Nikko Day Trip from Tokyo: Customized Tour — Guide Akey

Private Day Trip from Tokyo to Nikko: A Licensed Guide's Report on Toshogu, Lake Chuzenji, and Kegon Falls

The original plan was to take a Tobu Railway limited express to Nikko, so we went to Tobu Asakusa Station, but everything was sold out until after 11:00. We quickly changed plans to take the Shinkansen and transfer to a local line via Utsunomiya to reach Nikko. The reserved seats were fully booked with holiday travelers, so we decided to take the non-reserved cars. There was an earlier Shinkansen bound for Utsunomiya than the one the station staff had suggested, so we took that, and all of us managed to get seats. When I checked, the transfer to the local line at Utsunomiya allowed only three minutes, but we just barely made it. A high school student offered a seat. Up to this point, everything went luckily. I had heard beforehand that one of the guests had a bad knee and preferred not to walk much. On the train, I checked online for available seats on the return Tobu limited express, and since there were openings, once we arrived at the station I had them reserve the limited express online, and I reserved one too. At Lake Chuzenji, the mountains were covered in snow, and one of the guests from Asia enjoyed a snowy landscape for the second time in their life, following the previous day at Yuzawa. Since Mount Nantai is a volcano resembling Mount Fuji, we took a commemorative photo. For one of the guests who does not eat meat or pork, we had the Nikko specialty yuba set meal and yuba curry rice. All of the smaller falls at Kegon Falls, apart from the main cascade, were frozen. The guest was delighted, saying that there are many waterfalls in their home region as well, but none set against a snowy landscape. One of the guests works abroad. When we went from the west approach entrance to the entrance of Toshogu, one of the guests' knee began to hurt and, unable to walk any further, said they would not go in and would wait there. Since it would be a shame to have come this far without seeing the Yomeimon Gate and the Three Wise Monkeys at Toshogu, I suggested we go in, so we climbed the steps and viewed the Three Wise Monkeys and the Yomeimon Gate, and took commemorative photos. That guest said they would wait there, so I guided the other two up to the Sleeping Cat inside the Yomeimon Gate. One guest did not want to take off their shoes, so I guided only the other guest inside the main shrine. They asked whether we could take a taxi to the station, so we went to the taxi stand, where an available taxi happened to be waiting, and we traveled to Tobu Nikko Station by taxi. Since we had time to spare, they did some shopping and passed the time at a café. They made a large amount of purchases. From my side, I gave them dried sweet potatoes and glasses in a paulownia wood box shaped like Mount Fuji at the base as a gift. I wish that guest could have enjoyed Toshogu a little more, but afterward that guest remarked that Nikko is a wonderful place. All of the guests had visited Japan three or four times before. Other traveling families were said to be visiting Disneyland at the time. We parted at Asakusa Station.

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Tour Report by Akey

Hello, new friends! I’m Akio Yasui. I was born in Kyoto City and graduated from Doshisha University in Kyoto and moved to Tokyo for working. I used to work for international companies as a marketing advertising specialist. I have been to fourty five different countries until now and been to all prefectures in Japan.
I have deep knowledge of both traditional and modern culture of Japan based on my experience in Kyoto, Tokyo and their surrounding areas such as Kamakura, Nikko, Nara, Osaka. I can design exclusive and the optinum itineray for you and guide you not only to ordinary tour courses but also casual or hidden locations. My task is making you enjoy Japan and like our culture and people. Let me guide you any where you want to visit and enjoy Japan together.