On the first day, we will take Shinkansen and JR express from Tokyo to Takayama, where we will visit a shopping street with many traditional houses and stay at a hotel. On the second day, we will take a half day bus tour for foreigners to Shirakawa-Go which is a famous world heritage where many Gasho style houses are maintained as a village. My guiding fee doesn't include the transportation and lodging costs of you and the guide; about 40,000 JPY per adult.
At your hotel lobby
I will pick you up at your hotel near the reception. (The pick-up time depends on where you stay.)
We will take the bullet train from Tokyo at 8:50AM to Nagoya. I will book our train with the seats on the Mt. Fuji view side so please pay me 27,000 JPY per adult for our round trip (you and the guide) in cash. If you want to buy our tickets at the ticket office with your credit card, we won't get good seats together as the bullet trains are busy with business trips in the morning.
We will take a local express train at Nagoya. You can enjoy the view of the Kiso river while eating your lunch on the train. (Lunch Box about 1,000 JPY)
Hotel check-in; We will check-in our hotel near Takayama station to leave our luggage.
Takayama; Takayama used to be an important checkpoint in the Edo period and many traditional houses are restored as shops of the local products. We will stay in this area for about 4 hours, visiting Takayama Festival Float Museum (optional: 900 JPY) and Takayama Jinya Checkpoint (optional: 430 JPY).
Dinner ; You must taste Hida Beef! (from 2,000 JPY)
Shirakawa-Go is a famous world heritage where many Gasho style houses are maintained as a village. You can freely walk around there for 1.5 hours. (4,500/4,000 JPY per adult/child)
Lunch; We will have Takayama Ramen or Hida Noodle. (about 1,000 JPY)
We will take a local express train to Toyama. You can enjoy the view along the Kiso river with snacks and drinks.
At Toyama station, we will change trains to take the Shinkansen to Tokyo.
End of the tour (The ending time depends on where you stay.)
AT your hotel
Guide fee
Hotel pick-up at your hotel in Tokyo
The following costs per adult in JPY of you and the guide: 1. Transportation fee (about 27,000 per adult) 2. Lunch (from 1,000) 3. Dinner (from 2,000 without a drink) 4. Bus tour ticket (4,500/4,000 per adult/child) 5. Entrance fee (see each fee at the highlights) 6. Hotel room charge (from 9,000)
My guiding fee doesn't include the transportation and lodging costs of you and the guide; about 40,000 JPY per adult.
You can't use the JR pass for this tour as I can't book all your trains with me at least one week before the tour.
I will book the same hotel for you and me near to Takayama station.
You can't take this tour to visit Takayama festivals in spring and autumn as it will be too crowded and difficult to book a hotel.
There is little restriction due to COVID 19 in 2023. I was vaccinated six times with the Pfizer one.
“Yuki was the best guide for our trip to Kyoto”
I can’t say enough about Yuki! He was so organized from the beginning conversation to the end of the tour. He was knowledgeable and kept us on schedule. He showed us his Miyabi Tour of Kyoto that we chose. His I knowledge on the history, customs and Japanese culture was outstanding. You cant make a better decision than to hire Yuki for your tour. We loved Yuki and we are so happy we met him and were able to spend the day with him.
Yuki K.
(361 reviews)Dear Kimberly Thank you for writing the review of my tour. We visited Fushimi Shrine, Sanjusangen-do Temple, Kiyomizu Temple and Gion area. It was the day before the main festival of Gion and we enjoyed to see Yasaka Shrine and Yomahoko float for the main festival. Thank you for taking my tour. Yuki
“ A Rainy Day Made Better”
If you're interesting in visiting historical sites and learning about Japanese culture, Yuki is the guide for you! While it rained must of our day in Tokyo, it did not make it any less exciting, fun, and interesting. Yuki added color to every place that we went to. He taught us how to use the subway, how to read our fortunes, and how to properly enter and exit shrines. This you cannot learn just by reading signs. This is what I believe is important in respecting and appreciating the Japanese culture. He has an iPad with information on each location which provided an additional knowledge and fun facts. He is very kind, friendly, and welcoming. He only provides tours around 3 times a week, so do not wait to book him! We cannot recommend him enough. Thank you Yuki for sharing your day with us. We are so grateful and can only hope our paths cross again. - Alisa
Yuki K.
(361 reviews)Dear Alisa Thank you for your review. It was a rainy day but we took the advantage by visiting less crowded quiet gardens. There are lotus and Iris flowers blooming even better under the rainy weather. Thank you for taking my Tokyo tour. Yuki
“Yuki was wonderful!”
We had such a great trip today with Yuki. He was knowledgeable and so helpful getting us around. He was patient with our two kids (ages 9 and 12) and set up a perfect day. He was on time and the day was perfectly planned. Thank you!!
Yuki K.
(361 reviews)Dear Meghan Thank you very much for wring the review of my Hakone tour on the same day. It was cloudy but Mt. Fuji appeared at the last minutes. It was unfortunate that the Shinkansen had a big trouble on our return trip to Tokyo so that we changed our plan to take a local train instead. Thank you again for taking my tour. Yuki