3 Night Guided Tour Hakuba, Togakushi, Zenkoji Temple
Experience “Japanese Mountain Worship” and “Farm & Food Culture”
Japan is often considered as a Buddhism country, however, the Japanese people have worshipped especially mountains in the nature from the ancient times to nowadays. The fusion of Shinto and Buddhism have been creating unique culture, customs and foods in Japan. This tour will lead you into the precious experience of the traditional Japanese self-meditation and foods through a journey of following the ancient monk’s trails and staying at temples. At the farming experience in Hakuba, you will harvest rice and make your lunch by clay pot outside with local farmers. The guiding including local folktales and mythology will deepen your understanding and make your trip more impressive.
Local English-speaking tour guides in Nagano or a guide-interpreter and tour guide will attend this tour.
Price
Experience “Japanese Mountain Worship” and “Farm & Food Culture”
per person
| Adults・Children same amount | 275000Yen 2 People |
|---|---|
| Adults・Children same amount | 170000Yen 3 People |
| Adults・Children same amount | 150000Yen 4 People |
| Adults・Children same amount | 140000Yen 5 People |
| Adults・Children same amount | 130000Yen 6-16 People |
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Plan Details
| Period |
2023/7/1(Sat)～2023/10/31(Tue) |
|---|---|
| Excluded days | Except for the date above |
| What is included in the travel/plan price |
・Guide ・Accommodation ・Mountain Bike Rental ・Workshops & Activities ・Meals ・Transportation ・Stamp (Rubbing) Book |
| Minimum number of participants per group | 2 person/people |
| Minimum number of participants | 2 person/people |
| Maximum number of participants | 16 person/people |
| Operating Company | ALPICO Kotsu,◯◯Taxi |
| Tour Conductor | No |
| Start Time | 13:00 |
| Tour Time | 3 Nights 4 Days |
| Reservation Deadline | 20 days before the activity |
| Payment Method |
Creditcard    
|
- Meeting Place -
Address is displayed when location is selected.
13:00 Meet up at Shinkansen Ticket Gate in JR Nagano Sta.
- Important Points -
- Local English-speaking tour guides in Nagano or a guide-interpreter and tour guide will attend this tour.
- This tour is a private group tour. The guestrooms may be arranged on your request.
There will be no extra fees on a request of 1 room for 2 persons.
(Ex. If a group of 6 persons includes a family of 4 persons & a family of 2 persons, A room for 4 persons & a room for 2 persons will be prepared.) - This tour does not have any age limitations. However, the participants will be required to be able to cycle 10km for 4 hours by mountain bike and to ride on a 16 inches or bigger sized mountain bike.
- Prepare your own sturdy shoes for trekking. There will be no rental shoes at the tour.
- All of the contents of this tour are able to be held in rain. Only in case of stormy weather which causes a warning or emergency issue, part or all of the tour will be canceled. There will be no refunds on that case.
- Other -
- Only applicants will participate in O-Asaji Morning Service. The start time will be changed by minute depending on the sunrise.
※July 5：30~、End of Oct. 6：30~ - Bring your drinks by yourself. No drinks will be served on tour including lunchtime.
- Day 3 is planned to be “Farming Experience” in September, however, it will be changed depending on the conditions of rice field. Ask for the tour derails for confirmation in advance.
- Helmet rental for mountain biking is included in the tour fees.
- The rental mountain bikes are offered in only the wheel size of 27.5×2.20. There are no rental bikes of the large-sized frame, however, the mountain bike course will not require extreme or technical riding. 。
- Cancellation Fee -
In cases where the customer cancels the contract after the contract has been completed, 1 customer will be charged a cancellation fee from their travel fee at the following rates. In cases where multiple people are participating and a portion of the customers cancel their contracts, we will charge the remaining customers a fee based on the difference according to the change in the number of people (around 1 vehicle/1 room per person) using transport and accommodation facilities.
| From 20 to 8 days before | From 7 to 2 days before | 1 day before | On the day | No-contact after the tour start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% | 100% |
- Plan Provider Company -
Nagano Tourism Organization
131-4 NakagosyoOkadamachi, Nagano City
Registration of Travel Services：Governor of NaganoTravel Services Type 2 436
Certified General Travel Services Manager：Takeshi mitsui
Contact Phone Number：026-219-5274
Application
Please select a course
Plan Contents
Zenkoji Temple（O-Kaidan Tour）
Meet up at JR Nagano Station and walk through the approach to Zenkoji Temple. Zenkoji Temple is one of the few temples which accept all branches of Buddhism because of its foundation history. You can join the unique tour called as “O-Kaidan Tour” which leads you the completely dark corridor to gain enlightenment by finding a metal key hanging on the wall just beneath the sacred image
Shukubo (Guests’ Quarters) in Zenkoji（Shakyo Experience）
Shakyo (copying Buddhist scriptures) is one of the traditional trainings of monks. You will try writing the letters by brush.
