In a small pond called 'Monet's Pond', many fancy Japanese carps 'KOI' are swimming through water-lilies and algae to make you feel relaxed. After having Unagi‒lunch at Seki and visiting the Traditional Swordsmith Museum, you move to Mino where you stroll around well-preserved traditional housing streets visiting old Washi merchant houses, paper museums and souvenir shops.
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
At JR Gifu station or at JR Nagoya station
JR Gifu station
Monet's pond
Monet's Pond is located in a small village in mountains. Many beautiful colored Japanese carps 'Koi' are swimming through waterlilies and algae. It just looks like one of Monet's paintings which makes you so relaxing and feel comfortable and happy.
Seki city
you have a lunch break eating delicious Japanese dish of 'Unagi' (eel) and visit the Seki Traditional Swordsmith Museum and Gifu Cutlery Hall. You will learn why this small town has developed as one of the most famous three towns for manufacturing knives in the world.
Mino old town district
you visit Mino, a hometown of traditional hand‒made paper ’Washi’. You will stroll around the important Traditional Preserved Buildings Area dropping by some museums and shops.
JR Mino-oota station
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 and hotel pick-up
transportation fee about 6000yen/person for both guests and guide, lunch fee 3500yen/person for guests and guide, entrance fee 800yen/person for guests
1) Monet's Pond is located in the deep mountains and the condition of transparency is influenced by the weather since the previous day. Therefore, depending on the comprehensive situation, the destinations might be changed.
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?
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.
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.
$121/ per group