This is a small-group taxi tour for cruise ship passengers anchored in Shimizu Port. Although several bus tours might be offered for them on the ship, some people still prefer flexibility of a small group. If you are traveling by land, a taxi can also pick you up in the Shizuoka City area.
Shimizu Port (or JR Shizuoka Station or your hotel in Shizuoka City)
Shimizu Port (or JR Shizuoka Station or your hotel in Shizuoka City)
・At Kunozan Toshogu Shrine, which has been designated as a "National Treasure", you can see the venerable buildings and amazing carvings on them, and the guide explains the history of the shrine.
・If the weather is fine, you can enjoy the magnificent view of Mt. Fuji from Nihondaira as well as from Miho Pine Grove. (But please do not hold high expectations for viewing Mt. Fuji because we can not see it well when the weather is bad.)
・We will ride a cable car to Kunozan Toshogu. From the window of the cable car, you can look down at the dynamic landscape of Mt. Kuno and the wonderful view of the Pacific Ocean.
・This region, Shizuoka, is famous for the production of green tea leaves. So, on the way to the Pine Grove, we make a brief stop at Nihondaira Ocha Kaikan, where you can enjoy a cup of local green tea beside the tea field.
Guide fee, tour guide's transportation fees.
Taxi fare. (We mainly use taxis for transportation. I'll contact you via text message with an approximate price.)
Admission fee for Kunozan Toshogu: 500 yen per person.
Cable car fare (round trip): 1,100 yen per person.
(The guests don't need to pay for the tour guide's tickets.)
Please refrain from resorting to the "direct booking." I hope you will book after we reach an agreement over the total price (including the taxi fare) through the exchange of text messages.
1. This tour has 4-guest maximum capacity. But, if you are a group of 5 or 6 and are interested in this itinerary, please contact me anyway and I will see if it's possible.
2. Kunozan Toshogu Shrine has a relatively large number of stone steps in its compound, which may be a little demanding. The facilities at either end of the cable car also have a lot of steps. So please tell me beforehand if that's going to be a problem.
3. Please refrain from resorting to the "direct booking." I hope you will book after we reach an agreement over the itinerary and the total price (including the taxi fare) through the exchange of text messages.
Not necessarily. If you are traveling by land, I can also pick you up (or drop you off) at JR Shizuoka Station or your hotel in Shizuoka City.
It seems to me that it completely depends on the person. Some people look exhausted while others say, "This is not that hard." To be precise, there are more than 100 stone steps in the shrine's precinct. They are not 100 consecutive steps but several sets of steps scattered around the precinct. And what should be noted is that you sometimes have to really step up to get to the next step. This particular layout of the steps may have come from the fact that a castle once stood there before Toshogu Shrine was constructed (Japanese castles were often designed so that intruders couldn't enter easily). I hope you will hold the railings and climb up the steps at your own pace.
Thank you for taking me on the Ukiyo-e Tour of Kanbara, Yui and up Satta Toge. I was especially pleased we saw Fuji-san clearly. I appreciated your guiding style. I found you organised, considerate and knowledgeable. I enjoyed the experience and your company. The tour is a highlight of my 3 week vacation in Japan. I would recommend it to people with an interest in the Edo period and Hiroshige's "53 Stations on the Tokaido" ukiyo-e.
Dear Neville-san, Many thanks for your warm comment! I also thank you for telling me a lot of interesting things during the tour. I thought that your idea of following Hiroshige's footsteps though the small towns of Yui and Kanbara was very interesting, and it actually rekindled my interest in the historical Tokaido Road. Well, of the 53 shuku (old post stations), you have visited two so far. How about exploring other interesting shuku sites next time? I will continue to study, and by the time you revisit Japan, I should be ready.
very accommodating and understanding. knowledgeable and well organized. easy to get along with. highly recommend.
Dear Larry, Many thanks for your review! It was good that the weather was fine, and I also enjoyed the time with you two. Please take care, and send my regard to cheryl. Thank you very much!
Koji was very knowledgeable on the area. He arranged a private driver for us which was very reasonable . He was prompt, courteous and flexible to our needs. He answered all our questions with more than expected . The time together went very quickly. I would highly recommend him and when I return will use him again.
Dear Rosanne, What an honor to me to receive such a good comment from you! It was a joy for us to welcome you two in this best season of the year. I hope that you can go back to your home country safe and sound and look forward to seeing you again.
We had a great day with Koji and Tetsu. Koji was extremely well organized and ensured that we saw a number of beautiful sites in the area. Tetsu is an excellent driver, communicated well with us and contributed greatly to our very positive day. Koji speaks very good English, had many relevant and important pieces of information and history to share with us and willingly answered all of our questions. He had a microphone in the van which was extremely helpful and appreciated. Our day was made more special by Mt.Fuji appearing and staying in clear view all day! Thank you Koji and Tetsu for giving us such a wonderful day and for ensuring that Mt.Fuji was so visible.????
Dear Marc, Many thanks for taking my tour today and writing the wonderful review! We also enjoyed spending time with you four. Thank you for asking us a lot of questions and giving us your feedback about the places you visited in Japan. Please enjoy the visit to Tokyo tomorrow. (I will convey your words to Tetsu the driver. He'll be glad.)