All Reviews for Japan Autumn Tours 2024

I participated with my foreign husband. Since the explanation was in English, he enjoyed it as well.

I heard that there was no snow until the day before, but fortunately, there was snow on the roofs on the day of the tour. Shirakawa-go is a popular tourist destination, but there were many highlights, such as entering the houses and enjoying the view from the observation deck. Gokayama is smaller, but it was nice to see a village where people actually live and to compare it with Shirakawa-go.

Regarding lunch, there were many dishes, but most of them were cold. After being outside for about three hours, it was tough on our chilled bodies. Also, the portion size felt small, about the size of a woman's fist. The seasoning of the main meat dish was quite strong, and since there were many cold dishes, I wanted a second helping, but I was told that would incur an additional charge, so I decided against it. I was a bit disappointed.

As for the final rice cracker-making experience, it ended quite quickly. Honestly, there was quite a bit of time until the bus departure after that.

Overall, I’m really glad I went. Thank you!

外国人の夫と参加しました。英語で説明して頂いたので夫も楽しんでいました。
前日まで雪が全くなかったそうですが、ツアーの当日は運良く屋根の上にも積もっていました。
白川郷は観光地化していますがお家の中に入ったり展望台から景色を見たりと見所がたくさんありました。五箇山はこじんまりしていますが、実際に住んでいる方がいる村を見ることができたこと・白川郷との比較ができたのでよかっです。
1点お昼ご飯について、品数は多いですが冷たいものがほとんどでした。3時間くらい外を回って冷えた身体にこたえます。またご飯の量も女性の握り拳程度で少なく感じました。メインのお肉の味付けがかなり濃かったことと冷たい料理が多くておかわりしたかったのですが、それは別途料金が発生するとのことでやめました。少しがっかりです。
それから最後のおせんべい体験について、作ること自体はあっさりすぐに終わりました。その後バスの出発の時間までかなり時間があったなぁというのが正直なところです。
でも総合的に行って本当によかったです。ありがとうございました！

I participated hoping to see the snowy Shirakawa-go, but unfortunately, there was only a light dusting of snow. However, the weather was fantastic, and the gassho-zukuri roofs stood out beautifully against the bright blue sky. We had plenty of time to explore Shirakawa-go and leisurely look for souvenirs. We had considered taking the local bus ourselves, but it was definitely the right choice to join this tour. It would have been better if there had been a bit more snow, so I give it a minus one.

雪の白川郷を狙っての参加でしたが、残念ながら雪はうっすらと残ってるだけでした。
でも、とてもいい天気で、真っ青な空に合掌造りの屋根が映えてました。
白川郷での散策の時間も充分にとっていただいて、お土産もゆっくり探せました。
自分たちで路線バスで行くことも考えていましたが、このツアーに参加して正解でした。
雪がもう少しあったらよかったので、マイナス1で。

It seems that there have been snowless days due to the mild winter, but on the day of my visit, there was about 30 cm of snow from the previous night's snowfall, which was lucky. I thought it would have been nice to have a bit more free time to explore leisurely. The free time in Takayama was sufficient.

暖冬で雪のない日が続いたようですが、当日は前夜の降雪で30㎝ほど
雪が積もっていて、ラッキーでした。自由時間がもう少し長いと
ゆっくり散策ができたのにと思いました。
高山の自由時間は十分でした。

This year, I had almost given up on the wonderful snowy landscapes of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama due to the lack of snow, but the scenery transformed from rain to snow the day before, just as I had hoped. I was able to take many photos of the snowy landscapes, and I am very satisfied. I look forward to printing the photos large and enjoying them. Thank you to the driver and guide for their hard work.

今年は、雪が降らずで、白川郷、五箇山の素晴らしい雪景色は半ば諦めていましたが、前日の雨から雪に変わっての雪景色は、希望通りでした。たくさんの雪景色の写真を撮ることも叶い満足しています。これから、写真を大きく印刷して等と楽しみが膨らみます。ドライバーさんガイドさん御苦労様感謝です。

I participated alone in mid-February. It just so happened that the shop at the stop we visited was closed for its monthly day off, so I was able to see three places: Shirakawa-go and Gokayama (Aikura and Suganuma villages). This information was provided when I made the reservation, and since these were places I wanted to see, it was a pleasant surprise!

