typically runs from November to March. There’s also a strong Australian presence here in the hotels and restaurants as well as on the snowfields.

Nagano might be a better fit since it’s more easily accessible from Tokyo, just a 90-minute ride on the bullet train. Host of the 1998 Winter Olympics, Nagano’s facilities are exceptional and thanks to the storms that funnel down from Siberia, Nagano gets almost as much powder snow as Niseko. Nagano has several different resort areas and the most popular with Australian skiers and boarders is the Hakuba Valley, which has 10 resorts with 135 lifts giving access to more than 200 runs, all covered by a single ski pass with shuttle buses linking the ski areas. Hakuba’s accommodation options include self-contained apartments, which are rare at Japanese snowfields. The village is also a good bet for English speakers and some ski classes are in English, including kids’ lessons.

I’m hoping to incorporate a guided walk into a trip to Japan in 2024. A solo traveller, I need a guided walk, maximum seven days. Can you recommend any reputable operators, preferably Australian but not essential.
A. Nolan, Melbourne VIC

Walking Japan’s pilgrimage trails and along the old post road between Kyoto and Tokyo is a superb way to immerse yourself in the country’s culture and landscape and to experience something of the Japanese lifestyle in local inns. A couple of Australia-based operators have walks along the Kumano Kodo as part of a wider itinerary but I can’t find any operators based here that offer guided walks alone.