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Offered languages
- Japanese
- English
- French
A fully private day from Tokyo to Nikko: your own fluent English-speaking guide, your own car, and nobody else on board. Your guide collects you at your hotel in the morning, walks every shrine and waterfall with you, and drives you back in the evening.
The day as we plan it: Nikko Toshogu, from the five-storey pagoda to the Sleeping Cat; the red Shinkyo Bridge; the riverside path of Kanmangafuchi; the hairpin bends of the Irohazaka road up to Lake Chuzenji, with lunch by the lake; Kegon Falls; then Ryuzu Falls and an optional hot spring. Back in Tokyo around 18:30 to 19:00.
The Tamozawa Imperial Villa can be added if the day allows.
The public baths we use do not accept tattoos; a private bath can be arranged instead. Lunch, entry tickets and the onsen are paid on the day. Pickup and drop-off at any hotel in Tokyo's 23 wards. The tour is private: only your party, your guide and the car.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
We will pick you up at any hotel, Airbnb or train station within Tokyo's 23 wards. Upon booking, please include your pick-up location in the "Special Requirements" section. There may be an additional surcharge for pick-up at other sites.
Itinerary
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1Nikko Tosho-gu
The shrine of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the shogunate that ruled Japan for 250 years, set in the cedars above Nikko. Your guide walks you from the five-storey pagoda through the Yomeimon gate, past the Three Wise Monkeys, to the Sleeping Cat and the tomb above.
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
2Shinkyo Bridge
The red sacred bridge over the Daiya River, the entrance to Nikko's sacred mountains, once reserved for imperial envoys. Best in the morning light, and in autumn when the leaves turn.
15 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
3Nikko Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park
Optional. The Tamozawa Imperial Villa, summer residence of the Imperial Family from 1899: 106 rooms in Edo and Meiji styles, and a quiet garden. Tell us when you book if you would like to add it.
10 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
4Kanmangafuchi Abyss
A quiet riverside path beside a gorge cut through old lava from Mount Nantai, lined with some seventy stone Jizo statues in red caps, the 'Bake Jizo'.
20 minutes • Admission ticket free -
5Irohazaka Route
The mountain road from Nikko up to Lake Chuzenji, 1,269 m: twenty hairpin bends on the way up and twenty-eight on the way down, one for each letter of the old Japanese alphabet. Spectacular in autumn colour. In snow or ice your guide takes another route.
20 minutes • Admission ticket free -
6Lake Chuzenji
Lunch by the lake, 1,269 m up, below Mount Nantai. Your guide suggests a place; yuba, the local tofu skin, is the dish to try. Paid on the day.
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
7Kegon Falls
The 97-metre fall where Lake Chuzenji pours into the gorge. A lift takes you down to the viewing platform at its foot, close to the spray. The lift ticket is paid on the day.
30 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
8Ryuzu Waterfall
A long cascade, some 210 metres, that splits in two around a rock before it reaches the river, like the head of a dragon. A small tea house sits beside the lower fall.
30 minutes • Admission ticket free -
9Nikko Yumoto Onsen
Optional. A hot spring before the drive back to Tokyo. The public baths we use do not accept tattoos; a private bath can be arranged instead, tell us when you book. Bathing is without swimwear, separated by gender in the public baths. Onsen entry is paid on the day.
10 minutes • Admission ticket not included
Additional info
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Wheelchair accessible
Additional info
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
Rating
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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