The guide was very polite and explained everything clearly. They also prepared alcohol disinfectant as a measure against the coronavirus, which made me feel safe participating in the tour. Perhaps due to the pandemic, there were hardly any noisy foreign tourists around, allowing me to enjoy the traditional scenery at a leisurely pace.

I was grateful that the guide shared their experience from guiding daily at various locations, pointing out hidden photo spots and important tips. There was also plenty of free time for sightseeing.

It would have been quite challenging to navigate on my own, but I was able to smoothly and comfortably visit these places for this price, making it a wonderful day. If I have the opportunity, I would love to participate again.

２月中旬に一人で参加しました。ちょうど立ち寄り箇所のお店が月１の定休日とのことで、白川郷と五箇山(相倉集落と菅沼集落)の３ヶ所をみることができました。上記連絡は予約時に告知され、私は見たいと思っていた所だったのでタナボタ、でした！
ガイドの方はとても丁寧に分かりやすく案内をしてくださり、コロナウイルス対策としてアルコール消毒も準備されていて安心してツアーに参加できました。コロナの影響か、各地で騒がしい外国人はほぼいなかったので昔ながらの風景をゆっくり楽しむことができました。
ガイドの方は、各所 毎日のようにガイドされているご経験を生かして隠れ写真スポットや注意点などを教えてくださってありがたかったです。自由観光の時間も充分に確保されていました。
自力で回ろうとしたらかなり大変な行程を、この金額で楽にスムーズに回ることができ、素敵な一日になりました。機会があればまた参加させていただきます。

The guidance from our bus guide, Mr. Kuroda, was both polite and interesting, and the duration of each stop was just right, making for a very good experience.

バスガイドの黒田さんの案内も丁寧で面白く、それぞれの滞在時間も丁度良く、とても良い経験ができました。

The tour included people from Australia and Belgium, so we were guided in both Japanese and English, which allowed us to hear the explanations twice, making it very good.

Although there wasn't much snow this year, we enjoyed the World Heritage sites of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama, and the experience culminated in a fun rice cracker grilling activity.

We also enjoyed a delicious traditional Japanese meal in Shirakawa-go for lunch.

ツアーにはオーストラリア、ベルギーの人がいたため、日本語と英語でガイドしてもらったので説明も2度聞けとても良かったです。

ツアーも今年はなかなか雪が無かったようですが、雪の白川郷、五箇山と世界遺産を楽しめ最後にはお煎餅の焼き体験まで充実した内容でした。

お昼も白川郷の和食を堪能出来て美味しかったです。

The content of the visits and the timing were ideal. This tour was very well organized and the comments and explanations of Yoko made it even more interesting.

We had a nice,relax city tour with this tour agent. Tour guide was very attentive and well organized. We had buffet lunch and we liked it very much. We will highly recommending people to join this tour.

Informative introduction to Tokyo and value for money.

This was my first bus tour, and I was filled with anxiety about whether my reservation was really confirmed, if traveling alone would be awkward, and what if the bus was cramped... However, thanks to the very pleasant hospitality from the guide, driver, and interpreter, it turned out to be the best trip.

Thanks to them, I was able to fully enjoy the wonderful history, cuisine, and scenery of Kanazawa and Shirakawa-go.

I plan to use their services again.

Thank you very much, Takeda.

