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Private Day Tour to Nikko – Majestic UNESCO Shrines & Temples

Taiyu-In of Rinno-Ji Temple (Entrance gate)

Taiyu-In of Rinno-Ji Temple (Yashamon Gate protected by four Indian demons called Yasha)

Taiyu-In of Rinno-Ji Temple (Main worship hall decorated with lots of gold)

Rinno-Ji Temple (The main hall with Big golden statues of Amida-Nyorai, Batto-Kannon, and Senju-Kannon)

Rinno-Ji Temple (The Goma-Do where you can see many Myo-O; avatar of Buddha)

Tosho-Gu Shrine (Five story Pagoda, built in 1650, renovated in 1818)

Nikko Private Tour - Tosho-Gu Shrine (The famous carving of the three monkeys indicating lessons for a good life; Hear no evils, Speak no evils, and See no evils)

Tosho-Gu Shrine (The famous carving of the three monkeys indicating lessons for a good life; Hear no evils, Speak no evils, and See no evils)

Tosho-Gu Shrine (The famous carving of the sleeping cat made by a famous sculptor Jingoro Hidari)

Tosho-Gu Shrine (The grave of Ieyasu Tokugawa in the inner shrine)

Shinkyo Bridge (This bridge was built to explore Nikko in 8th century.)

Private Day Tour to Nikko – Majestic UNESCO Shrines & Temples

Name: Nikko Guided Tours
Brand: GoWithGuide
Price: 251 USD
Rating: 5.0 (416 reviews)

Day Trip

Joined 2014

Yuki K.

4.80 / 5

(416 reviews)

Identity Verified

Interview-Based Quality Checks

Nikko

English

10 hrs 30 mins

Private tour (only you and Yuki K.)

Up to 5 people

I will take you to Tosho-gu Shrine and Rinno-Ji Temple, including Toiyu-inn in Nikko. Tosho-gu was built about 400 years ago to worship Ieyasu Tokugawa who started Edo Period. Rinno-Ji was established in 766 and combined with Tosho-gu about150 years ago. Taiyu-inn was built in 1653 to worship the third Shugun Isemitsu. We will use an express train from Tokyo and the shuttle bus there.

Itinerary

This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!

08:30 AM

Meeting Point

At your hotel

- I will meet you near the reception. I will show your name on my iPad. I will contact you via WhatsApp, so please have your phone ready. We can find our phone numbers at the bottom of the itinerary two days before the tour date.

08:30 AM

8:30-9:00: Transportation to Kitasenju station

Transportation to Kitasenju station

09:30 AM

9:15-10:50: Transportation to Nikko

Transportation to Nikko: We will take an express train from Kitasenju station to Tobu Nikko station. I'll book our seats on the direct express trains to and from Nikko, so please reimburse me about 4,000 JPY per person.

11:00 AM

11:00-11:30: Transportation to Taiyu-In by a bus

We will buy a day pass and take a bus from Nikko station to Taiyu-in. (pass: 500 JPY per adult)

11:30 AM

11:30-12:30: Taiyu-in of Rinno-ji Temple

Taiyu-in of Rinno-ji Temple; It was built in 1653 to worship Iemitsu Tokugawa, who was the third Shogun. It looks like a shrine but currently belong to Rinno-ji Temple. It has many gates protected by the carvings of variety of demons. Admission: 550 JPY per adult

URL (Japanese): https://www.rinnoji.or.jp/history/temple/taiyuuin.html

12:30 PM

12:30-13:00: Lunch

Lunch; You can choose from Soba noodle, Tempura, and Yuba lunch. (about 1,500 JPY)

01:00 PM

13:00-13:30: The main hall of Rinno-ji Temple

The main hall of Rinno-ji Temple; Rinno-ji was the original Temple of Nikko established in766 with three large golden statues of Buddha; Senju-Kannon, Amida- Nyorai, and Batou-Kannon.

Admission: 400 JPY per adult

URL (Japanese): https://www.rinnoji.or.jp/history/temple/sanbutsudou.html

01:30 PM

13:30-14:30: Tosho-gu Shrine

Tosho-gu Shrine; The main shrine for Ieyasu Tokugawa, who started Edo Period about 400 years ago. It was first bult in 1617 and renovated by the third shogun Iemitsu in 1636.

Admission: 1,600 JPY per adult

URL (Japanese): https://www.toshogu.jp/shaden/index.html

03:00 PM

15:00-15:30: Shinkyo Bridge

Shinkyo Bridge; A traditional bridge built to explore Nikko in 8th century. (Admission optional: 300 JPY per adult)

04:20 PM

16:20-18:02: Transportation from Nikko to Tokyo

Transportation: We will take an express train to Shinjuku.

