🚘 Nikko day trip — Toshogu shrine and Lake Chuzenji
Tokyo → Toshogu Shrine → Irohazaka pass → Kegon Falls → Lake Chuzenji → Tokyo
Visit: Nikko Area
Duration: 8 to 10 hours (approx.)
Lunch: Not Included
Language: English/Japanese/Chinese/Portuguese/Spanish/Dutch/Nepalese
Nikko is two and a half hours from Tokyo, and its best part — Lake Chuzenji above the Irohazaka switchbacks — is served by very sparse buses. Only a private car fits both Toshogu shrine and the lake into one day. Late October, when the pass turns red, is the busiest week of the year: book early.
- hours
- 10
- per car
- ¥90,860
About this Tour
The abundance of culture, history and nature has earned Nikko a UNESCO World Heritage designation. Famed for its fall foliage, the scenery is spectacular in any season. The area’s wonderful natural scenery has a long history of drawing Buddhist and Shinto practitioners, and it is also the final resting place for Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan.When you visit Nikko, you can't miss Nikko Toshogu Shrine and Kemangafuchi, which you may not be able to stop by on other tours.
You can also feel the charm of nature at the overwhelmingly powerful Kegon Water Falls. There are many local cuisines you can enjoy such as yuba(tofu skin), Rainbow trout, etc...
🕖 Departure: 8:00 am🕔 Tour ends: 6:00 pm
🕐 The day, hour by hour
07:30Hotel pickup
Tokyo hotel
09:30Visit1.5 hours
Toshogu Shrine
11:15Photo stop20′
Shinkyo Bridge
12:00Lunch (your pick)1 hours
Nikko yuba lunch
13:15Visit45′
Kegon Falls
14:15Photo stop1 hours
Lake Chuzenji · Irohazaka pass
15:30Drive back to Tokyo
Back to Tokyo
17:30Hotel drop-off
Hotel
📍 Itinerary idea
Pick-up at Your Hotel
Nikko Tosho-gu
1.5 hours
Toshogu Shrine is a magnificent memorial to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, which ruled Japan for over 250 years until 1868. Ieyasu is enshrined at Toshogu as the deity Tosho Daigongen, "Great Deity of the East Shining Light". Initially a relatively simple mausoleum, Toshogu was enlarged into the spectacular complex seen today by Ieyasu's grandson Iemitsu during the first half of the 17th century. The lavishly decorated shrine complex consists of more than a dozen buildings set in a beautiful forest. Countless wood carvings and large amounts of gold leaf were used to decorate the buildings in a way not seen elsewhere in Japan, where simplicity has been traditionally stressed in shrine architecture. *Admission Ticket Not Included
Nikko Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park40 minutes
Tamozawa Imperial Villa blends traditional Edo and early modern Meiji Period architecture throughout its 106 rooms. The villa was erected in Nikko in 1899, using parts of a residence that originally stood in Tokyo. Before being moved to Nikko, the building served initially as the Tokyo residence of a branch of the Tokugawa family and was later temporarily used as the Imperial Palace. In Nikko, it was enlarged into a summer residence and retreat for the Imperial Family, but suffered neglect after World War II. In the year 2000, the villa was opened to the public after extensive renovation works. *Admission Ticket Not Included
Akechidaira Observation Area30 minutes
Akechidaira Plateau is located near the top of the ascending Irohazaka Winding Road. At the plateau, there is a parking lot with a free observation area that offers nice views onto the Irohazaka and the valley below. During autumn, this becomes a popular autumn color spot as fall colors spread across the landscape. *Admission Ticket Not Included
Lake Chuzenji30 minutes Admission Ticket Free
About 20,000 years ago, an eruption of Mt. Nantai created Lake Chuzenji at its foot. At an altitude of 1,269 meters, Chuzenji is Japan’s highest natural lake, with a 25-kilometer hiking trail along its perimeter. During the 19th and 20th centuries it was a popular summer resort for villas owned by foreigners and embassies. The landscape includes blooming azaleas in early summer and bright foliage in autumn.
