Don't you want to know how the Samurai spirit ‘Bushido’ was raised and kept in those days in Japan? You will find some hints by joining this tour. In this tour, there are four highlights relating to Bushido; Castle, Tea-ceremony, Swordsmith and Japanese paper ‘Washi’. I am sure you realize that these cultural elements contributed to create a unique Japanese refined value of life, Bushido.
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
At JR Gifu station, JR Nagoya station or At Meitetsu Inuyama Yuen station
JR Gifu station
Inuyama castle
Inuyama Castle (national treasure) is the oldest castle in Japan. You can touch and feel the authentic wooden building, climbing steep and narrow steps toward the upper floor. On each floor, you see some antiques, maps and documents to learn stories about the castle. From the top floor, you have a panoramic view while strolling along the outside corridor.
Tea-house 'Joan' with matcha tasting
Tea-house ‘Joan’ in Inuyama is located in a beautiful Japanese garden near the castle, You find a simple aesthetic value based on Zen Buddhism in it.
Lunch in Seki
Seki Traditional Swordsmith Museum
In this museum, you can learn not only the history and the forging-process of swordsmiths but also enjoy seeing many masterpieces of swords and knives. Many visitors give a sigh of admiration seeing them. Then you drop in cutlery shops where you enjoy shopping for souvenirs.
Former Imaike Residence ( Mino Museum)
Mino is the hometown of traditional Japanese paper ‘Washi, which was registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2014. This building was constructed in the end of the 19th century and used as a Washi-paper wholesale merchant's house. The chief of a family also served as a headman of this town. You could get detailed information about a typical townhouse of the Edo period.
You can enjoy strolling around traditional building areas which include beautiful old houses and souvenir shops.
Mino Washi Akari Art Gallery
This gallery provides you a fantastic atmosphere made by collaboration with paper-art and lights. Many competition masterpieces are on display telling the possibility of paper in daily lives.
JR Gifu station
Ending Point
At JR Gifu station
This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.
guide fee
transportation fee for guide and guests
entrance fee for guide and guests (total fee is about 2000yen/person)
lunch,tea and dinner for guide and guests
1) The tour is not possible during extremely bad weather, such as typhoons or snowstorms.
2) The destination is flexible. It will be customized according to your interests, preference and physical condition.
3) Food preference information is important. I would like to know your likes and dislikes in advance.
4) Hotel pick-up is possible according to the location.
I can guide in Kyoto in case you support transportation fee.
Hello everyone. I am Tetsuji. I worked as a public servant in the local government for 35 years. I belonged to the department of Redevelopment, Town-Landscaping, Preserving historical areas and Architectural Guidance. (I have a national 1st-class architect license.) I devoted myself to revitalizing the city by making plans and improving infrastructure for citizens.
Gifu is located in central Japan near Nagoya. As just being the crossroads of the West and the East, there are many unique attractions that are hard to discover in hectic big cities like Tokyo or Kyoto. I had a hand in restoring and preserving some of them throughout my career and want to introduce them to tourists from abroad. That’s why I became a guide-interpreter in Gifu.
I also enjoyed traveling around the world. My favorite part of each trip was walking around the city and talking with local residents. Traveling has taught me lots of things during my lifetime. Now, I would like to help others have similar experience in Japan. Shall we enjoy fantastic journey in Gifu?
Ian B.
“Enjoyable day in Shirakawago”
We very much enjoyed our day with Tetsuji. He guided us around the village and booked an excellent local restaurant for lunch. A fun and interesting day. Tetsuji’s English is good and we had pleasant conversation with him.
Tetsuji Y.
I also had a very happy time with you and your family. I am thankful to you for listening to my explanation with careful attention all the time. Now, I am happy again to get an excellent appraisal. I hope that you will enjoy traveling Japan to your heart's extent.
Aimee V.
“A full day tailored to our requests with special surprises ”
We spent a full and active day with Mr. Tetsuji, filled with diverse activities and memorable experiences. Communication with him was smooth and efficient, and he worked closely with us to create a detailed itinerary that balanced his expertise with our interests. He even traveled a long distance to meet us at the start of the tour and thoughtfully ensured our departure was taken care of at the end. One of the highlights was a private visit to a knife factory, which Mr. Tetsuji was able to arrange exclusively for us. We were fortunate to enjoy a personal tour with the factory president himself—an extraordinary experience we would never have managed on our own. Although he had already informed us that many shops in Mino would be closed that day, Mr. Tetsuji seamlessly guided us to the main attractions, making sure we still had a rich and rewarding experience. His deep knowledge and professionalism truly enhanced our visit.
Tetsuji Y.
I am very happy to know that you are satisfied with my tour. I can’t find words to express how much I appreciate lots of your thoughtful comments on me. Especially, the last one makes me feel like I am on cloud nine and leads me to challenge any demands from guests to be a better guide. If you have a chance to visit Japan again, I hope that we could share pleasant time. Please give my best regards to Flavio and Luca.
Roxana P.
“excellent guide”
our clients had an excellent tour with Tetsuji and can recommend his guiding services.
Tetsuji Y.
Thank you so much for appraisal for my job. I am happy to hear that your clients seemed to be satisfied with my tour. I hope to accept your next request.
$109/ per group