Zenkoji Temple (O-Asaji Morning Service)
“O-Asaji (Morning Service)” is a solemn Buddhist ceremony held by all monks of Zenkoji every morning at sunrise. The traditional ceremony which is one of the training of monks will bring you precious experience and good fortune.
The start time will be changed by minute depending on the sunrise. It will start at 5：30 in July and at 6:30 in the end of Oct. It will take 70 minutes.
Togakushi Shrine & Kodo Trails -A Sacred Place of Mountain Worship
Mt. Togakushi is famous as a sacred mountain in Japan. Togakushi Shrine is located in the foot and consists with Okusha, Chusha, Hokosha, Kuzuryusha and Hinomikosha. These 5 shrines are connected with Togakushi Kodo, a trail for worshipping, which has been visited frequently by worshippers. This area is also well known as a training place of Ninja inherited for over 800 years. Discover and feel the history and tranquil atmosphere in the sacred forest. You will also be able to collect the stamps (Rubbing) with your distributed stamp book while trekking.
■Route：Hokosha→Hinomikosha→Chusha→Kagami-ike Pond→Lunch→Kagami-ike Pond→Approach to Okusha→Zuishin-mon Gate→Kuzuryusha→Okusha
Lunch: Galettes Made of Buckwheat Flour
Togakushi is famous as a Soba (Buckwheat) producing area. Enjoy the local fresh flavor of Buckwheat Galettes at Donguri House in quiet forests.
※Vegetarian foods are available to be served. Ask in advance.
Ninja Experience
After trekking Togakushi Kodo, you will visit Togakushi Ninja House and Ninja Trick House. The Ninja activities will enable you to catch a glimpse of its unique tradition and culture.
Oumeitei Tsuji Ryokan（Dinner & Stay)
The traditional meals popular in Togakushi will be served as dinner. Togakushi Soba is one of the best 3 famous Soba in Japan. Have a great time with special meals of Soba Kaiseki Cuisine made of local buckwheat in Nagano, the spring water of Togakushi and fresh local foods.
Apr.～Sep. Sengoku Kaido -Walk the 600-year-old Trail with the Traditional Costume
Walk the old trails called as Shio-no-michi Kaido which has a history of 600 years. You will wear the traditional costumes of Shoiko (Backpack Carrier), Wara Gasa (Straw Umbrella) and Tanni (Short Robe) which were popular in that time. Hakuba has 2 faces; one is an important traffic point in ancient times and the other is a mountain resort area currently. The next destination after walking is the resort hotel on the highland in Hakuba.
Traditional lunch box will be served as lunch.
Course：Ochikura Nature Park→Hakuba Shinden-juku→Hirakawa Shrine→Kinagashi-gawa→Hakuba Mominoki Hotel
Sep.～Oct. Rice Harvest & Clay Pot Cooking with Local Farmers
Experience the rice harvest with local farmers in the foot of the Northern Alps in Hakuba. People have been doing farming along with the changes of the snow shapes remaining on the mountains traditionally in Hakuba. Some of mountains are named after its unique snow shapes (Mt. Shirouma, Mt. Jiigatake, etc.)
You will prepare and have lunch of the rice harvested here and cooked by clay pot with local vegetables.
※Vegetarian foods are available to be served. Ask in advance.
※In case of that this event gets cancelled for rain, the lecture of the traditional rice farming in Hakuba will be provided by local farmers.
Mountain Bike Tour: Find the Agricultural Culture in Hakuba
This mountain bike tour will take you to the journey to enjoy both great mountain scape and pastoral landscape in Hakuba. At the small museum, you will find the history of skiing and mountains of Hakuba with the old tools. (Most of the course is flat or down-slope.)
■Route：Hotel→Hosono Suwa Shrine→Ski and Mountain Museum→Mimizuku-no-yu→Cycling in the beautiful land scape→Green Sport Forest→Oide-no-tsuruhashi Bridge→JR Hakuba Sta. or Hotel