This is a small-group taxi tour for cruise ship passengers anchored in Shimizu Port. Although several bus tours might be offered for them on the ship, some people still prefer flexibility of a small group. If you are traveling by land, a taxi can also pick you up in the Shizuoka City area.
Shimizu Port (or JR Shizuoka Station or your hotel in Shizuoka City)
Shimizu Port (or JR Shizuoka Station or your hotel in Shizuoka City)
・At Kunozan Toshogu Shrine, which has been designated as a "National Treasure", you can see the venerable buildings and amazing carvings on them, and the guide explains the history of the shrine.
・If the weather is fine, you can enjoy the magnificent view of Mt. Fuji from Nihondaira as well as from Miho Pine Grove. (But please do not hold high expectations for viewing Mt. Fuji because we can not see it well when the weather is bad.)
・We will ride a cable car to Kunozan Toshogu. From the window of the cable car, you can look down at the dynamic landscape of Mt. Kuno and the wonderful view of the Pacific Ocean.
・This region, Shizuoka, is famous for the production of green tea leaves. So, on the way to the Pine Grove, we make a brief stop at Nihondaira Ocha Kaikan, where you can enjoy a cup of local green tea beside the tea field.
Guide fee, tour guide's transportation fees.
Taxi fare. (We mainly use taxis for transportation. I'll contact you via text message with an approximate price.)
Admission fee for Kunozan Toshogu: 500 yen per person.
Cable car fare (round trip): 1,100 yen per person.
(The guests don't need to pay for the tour guide's tickets.)
Please refrain from resorting to the "direct booking." I hope you will book after we reach an agreement over the total price (including the taxi fare) through the exchange of text messages.
1. This tour has 4-guest maximum capacity. But, if you are a group of 5 or 6 and are interested in this itinerary, please contact me anyway and I will see if it's possible.
2. Kunozan Toshogu Shrine has a relatively large number of stone steps in its compound, which may be a little demanding. The facilities at either end of the cable car also have a lot of steps. So please tell me beforehand if that's going to be a problem.
3. Please refrain from resorting to the "direct booking." I hope you will book after we reach an agreement over the itinerary and the total price (including the taxi fare) through the exchange of text messages.
Not necessarily. If you are traveling by land, I can also pick you up (or drop you off) at JR Shizuoka Station or your hotel in Shizuoka City.
It seems to me that it completely depends on the person. Some people look exhausted while others say, "This is not that hard." To be precise, there are more than 100 stone steps in the shrine's precinct. They are not 100 consecutive steps but several sets of steps scattered around the precinct. And what should be noted is that you sometimes have to really step up to get to the next step. This particular layout of the steps may have come from the fact that a castle once stood there before Toshogu Shrine was constructed (Japanese castles were often designed so that intruders couldn't enter easily). I hope you will hold the railings and climb up the steps at your own pace.
Koji-san was a fantastic guide and went above and beyond for our party, providing a service that could only be described as fit for royalty! He is very knowledgeable, makes great conversation, and has a sparkling personality that makes him extremely likable and great to be around! My party would come back to Shimizu, honestly, if not just to take another tour with Koji-san! Thank you for all the effort, energy and passion you put into a fantastic day!!!
Dear sir, It is a great honor for me to receive such a wonderful review from you. Although I am fully aware that I am still at the lower-class servant stage as a tour guide, your kind words still give me encouragement toward the future. Well, it was unfortunate that, due to the rain, I couldn't show your party the figure of Mount Fuji. Let's hope that the weather will be fine the next time!
Koji was an excellent tour guide. He was particularly good with communication. Despite our time difference, we were able to exchange messages to plan an itinerary that we were satisfied with. He also went out of his way to check operation times to ensure that we had a smooth schedule. We didnt really feel rushed even though we did have a full schedule. And our driver was also really nice! I would definitely take a tour with Koji again and would recommend itto anyone visiting the area. I don't typically write reviews but I feel like Koji deserved it.
Dear Jaycie, Thank you very much for writing the good review! I know I still have a lot of room for improvement as a tour guide, but warm comments from people like you can get me to carry on through this difficult profession. Well, it seems to me that a tour starts not on the day of the actual tour but it really starts on the day when I receive the first message from a customer. In the case of private tours, each traveler has his or her unique expectation, and that is why a tour guide's "universal" approach toward a tour often does not work. In your case, you were kind enough to articulate what you expected, which was very helpful for me to prepare for the tour. I truly appreciate that. Please convey my regards to the other people of your group, and I hope you will revisit Shimizu in the future.
We had a wonderful tour. Koji was an excellent tour guide, and we had a most enjoyable day. Unfortunately, it was cloudy, so we did not see Mt Fuji. Nevertheless both Koji and his driver made sure that we had an enjoyable time, making sure that we saw all we wanted to see. Thank you for a lovely day.
Dear Susan, I am glad you seem to have arrived back at home safely. Many thanks for your kind review! I am relieved you could find some sort of pleasure in the tour despite the weather. The driver and I also enjoyed the time with you two. Please take care, and send our regards to Phil. Thank you very much.
Koji kept in constant touch with me once we agreed to hire him. The issue, of course, was the best time to see Mt Fuji. As it happened we had a most glorious day. We were a group of 5 with varying physical limitations. Koji adapted to and kept watch over us and was so very knowledgeable about what we were viewing I feel so very fortunate to have selected Koji as our guide. 5 stars +++
Dear Marylin, Many thanks for taking my tour yesterday and writing the generous and wonderful review! It was a great pleasure for me to guide you five through the Shimizu area. Well, I am sorry some of you, especially your husband, couldn’t see all of Kunozan Toshogu Shrine (mainly because of its daunting stone steps), but I wish they could find enjoyment, in some form or another, in the tour. Thank you very much, and please take care for the rest of your trip.