Experience the most personalized guided tour in Nikko, where I will meet you at JR Utsunomiya station or Tobu Nikko station.
We'll take the bus to Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park. I will show you around both inside and in the garden. After the lunch break, we will go to Kanmangafuchi Gorge. Then we will walk to Toshogu Shrine and spend one and a half hours there. We will visit Rinnoji's Sanbutsudo Hall. On returning to Nikko station, we will stop at the Shinkyo Bridge.
JR Utsunomiya station
A wooden house of 106 rooms under one roof museum.
We don't have much time for lunch, so we will have lunch at a noodle restaurant or something similar.
Nearly 75 Buddhist statues line the Daiya River. We walk through a stone park and see the monument to the Taisho Emperor's poem. You can see a little waterfall and gorge there. Finally, you can see a monk's cemetery.
It is the most beautiful Shinto Shrine in the world, and here, you can learn the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism.
The main hall, Hondo, has three Buddhas. If you're lucky, you can see the monk performing the Goma fire ritual.
The vermillion-coloured bridge is the symbol of the entrance of Nikko.
We will arrive at the station area before 5 pm.
JR Utsunomiya station
This tour is the most valuable guided tour in Nikko. I will meet you at JR Utsunomiya station and we'll go to JR Nikko on the Nikko Line.
On the way to Nikko, you will be informed well enough about the area to understand the general history of Nikko.
After arriving at JR Nikko station, we'll take the bus to Shinkyo (sacred bridge), then we'll walk to Rinouji temple (Sambutsudo Hall) which is currently not worth paying the admission fee to look inside due to the renovations taking place.
Passing through Sambutsudo Hall we'll then head for the Toshogu shrine.
We can see the 5 story pagoda, stone torii, famous carving of three monkeys, sleeping cat, Karamon gate, the worship hall, and so on. Unfortunately Yomeimon gate is under also renovation so the gate will be covered up.
Then we'll go to Futarasan shrine and Taiyuin Mausoleum. We'll have a light lunch at Hayashiya noodle and rice bowl restaurant.
After lunch we walk to Kammangafuchi abbey where there are 100 stone images of Jizo which are covered by moss.
Finally we'll walk up the hill and reach Tamozawa Imperial villa memorial park. You can get a feeling of what the imperial family was like.
Then we'll take the bus to JR Nikko station and back to your destination via JR Utsunomiya. I will say goodbye to you there.
I strongly believe you will be satisfied with the contents of this tour. Hope you are good walkers!
8 hours guide fee
Transportation fee for the guide
JR train tickets Utsunomiya/Nikko round trip 1,540 yen
public transportation in Nikko 570 yen
Admission fees (Toshogu-shrine 1,600 yen, Rinnnoji Sanbutsudo hall 400 yen, Tamozawa Imperial Memorial Park 600 yen)
Lunch
If you want to enjoy Nikko, please think about staying Nikko or Utsunomiya, I will take you around the night tour if you stay in Utsunomiya.
We had a great time in Nikko with Jack. He gave us a lot of information and kept 3 teenage boys engaged. We have a wonderful soba lunch at a local restaurant. A good time was had by all.
Thank you for your compliments. I'm glad to hear that you had a good time with me in Nikko. It's getting hot even in Nikko. I hope I will be your guide again next time you come back to Nikko.
Jack met us at the train station and after purchasing tickets for Toshogu shrine at the station (to avoid lines at Toshogu), we boarded a bus to the Imperial Villa. After that, we walked to Kanmangafuchi (the gorge with the jizo bosatsu statues), Taiyuin, Futarasan and Toshogu Shrine. We also stopped by Sambutsudo, but there was a special event taking place there so we couldn’t go inside, but we could still see the Buddha statues from the outside. Jack provided the historical background of the places we visited, and noted many interesting features and facts about each location. He also took us to a nice noodle shop for lunch, where we got to taste yuba, a local tofu delicacy. It was a delightful day, and our group (including a couple from Germany) would not hesitate recommending Jack as your guide for this tour. Thank you, Jack, for the great service you gave us last week!
My family and I had a lovely day out with Jack exploring Okunikko, he navigated the hairpin roads with ease and we were able to see all the beautiful waterfalls and lake Chuzenji. Our tour of Toshogu Shrine was also very interesting and Jack gave us lots of facts about the temples and shrines at this site, which makes it more memorable than if we had gone on our own. Jack was also very accommodating when I requested for my family of 5 to have a tour, and he organised a larger car so we could enjoy the day together. I would recommend Jack to anyone who wants to visit Nikko! I only wish we could spend more time in this beautiful place.
Thank you so much for your comment. It was a lovely day and we enjoyed the day with you and your family. We saw a knocked down old lady and an almost upsidedown car around out car park, didn't we? Hope no one was critical condition! Enjoy rest of your trip. Jack
Jack, our guide was incredible, super informative and very nice!! highly recommend this trip.