Walking through old traditional streets in Niigata will bring you back in time where you will be able to feel the sense of the past times combined with modern.
Niigata is famous for its beautiful coastal and mountainous sceneries but Niigata prefecture is also well known for the brewing of "miso" "soy sauce" "sake" which have been carried out for centuries.
Day Trip from Toky Tour will start 8:00am at your hotel and take Shinkansen to Niigata prefecture where you spend half day.
At your hotel in Tokyo
The tour duration could be either 20 minutes or one hour depending on the day of your tour.
Enjoy sea food and vegetable Mini-Kaiseki dishes plus Soba noodle for lunch. Sake to match your lunch is a must.
At your hotel, or at JR Tokyo station
Taste traditional Japanese products, enjoy seafood and vegetable Mini-Kaiseki dishes plus Soba noodles and feel what it is like to live in a rural area on the Sea of Japan side, which is completely different from big cities on the Pacific Ocean side.
Learn the brewing process of top-quality Japanese sake from fermenting to bottling. Even a 20-minute brewery tour will give you a very good overview of the brewing process.
Meet Japan where traditions live hand-by-hand with modern times.
guide fee, hotel pick-up in Shinjuku/Shibuya area
・transportation fee (you and guide) --- If you have JR pass, then round trip transportation cost from Tokyo to Niigata prefecture on JR Shinakansen for you is nill. JR round trip tickets 18,000 yen per person is required.
Taxi cost for three ~four rides in the local area cost 6,000 yen
・lunch --- depending on your preference, several type of lunch can be arranged. My recommendation is to go for mini traditional multi-course Kaiseki lunch which costs 2,400 + per head. Sake to match your lunch is additional.
・sake and soy source tastings inside the breweries are free of charge.
・overtime guide fee $50 (or equivalent amount in JPY) per hour or $30 per 30 minutes if applicable.
・hotel pick-up fee $10 outside Shinjuku/Shibuya area
Born and raised in Niigata prefecture, visit my mother and sister who live in Niigata city every month from Tokyo. Niigata has lots of attractions for tourists, including Yahiko Shrine/suspension cable car ride to the top of Mt. Yahiko, Northern Culture Museum where you can see the richest farmer's residence and garden, sake breweries with free sake tasting, castle towns like Shibata city or Murakami city, winter ski resorts with four meters of snow, delicious local sea food from Sea of Japan or from Sado Island/ fruits and brown edamame. It takes only two hours by Shinkansen train to reach Niigata from Tokyo.
Niigata prefecture and Niigata city each has a population of 2.3 Million and 0.8 Million, good sizes but much smaller than Tokyo, the biggest city area in the world. By experiencing both Tokyo on the Pacific Ocean side and Niigata on the Sea of Japan side, you can taste both modern gigantic city life/culture and traditional city/rural life/culture in Japan.
In addition to Greater Tokyo Area where I live, I will be happy to be your guide in any cities/areas on the Sea of Japan side as well.
My tour destinations outside Greater Tokyo area include Niigata-city, Nagaoka -city, Itoigawa-city, Sado island, Nagano city, Snow Resorts in Niigata and Nagano mountain areas, Yamagata city, Tsuruoka city, Sakata city, Kanazawa city, Oono city, Echizen city, Tsuruga city, Fukui city, Gokayama and Shirakawago which are World Heritage sites famous for Gassho-zukuri and Kyoto/Nara.
Advance reservation is recommended to join sake brewery factory tour
If you have JR Passes, Shinkansen cost will be minimum. If you do not, it will cost 18,500 yen to purchase Shinkansen round trip ticket per person.
My wife and I spent our first two days in Tokyo with Takano Yoshi. Having lived in the US, India and other countries, Yoshi is sensitive to the intimidation of being a stranger in a strange land. Spending time with Yoshi is more than a tour, it is a cultural revelation, replete with insights and suggestions that will enrich your further travels in Japan and beyond. Yoshi's guidance enhanced our entire two-weeks in Japan. We will introduce Yoshi to everyone we know going to Japan and will re-engage him when we return. Takano Yoshi surpassed our expectations. Arigato gozaimasu Yoshi!!!
It is good to hear from you, John san. You must have returned safely to your residence in Virginia Beach by now. I enjoyed walking with and eating lunch with Kim san John san who can appreciate the real Japanese food such as Sushi and Japanese eels. Please visit Japan again during cherry blossom season.
Yoshi was an excellent host for our first day in Tokyo. He met us in the lobby of our hotel, showed us how to navigate the trains so we were comfortable the next few days on our own. He showed us some hidden gems in the fish market and picked out the most perfect piece of toro tuna for us. He shared great stories along our route. We enjoyed talking Michigan Football with him! Go Blue.
I enjoyed touring with Noah san and his family in Tokyo. Just as we both hoped for, Michigan defeated Alabama in Rose Bawl and will head for the Final against Washington next week. Go blue!
Yoshi was a fabulous guide, showing us all the must-see places in Tokyo. His English was fantastic. It was very helpful to have a local helping to answer all our questions and know where the best places to go were. Thanks Yoshi for showing us around your city, we can't thank you enough.
You must have returnd to your residence in Colorado by now. It has been my pleasure to introduce major attractions in Tokyo including good Japanese restaurant for lunch to you and your husband. Please come back to Japan again during cherry blossom season in Spring.
Yoshi-san is a fantastic tour guide - highly knowledgeable about Japan history and culture, kind and patient, well-traveled, fluent in English, and great sense of humor ! We highly recommend him. Go Blue !
I have had a very valuable time talking with Ted san and his wife Rose san on various topics on Japan as well as our university graduate student days in Michigan. In Kamakura I am happy to see that his son has found a beautiful partner in life and he has a new daughter in law. Please enjoy the rest of your stay in Japan. Go Blue!