Hidden in Saitama Prefecture, Kawagoe, also known as Little Edo, still retains the atmosphere of ancient Japan during the Edo period. If you wish to escape from the bustling city of Tokyo, this Kawagoe private tour will not disappoint you. In this small peaceful town, there are many traditional Japanese shrines, temples and other amazing attractions, such as Kawagoe castle and the old warehouse district of Kurazukuri. Take a day trip outside of Tokyo and discover the historic Kawagoe.
Check out what we are going to do.
Feel free to personalize this offer.
At your hotel
I will pick you up at your hotel near the reception.
Take a train from Ikebukuro station to Kawagoe station and take a local bus there.
Enjoy strolling around this small, peaceful temple and be impressed with the spectacular architecture and traditional Japanese garden. Founded in 830 AD, by a Buddhist priest Jikaku Daishi, the temple relatively resembles those in Kyoto. In Spring, all the flowers, including Sakura will bloom together.
One of the most famous Buddhist temples in Kawagoe, attracting both locals and foreigners to visit. The over 500 mysterious Buddhist pupil statues, called Gohyaku Rakan, make this temple more amazing. Most of the buildings in this temple are part of the former Edo Castle, which is worth visiting. (Admission: 400 JPY per adult)
Please try Japanese noodles with crunchy tempura or BBQ eel, which are the most famous dishes of Kawagoe.
We will visit the spectacular Kawagoe Castle, which used to be a residence of Tokugawa’s allies, and witness amazing cultural estates, such as the tranquil traditional Japanese garden, tatami rooms, and paintings. (Closed on Mondays, Admission: 100 JPY per adult)
Enjoy walking around this lovely shrine with its relaxing atmosphere. This shrine is very famous for love and relationships. One of the highlights is that the shrine houses the largest wooden Torii gate in Japan, which was moved from the Meiji Shrine. (Admission free)
No visit to Kawagoe is complete without walking through this historic pedestrian street. In the Edo era, this street was the center of trade, thus there were many warehouses. Now, they became restaurants and souvenir shops. Visitors also can find rare Japanese sweets and desserts in Kashiya Yokocho Alley.
End of the tour
At your hotel
Travel back in time to the Edo era and witness the great and amazing historical and cultural legacies of ancient Japan. On this Kawagoe private tour, Yuki, our well-experienced tour guide, will take you to the must-visit places in Kawagoe city. With his knowledge about Japanese history, you will absolutely enjoy this Kawagoe tour.
In the morning, he will take you to Nakain Temple by the Koedo Loop Bus and then walk to Kitain Temple. By visiting these two temples, you can see the spectacular Japanese architecture and realize how much Buddhism really influenced Japan at that time. If you are coming on this tour in Spring, the area around the temples will be filled with blooming cherry blossoms and other kinds of beautiful flowers. After having lunch at a famous Soba restaurant, you will visit Kawagoe castle, where the feudal lords used to live in the Edo period. Here, you will be able to see a traditional Japanese garden and many different rooms inside the castle, including amazing paintings on the cedar doors and walls. Then you will visit Hikawa Shrine, a shrine for love and relationships. At the Hikawa Shrine, there are lots of activities to do, such as trying Japanese fortune-telling and making wishes by wooden prayer plates. To complete this Kawagoe tour perfectly, the tour guide will take you to Kurazukuri Street, where you can see the unique traditional architecture of the warehouses. Along this road, you will enjoy strolling around and visiting lots of local shops. Also located in the Kurazukuri area, you can walk to Kashiya Yokocho to find some traditional Japanese sweets and desserts.
Thus, this Kawagoe tour offers you a chance to learn more about these precious legacies during the Edo era, which you cannot find in Tokyo. Book this day trip today!
Tour guide fee and hotel pick-up service
On this Kawagoe private tour, the transportation fees, admission fee, and lunch costs of the visitor and tour guide are additional fees and as following:
- Transportation fee: approximately 2,000 yen per person
- Lunch: approximately 1,000-2,000 yen per person
- Admission fees: for Kitain temple, 400 yen for entering the special room in the former Edo Castle and for Kawagoe Castle, 100 yen.
- Kawagoe Castle, museums and some shops in Kurazukuri Street are closed on Monday.
- The tour guide is not available on Monday.
- Please, send a direct message to the tour guide for confirming the availability before booking
It is about 1500 JPY including the train from Tokyo and buses at Kawagoe
Most places are free to enter.
It is optional but the entrance fee of both special room in Edo castle and 500 statues of Rakan in Kitain temple is 400 JPY and that of Kawagoe castle is 100 JPY.
Thankyou for your splendid tour Yuki. It was an enjoyable expierence and you are well versed in escapism.
Dear Bradley, Thank you for giving me the remark with many stars. I hope this virtual tour will help you when you come to Japan in the future. Best regards, Yuki
We are so grateful for two amazing days in Tokyo. We saw SO MUCH that we could not have managed by ourselves especially with the complicated subways! Yuki took us to so amazing spots that we could not have known about or seen so quickly in two days.
Dear Debbie, Thank you for taking my tour. I am very happy if you enjoyed it. Please give my best regards to Dave, too. Yuki
An awesome day in Kyoto followed by some Tokyo highlights .. Yuki was an awesome guide - very knowledgeable, knew the best restaurants, public transport system, Japanese history and culture .. we enjoyed an awesome 2 days with him :) Thanks !
Dear Andrew, Thank you for taking my tours. I was very much upset when I found that we were waiting at different places. But we met just before the departure of the Shinkansen and saw Mt. Fuji from the window of the train. We delayed for the tea ceremony in Kyoto, but you made it through and arrived Kinkaku-Ji temple before the sun set. It was a memorable tour for me, too. Please give my best regards to your family. Yuki
We had an excellent day with Yuki. He was very well organised and prepared a very nice full day itinerary for our family. He organised Passmo travel passes for us all and navigated us around the Tokyo metro and rail network with ease. We visited Meiji Shrine, Imperial Palace Gardens and Senso-Ji temple. As a special treat for our girls (8 and 10 yo) he took us to a Owl cafe where we could have a hot coffee and the girls could get up close to owls, lizards, meerkats, chinchillas, hedgehogs and other animals. We also went to a Udon noodle restaurant for lunch - once again an excellent choice from Yuki. We had a great day and learned a lot at the same time as Yuki was very knowledgeable on everywhere we visited. Thank you Yuki - we really enjoyed our time with you today.
Dear John, Thank you for taking my tour of Tokyo. Everything went well and I was very happy to see you enjoy the places I took you. Please have a nice vocation in Japan. Yuki