This tour offers you an opportunity to appreciate incredible artisanship in majestic nature, which is a very unique experience to Nikko. We will visit Toshogu Shrine, Rinnoji Temple, and Taiyuin to observe the magnificent architecture and marvelous sculptures. We will open our imagination to the Edo Period and speculate on what Shogun's legacy means to our present day.
Your hotel in Tokyo or Nikko
We will take a local bus from Tobu Nikko Station.
At one of the restaurants close to Shinkyo (the red bridge), we will enjoy early lunch because there is practically no place to eat in the shrine/temple area.
This is a quaint, cute little bridge in traditional style. Many tourists take photos of the bridge. It has an interesting legend.
The Magnificent memorial to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate (the Edo Period). Admission fee: 1,600 yen.
The mausoleum of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the 3rd Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate and a grandson of Ieyasu. You can tell how much he respected and admired his grandfather by its similarities with Toshogu.
The most important temple in Nikko. You can enjoy its beautiful Japanese garden, Shoyoen. Admission fee: 500 yen.
After seeing the shrines and temple, we can either take a bus or walk for about 20 minutes to the station. There are many sweet shops and souvenir shops on the street.
We will take limited Express train back to Tokyo. I will navigate your way to your hotel so that you can take a nap on the train!
Your hotel
We will take a bus from Nikko Station to Kegon Falls/Lake Chuzenji (the falls and the lake are close). After having a local lunch near the lake, we will take a bus again to the Temple/Shrines area. We will visit Toshogu Shrine and Rinnoji Temple. From the temple, Nikko Station is less than 30-minute walk, so I recommend we take a stroll to the station, enjoying local sweets, if you like.
Guide fee, hotel pick-up, and the guide's transportation fees to/from home.
Transportation fees for you and the guide between your hotel and Nikko and during the tour (about 7,000-8,000 yen/person), lunch for you and the guide (1,000-2,000 yen/person), your admission fees (1,600 yen per person for Toshogu Shrine and 500 yen for Shoyoen Garden; admission for a licensed guide is free).
1) I will customize the tour according to your needs and preference. I can make the tour shorter by skipping one or two sightseeing spots. In that case, I'll lower the price. Please let me know by message before booking the tour.
2) Usually it is about 5 minutes by bus from Tobu Nikko Station to Shinkyo. But on holidays and weekends, and during October/November, the traffic in Nikko is very heavy, and it can take more than half an hour. I recommend you choose a weekday for Nikko.
3) We will walk a lot, so please wear comfortable shoes for walking.
4) You can't avoid stairs. Threre is a long and steep stairway in Toshogu, before the grave of Ieyasu.
5) You have to take off your shoes when you enter the main building at Toshogu Shrine.
6) It is colder in Nikko than in Tokyo. Please be prepared.
Junko was a very friendly, knowledgeable and very organized tour guide. Junko personalized our tour exactly how we wanted it. We loved our tour and highly recommend Junko!! She was wonderful!! Thank you Junko for an unforgettable tour of Nikko!!
Thank you so much, Sandra!! I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed our tour. You and your friend were so nice and I wanted to spend more time with you! I hope you will have a great time for the rest of your stay in Japan. See you again!!
Our day with Junko in Tokyo was one that we will never forget! She took us to some amazing sites, showed us how to use the daunting subway system and was fantastic company throughout the entire day. Could not recommend her highly enough! For us, it was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.
Thank you so much, Noelene!! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed our tour because I enjoyed it so much myself! You and your family are such nice people, and I was impressed especially with your sons. I hope to see you again next time you come to Japan.