初めてのバスツアー、予約は本当にとれているのか、一人旅は敬遠されるのではないか、狭いバスだったら…等々、不安だらけで参加させていただきました。
が、ガイドさん、ドライバーさん、通訳さんのとても心地好いもてなしで最良の旅となりました。
おかげさまで、金沢、白川郷と素晴らしい歴史、料理、景観を満喫させていただきました。
またお世話になろうと思います。

ありがとうございました、竹田さま。

On January 31, we participated as a couple. After signing up, we watched the live camera of Shirakawa-go every day, but there was no snowfall, and I had given up hope thinking that this year would be an unusually warm winter without snow. On the day of the trip, we departed from Kanazawa Station at 8 AM, and it started snowing as we got on the Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway. By the time we arrived in Shirakawa-go, it was a world covered in silver. In Gokayama, the snowfall was so heavy that we had to push through the snow to reach the observation deck. I can only say we were lucky, but we were able to experience the snow-covered Shirakawa-go and Gokayama that we had longed for. The explanations in Japanese and English by the veteran guide were easy to understand, and it was a very satisfying day.

1月31日、夫婦で参加しました。申し込みしてから毎日ライブカメラで白川郷の様子を見ていましたが積雪はなく、今年は異常な暖冬だから雪は期待できないなと諦めていました。当日8時に金沢駅を出発、東海北陸道に乗る頃から雪が降り始め、白川郷に到着する頃は一面銀世界。五箇山は展望台に上がるのも雪をかきわけて進むほどの積雪でした。運が良かったとしか言えませんが、念願の雪の白川郷と五箇山を体験できました。ベテランのガイドさんによる日本語と英語の説明は分かりやすく、大満足の一日でした。

a must do tour if you are in Tokyo. Fantastic tour guide and a great way to get the best views of Mt Fuji.

I didn't know about Ainokura Village, but when I visited, it had a more atmospheric feel than Shirakawa-go, which I really liked. I thought the rice cracker baking experience wasn't necessary.

相倉集落は知らなかったのですが、行ってみると白川郷より雰囲気があって良かったです
おせんべい焼き体験はなくてもいいかなと思いました

So easy to book and the experience was fantastic.

I had a great time hand-making white shrimp rice crackers at Sasalaraya. It was a delicious and enjoyable experience that I will remember.
I was expecting a snowy landscape with traditional gassho-zukuri houses in Hagi-machi, but it was a bit disappointing due to the mild winter. However, it was easy to walk around and not too cold, which was just right for my elderly mother.
I now have a goal to return to Shirakawa-go for a snowy landscape. I will definitely visit again.

The weekend-only plan was very appreciated as it allowed for a leisurely departure and an early return.

ささらやさんでの白エビ煎餅の手焼きも楽しかったです。美味しくて楽しくて思い出に残る体験でした。
萩町は、雪景色の合掌造りの、町を期待していたのですが暖冬のため拍子抜け。
でも、歩きやすくて寒すぎず高齢の母に丁度良かったです。
私は、雪景色の白川郷にリベンジする目標をもらえました。また、是非伺います。

この土日専用プランは、出発がゆっくりで且早く帰ってくるので、とてもありがたかったです。

A wonderful tour indeed. Our tour guide, Mr Kodama (or Kodama San, as he’d be known in Japan), is simply wonderful, and spoke very good English, with a bit of humour too.

The bus was nice and comfortable, and the bus driver drove really well. Even though some parts of the tour route is windy, you hardly feel any motion sickness at all.

Would definitely recommend it for anyone looking at doing this.

I wanted to visit Shirakawa-go, so I searched online and made a reservation. The guide was very polite, unique, and even fluent in English, which made for a truly memorable day!

Fortunately, the weather was also great, and I was able to fully enjoy the beautiful Shirakawa-go! Thank you very much to our guide, Mr. Kuroda, the driver, and the trainee driver for all your help.

白川郷に行ってみたいと思いWEBで検索して予約に至ったのですが、
大変丁寧でユニークで、英語まで堪能なガイドさんでいらしたので、
大変思い出に残る1日となりました♪

運良く天候にも恵まれ、とても美しい白川郷を堪能できました！！
ガイドの黒田さん、運転手さん、研修中の運転手さん、大変お世話になりました。

The guide's explanations were very informative. There were also foreign tourists, so the English explanations were helpful. The introduction to souvenirs from Kanazawa was also useful.

