Hakone Private Tours & Local Tour Guides

“A birthday to remember!”

I am not someone who typically takes the time to write reviews of tours, but I felt compelled to share my experience following a private, full-day tour of Hakone, Japan, organized and led by Florence. From beginning to end, Florence was exceptional. Even before the tour, she went out of her way to accommodate my schedule, making the only day I had available work. When I mentioned that I would be celebrating a special birthday during my visit to Japan, I certainly didn't expect anything beyond a wonderful day of sightseeing. However, upon our first meeting, Florence surprised me with a selection of unique and thoughtful Japanese gifts. It was an incredibly gracious gesture that immediately demonstrated how much she genuinely cares about the people she guides. We spent the day exploring the highlights of Hakone, including Owakudani Volcanic Valley, the Hakone Ropeway, the Hakone Open-Air Museum, Lake Ashi and its iconic floating torii gate, and the scenic Hakone Tozan Railway. Each destination offered something unique, and Florence made sure we had time to appreciate the experience rather than simply rush from one attraction to another. Her knowledge of the area, organizational skills, and attention to detail made the entire day seamless and enjoyable. What truly distinguished Florence was her warmth, thoughtfulness, and genuine enthusiasm. She made the experience feel personal rather than simply another scheduled sightseeing tour. It is often the little things that make a travel experience memorable, and Florence understands that perfectly. Having traveled extensively and experienced numerous private tours around the world, I can honestly say Florence ranks among the very best guides I have had the pleasure of meeting. If you are considering a private tour of Hakone, I recommend Florence without hesitation. She goes well beyond what is expected. Thank you, Florence, for making my birthday visit to Hakone such a memorable experience!

“A wonderful day doing the Hakone loop”

Kashima san was an absolutely wonderful guide. I I booked him for a private day tour originating in Tokyo and taking the Shinkansen to Hakone to do the loop and visit in Onsen. He met me at my hotel and was incredibly professional organized and knowledgeable. Throughout the day, he shared information with me about the sites we were seeing and about Japan in general, including some really interesting history and aspects of Japanese culture. He even printed out an organized folder for me covering the things we would do during the tour as well as some interesting reading about Japan in Tokyo. The restaurant he picked for lunch had fantastic food. Aside from that he is a delightful person to spend a day with. Highly recommended!

Kashima H.

(96 reviews)

Brian san, thank you very much for your upmost review to me. We visited Hakone from Tokyo including Oowakudani valley with riding Hakone mountain train, Cable car and Ropeway and Hakone shrine where many historical Shogun and high-level Buddhist monks also had visited to pray for their success and Brian san asked me very much unique request to make experience of brief hot spring which is located just near Hakone Yumoto station. Thanks to your aggressive curiosity and physical strength to acquire Japanese culture and nature beauty, I was very much inspired to exchange various information and lots of conversation for each tour spot and also enjoyed funny conversation for various topics for both Japan and USA. I hope that you visit Japan again in near future so that I can introduce other nice tour spots for you. Thanks, Kashima

“Easy day of touring for my 83 yr old mother and I ”

I organized a full day of touring in/ around Hakone for my 83 yr old mother and I with Yuki. He was wonderful to communicate with prior to arriving in Japan. Yuki gave me several options for places to visit that would accommodate my mother’s limited mobility as well as some needed travel tips. We met up with Yuki when there was a big storm passing through so we adjusted our plan - my mom had also wanted to incorporate more shopping. Yuki was so flexible, thoughtful regarding my mom’s needs, easy to be with and an excellent driver! He brought us to the volcano lookout, then to a nice local shopping area, followed by a fantastic Udon noodle lunch and last we visited a samurai exhibit at a castle. He even stopped at a 7-11 to help me choose candy to bring back to the states! Yuki was interesting to talk with/ learn about life in Japan and he speaks outstanding English as he has travelled to America many times. I would highly recommend touring with Yuki!

Yuki N.

(6 reviews)

Thank you for the review! I'm very happy to hear you and your mother enjoyed Hakone and Odawara city. The tour was excited even to me. We explored the local places such as knives shop, driving around the downtown of Odawara city and the local souvenir shops targeting local people. Thank you again and see you again when I visit Alaska!