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Castle town of Lady Samurai & magnificent Ruins
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Joined 2015
A well‒preserved hidden castle town, Iwamura, makes you feel warped into Edo era. Strolling around old houses and shops along the tranquil street, you will reach the ruins of the castle on the hill. Photogenic townscapes reveal the quintessence of Japanese beauty with a tragic story of the chatelaine. You also visit Hiroshige Museum of Art that exhibits lots of Ukiyoe prints of Utagawa Hiroshige.
Itinerary
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
At your hotel in Nagoya or at the JR Nagoya station
JR Nagoya station
JR Ena station
You enjoy the most rural scenic view by local train (see video)
Exploring authentic castle town
Iwamura town is a little away from the old highway Nakasendo which has contributed to preserving traditional townscape for long time. The castle town extends over one kilometer long from the station to the foot of the castle‒ruins.
Hiking to the ruins of Iwamura Castle
The ruins of Iwamura Castle are located at the highest place (717m above sea level) for a castle in Japan and has been selected as one of three major mountain castles in Japan. You should try half an hour hiking up the slope to get fantastic views from the ruins. Some parts of the slope are steep, but most of them are well maintained and partly paved. A tragic story about what happened to a beautiful chatelaine makes you feel sympathy for transiency of human life.
Lunch
You enjoy eating some local foods such as Gohei‒mochi, Udon noodles, Japanese pickles and a variety of sweets. Drinkers can enjoy tasting Sake with a quick excursion to the brewery. Almost all the shops are run by citizens of this town and staff members welcome visitors with their best smiles.
Castle town
You enjoy strolling around the street, on both sides of which there are various shops, restaurants, shrines etc. Above all, you should drop into some of the old merchants’ houses such as Katsukawa House, Kimura House and Tosaya. All visitors are free to walk through traditionally designed rooms and beautiful Japanese gardens at will. You will be astounded at the unexpected expanse of living space of Japanese traditional buildings with exquisite design.
Hiroshige Museum of Art
Hiroshige Museum of Art houses and exhibits approximately 1,400 Ukiyoe woodblock prints depicting the people and scenery along old highways, Nakasendo and Tokaido. Visitors can not only see them but also have the experience of creating multicolored prints using imitation wood blocks.
JR Nagoya station
Ending Point
At JR Nagoya station
Want to personalize this tour?
This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.
Inclusions & Exclusions
guide fee and hotel pick-up
Besides guide fee, you have to prepare about 7000yen/person for both you and guide on the tour day. The details are as follows:transportation fee about 5000yen/person, entrance fee about 1200yen/person,entrance fee about 800yen/person.However, if you you have Japan Rail Pass(JRP), it goes down 4000yen/person except for guide
Tour Important Information
(Iwamura Castle)
A one and a half hour local train ride from Nagoya brings you to the old castle town of Iwamura in southeast Gifu. On the way to the town, you will enjoy viewing very simple but calm Japanese rural landscape through the windows of the train (see the video above). Iwamura castle was established in 1185. It is famed for not only magnificent ruins of the castle called 'Asian Machu Pichu', but also the well‒preserved castle town which is listed as one of the Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings by the central government, like Takayama or Tsumago.
(Tragedy of Chatelaine)
At the end of 16th century,one of Iwamura Castle lords was a woman named Otsuya, who was warring‒time great hero Oda Nobunaga’s aunt. After her husband passed away early, she was reigning the territory by herself with a young adopted son. She was so bright and beautiful that many people liked her. When the town was attacked and under siege by overpowering enemies, she had to choose a political marriage with the opponent’s leader in order to protect her families and her people. Over the next few years, she spent peaceful days along with the new husband. However, she was crucified by her nephew Nobunaga as a traitor in the end. She was a lady Samurai struggling with hardships throughout her life altruistically. Now, blue Noren, shop-front curtains, with the names of proprietresses hang down from eaves. It is evidence that Otsuya is still loved and respected by the townspeople.
*If you are interested in hiking old highway Nakasendo, it is possible for you to walk a part of the route between Magome and Tsumago after visiting Iwamura town. In that case, you have to skip visitting both the ruins of the castle and Hiroshige Museum. Please feel free to ask to arrange the tour as you want.
Important message from the supplier
I can guide in Kyoto in case you support transportation fee.
Cancellation Policy
- Free cancellation - 8 days prior to meeting time
- 50% Refund - 3 to 7 days prior to meeting time
- No Refund - Within 2 day(s) prior to meeting time
Joined 2015
About Tour Guide Tetsuji Y.
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?
Reviews
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.
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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.
Renee M.
“A great tour that took full advantage of everything Takayama has to offer”
Tetsuji was a wonderful guide! He showed us all that Takayama and the surrounding area had to offer. He was knowledgeable, flexible and enjoyable to be with. With his knowledge we discovered a Takayama that we would not even known existed. Thank you Tetsuji!