ガイドさんの説明が勉強になりました。外国人観光客もいたので英語での説明内容も参考になった。金沢のお土産の紹介も参考になった。

I was the only one who chose this tour on that day and the organizer respected the tour schedule and commitment.
professional tour guides and comfortable transportation.

This tour covers all the mandatory sights in and around Mount Fuji on a day trip from Tokyo. The guide was very helpful. If you have JR pass then you can take the shinkansen back to Tokyo else it is good idea to boom the tour with bullet train package. Food served during the tour was average. Overall a goos experience.

Initially, I participated with the expectation of a storm, but when we arrived, it was sunny, and even when it rained, it was just light rain, allowing us to fully enjoy sightseeing. For lunch, I thought it would mainly be wild vegetables, but it was very well-balanced and delicious. Even as a picky eater, I was able to eat everything and was very satisfied! If I had to say something, I would have liked to allocate 15 to 30 minutes of the time spent at Takayama to Shirakawa-go instead. Both the guide and the driver were very attentive and kind. Thanks to the guide's well-structured information, I was able to enjoy the sightseeing, and overall, it turned out to be a fulfilling tour, leaving me very satisfied!

当初、嵐の予報で覚悟して参加しましたが、降りたところでは晴れて、降っても小雨で、観光を満喫できました。昼食も、山菜中心になるのかなぁ〜と思っていましたが、とてもバランス良く美味しく、偏食な私でも全部食べれて、とても満足でした！強いて言えば、高山の見学時間を15分から30分白川郷に回して頂きたかったです。ガイドさんもドライバーさんも親身で良くして頂きました。ガイドさんのポイントを押さえた案内で観光も楽しむ事ができ、結果充実したツアーになり大満足でした‼

Participants were almost evenly split between Japanese and Chinese Singaporeans. I was amazed by the guide's interpreting skills. The claim that they had only been studying English for a year must be a joke. I found it very helpful to learn how certain expressions are used in English. Additionally, the guide took us to shooting spots that weren't in the guidebook. Thank you very much.

日本人と中国系シンガポールからの参加者がほぼ半々。
それに対してガイドの通訳の見事さには驚きました。
英語をやりだしてまだ１年との言葉は冗談でしょう。
なるほど英語ではこういう言い方なんだと非常に参考に
なりました。
また、撮影ポイントなどガイドブックにないところも
案内していただきました。
ありがとうございました。

I was finally able to visit Shirakawa-go with my family, and it was a wonderful experience. We participated in this tour as one of the events during our trip to Kanazawa. The tour ran from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM on the weekend, and we first had a hands-on experience making white shrimp rice crackers at "Sasara-ya" in Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture. Since my son has a shrimp allergy, they kindly provided him with kelp rice crackers instead, which was very helpful. Additionally, I appreciated the thoughtful consideration given to the souvenirs distributed on the bus.

Next, we headed to Shirakawa-go, starting with lunch. It was very fulfilling and delicious. I was very satisfied to have tried Hida beef and Hoba miso. I had assumed that Shirakawa-go would be covered in snow during this season and prepared accordingly, but unfortunately, there was no snow, which was quite disappointing. However, it may have actually been better for walking around. Among several houses, we toured the Wada House, a gassho-zukuri structure in a UNESCO World Heritage site in a heavy snowfall area. It was very interesting. That night, it started to snow, and it seems the next day was a snowy landscape. Before you go, I recommend checking the weather and live cameras on the Shirakawa-go Tourism Association's website. I believe taking a bus tour to Shirakawa-go was definitely the right choice. Thank you to our tour guide for a fun trip. Since there was no snow, I felt a bit disappointed and rated it four stars.