Kegon Falls30 minutes
The almost 100 meter tall Kegon Waterfall is the most famous of Nikko's many beautiful waterfalls. In fact, it is even ranked as one of Japan's three most beautiful falls, along with Nachi Waterfall in Wakayama Prefecture and Fukuroda Waterfall in Ibaraki Prefecture. *Admission Ticket Not Included
Drop-off at Your Hotel
Chauffeur / English Speaker Guide
Our chauffeurs go through a rigorous selection process, and extensively trained on driving skills, Tokyo geography and history. They are energetic and passionate about their jobs, friendly and eager to please our customers. They are ready to go above and beyond to make your trip memorable and worthwhile, and often have a special (and pleasant) surprise for you and your guest. When you think about it, they are much more than a driver/tour guide. They are your personal concierge. Please join one of our tours, and we guarantee to deliver the best experience.
Our Services
- 💧 Bottled water
- 💧 Tour guide in English
- 💧 Taking photos service
- 💧 Snacks
*Anniversary gift service
* Please request * items when you reserve this tour.
Additional Info
- • Pick-up and drop-off locations are in Tokyo’s 23 wards, Mitaka City or Musashino City.
- • This tour will have a maximum of 9 passengers.
- • Advance reservations can be made a minimum of 24 hours before departure.
- • This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
- • Your chauffeur may not be able to accompany you and your party to certain locations when a parking for a vehicle is not readily available on site. In such situation, your chauffeur may choose to provide you with relevant information about sites inside a vehicle, and answer any questions you may have prior to your excursion on your own.
- • The price on the Tours don’t include entrance fees and meals.
- • The Tours are subject to extra charge (usually 20% of the base price) in case of early morning and late night departure and/or arrival.
- • Some tours may not be available on requested dates due to holiday schedule or a scheduled closure of business.
- • We reserve the right to assign a type of vehicle (Sedan, Minivan or Van) most suitable for your trip, based on the size of your party.
- • Not wheelchair accessible.
- • Most travelers can participate.
- • Our tour images are for illustrative purposes only.
- • The following fees will apply to the cancellation.
- • We will charge a cancellation fee of 100% if booking is canceled 1 day or less before the event
- • We will charge a cancellation fee of 50% if booking is canceled 2 days or less before the event
- • Please enable javascript in your browser to book
The price includes
A private vehicle for the whole day · driver · fuel · hotel pickup
⚠ Price covers car, driver and fuel. It does NOT include a guide, entry tickets, expressway tolls or parking.
🗓 All private tours must be booked at least 7 days ahead.
Up to 6 guests per vehicle — beyond that we add a second car.
- • How does booking work — is it instant?
- It is not an instant-confirm button. You send a request at the bottom of this page and we reply with a written quote: the final price, exactly what it covers, and the cancellation terms for that specific trip. The booking exists only once you accept that quote. Slower than a Book Now button, but nothing gets sold to you that is not actually available.
- • Will we be grouped with other travellers?
- No. Every tour in these two sections is private: your party only, your own vehicle, your own host. No sharing, no waiting on strangers.
- • Where does pickup and drop-off happen?
- Pickup and drop-off at your hotel inside the central area of the city named on the tour, included in the price. Outside that area we can still collect you — the surcharge is written into the quote, never added when you get in the car.
- • Can the itinerary be changed?
- Yes. The hour-by-hour schedule above is the version that works best, not a fixed mould. More driving time, a different meal, an extra night, or dropping a leg — write it in your request; the price moves with it and the change is spelled out in the quote.
- • What languages does the team speak?
- Put the language you want in your request. The quote tells you whether someone who speaks it is free ON YOUR DATE — we do not promise a language and then tell you on the day that nobody is available.
- • When and how do we pay?
- You pay nothing before you have read and accepted the quote. Payment method, payment dates and which part needs a deposit to hold a third-party booking are all written into that quote. Nothing appears afterwards.
- • How far ahead should we book?
- The earlier the surer. Helicopters, ryokan rooms, supercars and tables at small restaurants all have very few slots a day — money does not conjure one up. Ask anyway if your dates are close: if it is open we will take it, and if it is not we will say so plainly.
Cancellation and date changes
The cancellation terms for your trip are written into your quote, and you read them BEFORE you pay anything.
We do not post one blanket rule like "cancel X days ahead for Y% back" across this section, because every trip holds different bookings: an aircraft charter, a ryokan room, a supercar, a table with a handful of seats. Each supplier has its own terms and most are paid up front. One shared number reads tidily and would be the wrong number on most trips.
The rule we hold to: anything not yet paid out to a supplier can be cancelled, and anything already paid that the supplier will not refund we call non-refundable out loud — at quote time, not at the moment you ask to cancel. If you want a different date, ask before cancelling: moving a booking usually costs far less than dropping it.
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