Tetsuji Y.
I appreciate an excellent review for my tour. I am happy guiding a nice American couple who are so curious about Japanese culture, especially foods and drinks. Above all, the scene two of you enjoyed tasting Sake in a brewery is impressive. I hope that you will visit central Japan exploring attractive places with my guidance in other seasons.
$108/ per group
More tours by Tetsuji Y.
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Discover Authentic Japan in Tsumago & Magome, Nakasendo
You hike an old highway Nakasendo strolling through two post-towns. Magome & Tsumago. Strolling around well-preserved popular post towns takes you back to nostalgic Japan. The moment you enter these towns, you will feel as if you are in a time warp back in the Edo period, where local people spend their daily lives as well as welcoming tourists, preserving buildings and the landscape. You also enjoy hiking an old trekking route through mountains.
Discover Authentic Japan in Tsumago & Magome, Nakasendo
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One-day-tour of Shirakawa-go
Shirakawa-go is a mountain settlement that is famous for uniquely designed Gassyo-style buildings and registered as one of the World Cultural Heritage sites. In Ogi-machi, over sixty Gassyo-style buildings will welcome visitors. Enjoying the whole landscape of the village from the hill, you will stroll around the village visiting some traditional Gasho-style buildings such as Wada House, Nagase House and Myozenji Temple Museum.
One-day-tour of Shirakawa-go
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Best Choice for one-day Takayama tour
Takayama is a small city in a mountainous area. The tour includes some healing spots in addition to popular highlights like Miyagawa Morning Market, Higashiyama Walking, Old Town and Hida-Furukawa. I'm sure you’ll be able to see why Takayama mesmerizes tourists so much through this tour.
Best Choice for one-day Takayama tour
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Cormorant fishing viewing on the Nagaragawa River
Gifu Castle standing on the Mt.Kinka provides visitors with nice panoramic views day and night. You also enjoy watching a traditional unique event Cormorant Fishing on the Nagara River while eating dinner in a viewing boat. Sir Charlie Chaplin visited Gifu twice to enjoy this unique traditional event. Besides, a photogenic street Kawara-machi and the Great Buddha statue in Shoboji-temple move you so much.
Cormorant fishing viewing on the Nagaragawa River
Other Popular Art, Culture, & Historical Tours in Gifu
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Art, culture et histoire sur la route de NAKASENSO (7) : Une journée à OCHIAI
Avant la randonnée à MAGOME-TSUMAGO, vous descendrez à OCHIAI pour l’auberge destinée aux samouraïs etc. restée telle quelle, le jardin fleuri d’un temple, entre des rizières en terrasses, le long de la rivière où vous pourrez apprécier le paysage nostalgique d’une estampe de l’époque Edo ainsi que la calligraphie, la cérémonie du thé dans le temple, la teinture à l’indigo. Ma présentation de l’histoire du NAKASENDO avec des épisodes marquants enrichira votre visite.
Art, culture et histoire sur la route de NAKASENSO (7) : Une journée à OCHIAI
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Walking tour in Seki city
About one hour bus ride from Gifu station or Nagoya bus terminal brings you to Seki city area. Seki city is small but very famous for its cutlery. In this tour we visit some museums related to cutlery , a temple, a shrine and Seki terrace where you can shop high quality cutlery.
Walking tour in Seki city
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Art, culture et histoire sur la route de NAKASENSO (8) : Une journée à OCHIAI et MAGOME
Avant la randonnée à MAGOME-TSUMAGO, vous descendrez à OCHIAI pour l’auberge destinée aux samouraïs restée telle quelle, le jardin fleuri d’un temple, entre des rizières en terrasses ainsi que la teinture à l’indigo, le mini-concert de piano et de chants japonais, ensuite l’arrangement des fleurs, la façon de mettre un kimono, une séance de photos en kimono dans un temple à MAGOME. Ma présentation de l’histoire du NAKASENDO avec des épisodes marquants enrichira votre visite.
Art, culture et histoire sur la route de NAKASENSO (8) : Une journée à OCHIAI et MAGOME
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Art, culture et histoire sur la route de NAKASENSO (10) : Deux journées à OCHIAI, MAGOME et TSUMAGO
Le 1er jour, vous descendrez à OCHIAI pour l’auberge destinée aux samouraïs restée telle quelle, la teinture à l’indigo, le mini-concert de piano, puis l’art floral, la façon de mettre un kimono à MAGOME. Le 2e jour, vous visiterez MAGOME, le Musée de TOSON SHIMAZAKI qui a vécu trois ans en France et dont le roman historique a rendu le petit village célèbre dans le monde entier, etc. Après la promenade en bus vous visiterez TSUMAGO, l’auberge annexe, le Musée de documents historiques régionaux.
Art, culture et histoire sur la route de NAKASENSO (10) : Deux journées à OCHIAI, MAGOME et TSUMAGO