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Day Trip

Let's enjoy Lake Biwa cruise and National Treasure Castle!

Day Trip

Shiga

English

7 hours

Private tour (only you and your group)

Up to 15 people

Hikone Castle is one of the five National Treasure castles. The castle is on the hilltop and you can see beautiful scenery of Lake Biwa and castle town. Beside the castle, there is a beautiful Japanese garden, named "Genkyu-en". If you like, you enjoy a cup of green tea with Japanese sweet. After lunch at the castle town, let's enjoy cruise to a small sacred island, Chikubu-jima. In the sacred island, there are a famous temple and a National Treasure shrine. I'm sure you like it!!

Yuriko S.

4.91 / 5

(34 reviews)

Meeting Point

At your hotel or Hikone Station

10:00 AM

Hikone Castle

Let's enjoy National Treasure castle and beautiful Japanese garden!

12:00 PM

enjoy lunch time at nostalgic castle town

You can choose your favorite Japanese food at many restaurants at nostalgic castle town.

02:00 PM

Hikone Port for Lake Biwa cruise

Let's enjoy cruising for 40 minutes to Chikubu-jima island.

02:40 PM

Chikubu-jima island

strolling around the sacred small island, you can see beautiful shrine and temple.

04:30 PM

return to Hikone Port

You can ride the shuttle bus from the port to Hikone Station

Ending Point

Hikone Station

What to Expect

You can enjoy National Treasure Castle and beautiful Japanese garden. In the castle, you see cute mascot, "Hiko-nyan". You also enjoy a cup of green tea and Japanese sweet in the beautiful garden.

After lunch and strolling the nostalgic castle town, you enjoy Lake Biwa cruising to the small island where has a shrine and a temple. I'm sure you will like it!!

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Inclusions & Exclusions

What‘s included

guide fee, hotel pick-up fee, transportation fee for guide

What‘s not included

transportation fee for you, lunch for you and guide, cruise fee and admission fee for you and guide

Important Information

I will guide you every day except for the day that my schedule is not vacant.

I'm a local guide of Gifu, Nagoya and Aichi, but I can guide you around Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kanazawa, Takayama and Shiga if you pay my transportation fee.

I also dress you kimono if you want.

admission fee for Hikone Castle and Japanese garden include cruise fee is 3300 yen per a person

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

Shiga Tour Reviews

Oleg K.

5 / 5

Dec 4, 2023

“ A Wonderful Day in Osaka ”

Yuriko is truly an exceptional guide for Osaka. Exceptionally knowledgeable, she is very accommodating to ensure a great day of sightseeing. Yuriko showed the best sights of the city, shared her wealth of knowledge while also taking some exceptional photographs along the way (she knows the best secret spots to do so). I enjoyed every moment with Yuriko as her personality and warmth are so rare. I truly recommend her to anyone who appreciates great quality and in-depth knowledge of history, architecture and authentic Japanese cuisine. At the end, Yuriko surprised me with a precious hand-made souvenir made by her family, which I will cherish for years to come - a truly priceless memory.

Yuriko S.

Thank you so much for kind words and excellent review!! Osaka is very big and busy city, but it has an interesting history. I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed Osaka Tour with me. In Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, we tried to lift one of three sacred stones with making a wish. I hope your wish will be fulfilled soon! I'm so glad you like my small homemade present. I will surely convey your kind words to my mother-in-law. Thank you, Oleg-san!!️

Oleg K.

5 / 5

Dec 4, 2023

“ Exceptional Kyoto ”

I truly enjoyed my full-day tour of Kyoto with Yuriko. She has impeccable encyclopedic knowledge of history and every sight in Kyoto, that is so rare and appreciated. She is absolutely flexible and accommodates every preference, goes the extra mile to ensure the most flawless experience - from a particular kimono styling to exquisite “hidden gem” dining along the way. I highly recommend Yuriko as one of the best guides I have ever met.

Yuriko S.

Thank you for your wonderful comments and excellent review!! You were always so gentle to me and tried to listen to me carefully. I also had a wonderful time with you both in Kyoto and Osaka. I was very impressed with your nice kimono style. What a precious time we had in Kyoto in kimono! There are lots of nice places to visit in Japan, such as Takayama and Shirakawa-go Village in Gifu (my home prefecture) Please come to Japan with your parents, again(^-^)/

Mohammad R.

5 / 5

Nov 24, 2023

“ Excellent service ”

It was a very good experience as Yuriko has excellent knowledge of Kyoto and historical aspects, and she has a remarkable attitude, very courteous , and professional

Yuriko S.

Thank you for giving me an excellent review and generous comments so quickly! I'm so happy to read your comments. I was impressed with your opinion about the tree survived atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Let's enjoy another two days in Hikome, Nagoya and Kanazawa️!️️(^-^)/

Claire A.

5 / 5

Nov 9, 2023

“ Fantastic two days with Yuriko-San! ”

Yuriko-San was our guide for 2 days in Gujo Hachiman and Seki. She was so kind and knowledgeable. We learned a lot of history and got some background info on everything we saw. A couple of highlights for us was the silk screen experience at Takara Showroom in Gujo Hachiman & taking pictures holding a sword at Cutler Sanshu in Seki. We would definitely request Yuriko-San as a guide and would request her again.

Yuriko S.

Claire san & Derek san, Thank you for your excellent review and nice comments!! I'm so happy to read it. I also had wonderful two days with you in Gujo-Hachiman and Seki City. You both are very cheerful and kind(I always laughed at Derek san's funny jokes(⌒0⌒) and felt happy to see Claire san's cheerful smile.) My home Prefecture, Gifu has other beautiful places, such as Takayama and Shirakawago. Please come to Gifu again and let's enjoy Gifu together!!(^-^)/ Your guide, Yuriko