念願だった白川郷へ家族で行くことができ、とても良い体験ができました。金沢旅行の中のイベントの一つとして、このツアーに参加しました。9:30 〜15：30の土日のツアーで、まずは富山県南砺市の「ささら屋」でしろえび煎餅の手焼き体験をしました。息子はエビアレルギーのため、代わりに昆布のかきもちを出してくださり助かりました。また、バスの中で、配られたお土産も、きちんと配慮して下さり、お心遣いが嬉しかったです。
次は白川郷へ。まずは昼食。とても充実していて美味しかったです。飛騨牛、ほうば味噌も食べられ大満足でした。この時期の白川郷は雪景色と思い込み、身支度も重装備で臨みましたが、なんと雪がなく、とても残念でした。しかし、散策にはかえって良かったのかもしれません。何軒かある中で、和田家の中を見学しました。世界遺産の豪雪地帯の合掌造り。とても興味深かったです。この日の夜から雪になり、翌日は雪景色だったようです。行かれる前には白川郷観光協会のサイトで天気やライブカメラが見られますので、確認されて行くと良いと思います。白川郷へは、やはりバスツアーが大正解だったと思いました。添乗員さん、楽しい旅をありがとうございました。雪がなかったので、ちょっと残念で星4つとさせていただきました。

A perfect day in Tokyo:
1. The service we received was perfect.
2. The guides were very open to provide more and more information about Tokyo. We had 2 guides - pictures attached.
3. We visited all the places according to the program.
4. We learned more than we expected about Japan, Tokyo, the culture, etc.
5. The restaurant we visited was very nice. The atmosphere for typical Japanese style and we could feel Japan. The food was perfect. Thank you for your choice!
6. We really enjoyed Tokyo this day.
Thank you for the perfect service we received by your company!

I was looking forward to enjoying the snowy scenery of Shirakawa-go, but there was no snow at all and it was raining. I was quite disappointed, but when I went to Gokayama, I was greeted with beautiful snowy landscapes! It was truly moving. Thank you very much to our guide, Takeda-san. The stories about the Hokuriku region and the fun anecdotes were all very memorable. Thanks to the skillful coordination of the driver and Takeda-san, we were able to visit smoothly before many tourists arrived. The only downside was the lunch, which was a bit lacking! You mentioned it was your first time visiting, but aside from that, it was an excellent tour. Thank you very much. I had a great time.

雪景色の白川郷を楽しみに行ったのに、全く雪がなく雨が降っていました。残念で落ち込んでいたところ、五箇山に行くと雪景色に！感動しました。ガイドの竹田さん、大変お世話になりました。北陸地方の話や楽しい話など本当に心に残る事ばかりでした。また運転手の方と竹田さんの手際の良さで、多くの観光客が来る前にすんなり見学できました。ただ昼食だけはいまいちかなぁ！初めて行かれる所とおっしゃっていましたが！それ以外は申し分のないツアーでした。ありがとうございました。とても楽しかったです。

Fantastic way to see the highlights of Kyoto. Our guide Hiro was so well organized, informative and sweet. Just the right amount of time at each sight and comfortable bus ride from place to place. Would highly recommend!

Due to the large number of participants, we split into two buses: one for Japanese and one for foreigners. At Shirakawa-go, we had plenty of free time to explore, but since the kids got bored, it would have been nice to visit another location. The lunch was delicious, and the rice cracker baking experience was also a lot of fun. The guide's insights were valuable, and I’m glad I joined the tour instead of going on my own.

参加者が多かったため日本人のバス、外国人のバスと分かれて2つのバスで出発。白川郷ではたっぷり自由時間があり散策できましたが子供が飽きてしまったので、もう一箇所別の場所を観光できると良かったかな。昼食も美味しかったですし、おせんべい焼き体験も大満喫でした。
ガイドさんのお話もためになり、個人で行くよりツアーに参加して良かったです。

The conductor was friendly, and it was a fun trip. Shirakawa-go is best accessed by bus. Thank you very much.

コンダクターさんも気さくで楽しい旅になりました。白川郷はバスで行くのが一番ですね。ありがとうございました。

If you are in Kanazawa and wish to explore Shirakawago, this tour is it.
The tour departs from the JR Kanazawa station Bus terminal.
The tour was held in both Japanese and English.
I must commend the tour guide who spoke excellent English and very informative about Kanazawa and the tour destinations.
The lunch at the Shirakawago was very tasty.
After lunch, we visited Ainokura Village, which was much smaller, less crowded but equally attractive.
I highly recommend the tour to everyone.