The city is a little out of the way but was well worth a visit. It has more Edo-style housing than Kanazawa and the area is also known for its beef, so it was easy to eat well. I stayed in the "Hotel Around" (confusing name, \~$100/night) and I liked that it had a Onsen-style public bathing area which I used 2-3x/day during my visit.
I first visited the old town with merchant shops dating from the early 1800s, much more extensive than Kanazawa. I tasted sake, miso, soy sauce....lots of good options to choose from along with the usual souvenir stuff. It was also fun to just walk around and examine the architecture, much of which was destroyed in the war elsewhere. Western tourists I saw were mostly European.
A highlight was the Higashiyama temple walk, about 5km and well signposted. You visit 8-10 temples and shrines in the wooded hills. It's great in combination with a walk in the and forested and hilly Shiroyama Park. The bear warning signs every 100m left me looking over my shoulder more than a few times, but seemed almost playful.
I loved the Retro and Showa museums, both filled with Japanese cultural artifacts of the mid 20th century. The Takayama Museum of History and Art has a a good collection of Enku Buddahs (look it up) and there were several other museums that looked interesting. Unfortunately, I didn't get to the Hida no Sato village (rain) which is 100% walkable from the city center.
As everywhere in Japan, the food is great. I tried Waygu beef (not a fan) and a wagyu burger (meh). But I had some fantastic curry soup with chunks of duck breast (スープカリーたま). Cold beer is served everywhere and like most other places, I visited Lawsons/Family Mart/7-11 for my onigiri, croquettes and fried chicken. Beef skewers are also available on the street.
It took about 3 hours to get from Kagaonsen to Takayama via Toyama (not including my 2-hour layover because of poor planning). If you're considering Kanazawa or Takayama, I'd choose the latter as there's simply more to do and see. Including a thrift shop I stumbled upon where I picked up about 8 pieces of Japanese ceramics for $40.