07:00 PM

At your hotel

Return to your hotel by public transportations

Ending Point

At your hotel

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

What‘s included

Guide fee

Hotel pick-up

What‘s not included

Transportation fee (about 7,500 JPY per adult for you and guide)

Lunch (about 1,500 JPY per person for you and the guide)

Entrance fees (JPY/adult): 2,500 (Rinno-Ji Temple: 400, Tosho-Gu Shrine: 1,600, Taiyu-inn: 500)

Tour Important Information

This tour does not cover Kegon waterfall, and Lake Chuzen-Ji. I can offer you a two-day tour to cover these places.

We use public transportation on this tour.

- The tour guide is not available on Monday.

- Please, send a direct message to the tour guide to confirm the availability before booking

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 2014

Yuki K.

4.80 / 5

(416 reviews)

Identity Verified

Interview-Based Quality Checks

About Tour Guide Yuki K.

I was born and grew up in Yokohama. I used to work in Tokyo for more than 20 years. I became the National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter in English in 2013. At first, I had attended a volunteer group which provided a tour of the Imperial Palace East Gardens until 2015. I guided more than fifty times in the garden as a volunteer and studied about Japanese history and culture. Based on this experience, I became a tour guide of this online site in 2015.

Since then, I have guided more than 500 tours in Tokyo as well as Yokohama, Kamakura, Hakone, Kyoto, Nikko, etc., while improving my tours. My tours are very flexible and I always do my best to customize them according to the interests of my guests. I studied about the places and will provide you knowledge to appreciate them deeper than just visiting there by yourself or a member of big group tours. I like foods and I know many restaurants which provide typical Japanese lunch with reasonable price without waiting too long. Therefore, I am sure that I can provide you the best tours customized to your interests. It will be my great pleasure to help you to enjoy your stay in Japan. So please be my guest!!

Reviews

Bryan S.

5 / 5

Apr 4, 2026

Kyoto Private Day Tour from Tokyo by Shinkansen with Hotel Pick-Up

Apr 4, 2026

Tokyo

13 hours

“Up and back to Kyoto ”

Yuki was excellent - very knowledgeable, easy to talk to and kept us moving and on time. We had a great time and would highly recommend this tour. Kyoto is beautiful!

Yuki K.

Dear Bryan, Thank you for your review. We visited Fushimi Shrine, Arashiyama, Tenryu-ji Temple, Bamboo Forest, and Golden Pavilion on my Golden Route course. We observed cherry blossoms in their full bloom in Kyoto. My deepest apologies for the inconvenience of our return trip. Thank you very much for taking my tour.

Nancy T.

5 / 5

Apr 3, 2026

Private Day Tour to Kawagoe – Edo-Era Temples & Nostalgic Streets with Local Food

Apr 3, 2026

Tokyo

8 hours

“A wonderful day with local gems”

We enjoyed our day trip to Kawagoe with Yuki K. He efficiently led us through the maze of metro and train stations to reach the correct train to Kawagoe. Once there, we enjoyed our visits to the Nakain Temple and the Kitain Temple, and along with the locals, admired the emerging cherry blossoms. Lunch at the soba restaurant was excellent, and wandering through the shopping streets located in the historic warehouse district was pleasant. Our visit to the festival museum was a highlight, since we arrived in time to enjoy a Hayashi performance. Yuki escorted us all the way back to our hotel, too, which we appreciated. He also shared some informative slides he’d prepared on the history of the development of Buddhism through the centuries. Thank you, Yuki! In reviewing the description of this tour from the GoWithGuide website, there were activities listed that were not included in the tour, and judging by our experience, we would not have had time to do anyway. Those included visiting the Kawagoe Castle and garden, and the Hikawa Shrine. These were also not included in the detailed itinerary of the day’s plan, so should be removed from the description.

Yuki K.

Dear Nancy, Thank you for your review. The tour page may be getting outdated now. I will update it. Thank you for taking my tour!

Daphna S.

5 / 5

Mar 30, 2026

Private Day Tour to Lake Kawaguchi – Scenic Highlights & Iconic Mt. Fuji Views (Weather Permitting)

Mar 30, 2026

Mount Fuji

10 hours 30 mins

“Perfect Mount Fuji Day with Yuki”

We had a wonderful day trip to Mount Fuji with Yuki! I did the tour with my 12-year-old son, and we both really enjoyed it. From the start, Yuki was in touch, shared a clear plan, and tailored it to us. Two days before, he even suggested moving the trip earlier due to the weather so we could actually see the mountain, and he was right! Yuki is knowledgeable, efficient, and easy to spend the day with. He also stayed flexible and adjusted things along the way based on what we wanted. Highly recommended!

Yuki K.

Dear Daphna, Thank you for your review. We were very lucky to see Mt. Fuji, most of it would be better than all of it. I have been worried about your tour due to the war at first, then due to the moving weather forecast. Thank you for the ride on the speedboat on the lake. I will recommend it to my future guests. Please give my best regards to your son. Yuki