Joined 2019
William P.
Available Areas
Takayama, Shirakawago
Languages
English
Response Time
3 hours on average
Availability Updated
Today
Tour Categories
About Tour Guide William P.
I was born and raised in the USA, but have lived and worked in Japan for more than half my life. I am a naturalized citizen, and have made my home in Hida Takayama for more than fifteen years now.
Pairing the knowledge of a local with the perspective of an outsider, my tours focus on places and insights that nobody else will show you.
Feel free to contact me for custom tours at any time of the year. In addition to standard walking tours, I do night-time, food and sake-tasting tours.
Tours
All tours can be customized for you. Send me a message with your requests!
Multi-Brewery Sake Tasting Tour
Your guide, an experienced brewery worker, will introduce you to sake, and help you to discover the varieties that you like best. A complete explanation of the production process and the various flavor elements will help you to understand what you are tasting. Starting with some standard varieties, we will guide you toward the kinds that you will enjoy the most. There are seven sake breweries to visit, but the full circuit is not for the faint of heart.
Full Day Private Tour of Takayama
You will learn the history of this old castle town as you walk through the streets, observing the architecture and enjoying the scenery. You can go inside some Edo period buildings, and sample food and drink along the way. There is more to see than we can cover in one day, so we will tailor the itinerary to your interests.
Night-time Tour of Takayama
At night when the shops have closed is the perfect time to tell some classic Japanese ghost stories and local legends. The second half of the tour will introduce you to some places to eat and drink, and even enjoy some games. Having introduced you to some cozy watering holes, we will leave you to enjoy the rest of your evening.
Private Walking Tour of Downtown Takayama
You learn the history of this old castle town as you walk through the streets, observing the architecture and enjoying the scenery. We can go inside some Edo period buildings, and sample food and drink along the way.
Reviews
“Sake Tour at Takayama ”
William is attentive and knowledgeable. The tour was well curated and smooth. He was quick to pick up our preferences and chose good sakes for us to enjoy. He was accommodating and attentive and leniently answered my curious daughter’s questions.
“Knowledgeable, flexible plus very nice to travel with.”
We very much appreciated William. Like traveling with a good friend with a wonderful knowledge of Takayama and surrounding areas. The plans was to see the twice yearly festival, but weather kept inferrring - William redirected us to lots more activities as a partial replacement plus found some places where we could see floats in their respective “garages” plus more. Also great communicator and found interesting restaurants for us.
“Unique experience ”
A unique example of professionalism combined with a warm personality, an American that fall in love with the Japanese tradition and culture, transferred himself many years ago to this wonderful part of the country and created here his family. He speaks like a japani and feels like a japani , he can be a title for a nice “ American Hollywood “ film. We were lucky to meet this guy to guide us through the streets of Takayama.
