Sado Private Tours &amp; Local Tour Guides

8 hours

Visit iconic spots including Gold Mine, Toki (Crested Ibis) Forest and Shukunegi. Also enjoy genuine Sado sushi lunch and visit a local sake brewery.

Shukunegi - the village of sengokubune, sailingship of Edo era

2 hours

This small coastal village once prospered as the center of shipbuilding industry during the Edo era. After the Meiji Restoration, the industry fell into decline due to the overall Westernization and the development of other transportation networks like railways. The village was once almost forgotten. However, the descendants stood up to restore the legacy of their ancesters and have been working hard to keep it. Building the exact replica of the old Edo-era sailing ship shows their enthusiasm and solidarity. In this tour, we stroll in the village, visiting one of the ship owner's house called "Seikuro" which is open to the public. You can see the skillfully built houses by ship carpenters. Then we visit Sado-koku Ogi Folk Museum which houses the exact replica of the old sengokubune ship called "Hakusan-maru", thousands of folkcrafts, household utensils, ship carpenters tools and more. Shukunegi was registered as the district of the Groups of Traditional Buildings. Once you step inside, you are in the maze of Edo era. * Special notice: "Seikuro" will be closed until Mar.31 Sado-koku Ogi Folk Museum will be closed on Mondays until March, 2016 Also closed from Dec.29 - Jan.3 for new year holidays. *Special choice: If some of the facilities are closed, we can go to Iwayasan Cove nearby to see 88 stone statues for a short pilgrimage.

Sado one day tour

There are many interesting and fascinating sightseeing spots in Sado. Sado is worth visiting! I'd like to take you to some of them efficiently in one day. Please pick 4-5 places from following options, Then, I'll make an itinerary according to your preference. If you have other places you'd like to go, please do not hesitate to ask me..

Sado Gold and Silver Mine: Relics tell you 400 years of history

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2 hours 30 min

Sado has been well known as one of the major gold and silver production sites in Japan. It has the history of 1000 years. There are four major minig sites in Sado: Nishimikawa alluvial gold mine, Tsurushi silver mine, Niibo silver mine and Sado (Aikawa) gold and silver mine. Sado gold and silver mine was the biggest of all with 400 years of history. Mining in Aikawa started in the late 16th century and was halted in 1989. In this tour, we first visit Sado Gold and Silver Mine Museum, where we enter the Sodayu tunnel which is open to the public. The Sodayu tunnel was dug manually by thousands of mine workers during the Edo period. You can see the whole process of gold and silver production at that time. Then we see some old buildings and a relic built from Meiji to Showa era. These buildings were used to crush, store and smelt ores. Next, we visit the graveyard of Mushuku-nin(people without register) brought in from Edo and Osaka to work as drainage workers. Then, we walk down the street called Kyomachi-dori, once bustled with mine workers, government officials and towns people. Kyomachi-dori street linked Sado Magistrate Office to mining sites. Aikawa town was developed and divided into communities with same occupation. Along the way, we see old buildings, workshops, local grocery store and cafes. We walk past old bell tower, Sado Hanga-mura Museum(print museum) originally built as a district court and Sado Magistrate Office. Finally, we visit Kitazawa area, developed from Meiji to Showa era with modern Western mining technologies to produce gold and silver effectively. Ruined factories, thermal power plant and a 50-meter thickener have remained. Sado Gold and Silver Mine has practiced cutting-edge production methods of each era and you can see the authenticity here in Aikawa. FYI, walking distance is about 3 kilometers.

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Sado half day tour

4 hours

There are many fascinating tourist spots in Sado. Among them, the most popular spots are Sado gold mine and Toki (Japanese crested ibis) forest park. Basically, these two spots are indoor facilities, so we do not need to worry about the weather. if the weather is nice, Senkaku bay can be another option.

Hina Doll Festival in Aikawa (seasonal tour in Sado From Mar.3 to Mar.20)

2 hours

Mar. 3rd is "Girl's day" called Hina Matsuri (dolls festival) in Japan. Households with girls display their Hina Dolls to pray for the happiness and healthy growth of their children. Aikawa town in Sado prospered from the beginning of the 17th century to the late 20th century along with the development of Sado Gold and Silver Mine. People of many kinds of professions moved to Aikawa from many parts of Japan to make a fortune and brought in colorful cultures and traditions which led to create an unique Sado culture and tradition. During this time of year, hotels, sightseeing spots, cafes, shops and even private homes exhibit their Hina Dolls for the public and visitors can enjoy walking in the town admiring dolls from different eras. In this tour, we walk around Aikawa town and visit places where Hina Dolls are displayed. With diverse historical backgrounds, there are many kinds of Hina Dolls in Aikawa, some of them from the Edo period or older, the others are made by modern craftsmen. FYI, No.1 At some hotels and restaurants, you can enjoy special "Hina Doll Festival" lunch. No.2 This is a walking tour in Aikawa, but some of the places are accessible by taxi.

Popular Sado Private Cars

Sado Day Tour with a Private Car

Experienced local taxi drivers will cordially show you around the area so that you can visit both must-see and hidden sightseeing spots and enjoy local food.

Day Trips from Sado

Niigata

Sado Tour Reviews

Justin K.

5 / 5

Dec 10, 2024

Justin K Sado 1-day Discovery Tour

6 hours 30 min

Customized

Dec 10, 2024

“Customised tour of Sado Island”

Fujiko is an excellent tour guide and we enjoyed ourselves very much as we got to take a deeper look at different parts of Sado island. She has a great command of English, explains the context of Sado's history, development and other interesting tidbits of information very well. She was also accommodating to fit in many places of interest in our day tour of the island. She is friendly and will take on any question you ask her with pleasure. We highly recommend her. (:

Fujiko M.

Hi Justin, Good day to you! Thank you very much for writing such a wonderful review of the tour. It was a cold autumn day but the weather was beautiful and I guess you could visit the places you had in mind in this 6&1/2 hour tour. Sado Island is much different from Singapore even tough the area is about the same. I hope you could refresh yourselves in a tiny still unknown island!! Please stay healthy and happy:) Hope to guide you in the near future. Fujiko

Noel L.

5 / 5

Sep 8, 2024

Sado one day tour

Sep 8, 2024

“A great trip”

Kei is friendly and speaks good English. It’s fun to hang out with him and he pointed me to many interesting places and made very detailed plan for the day. I would recommend his service

Keiichi S.

Hello Noel Thank you for a favorable review. I myself had a wonderful time. I hope you enjoyed the KODO mini concert and firework show? Kei from Sado

Becky A.

5 / 5

Jun 10, 2024

Sado one day tour

Jun 10, 2024

“Excellent experience with Kei-san”

Before we even met, Kei-san worked with me in crafting a great itinerary. Trust his instincts! I was luke warm on some sites but it turned out to be sooo interesting. My husband was very glad, Kei did not take my initial input. He was very attentive & accommodating to my knee problems. Provided helpful translations w/store clerks & gave a wonderful sense of why he loves this island. We booked Kei for a full day & half a day.

Keiichi S.

Thank you for a favorable review. I had a wonderful time with you. I found something in an envelope. That is too much! but, I appreciate it. I hope your remaining tour will be a good one. Mahalo! Kei

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