Ise Grand Shrine, Meoto Iwa & Mikimoto Pearl Island - From Nagoya
Description
Experience Japan's most sacred shrine on a fully guided day trip from Nagoya. Visit Ise Grand Shrine, explore the charming streets of Okage Yokocho, watch traditional Ama divers at Mikimoto Pearl Island, and stand before the famous Wedded Rocks of Meoto Iwa. This small group tour takes the stress out of planning with round-trip transportation from Nagoya, included admission to location, and an experienced guide who brings Japan's Shinto traditions, history, and culture to life. Whether it's your first visit to Japan or you're returning to explore beyond the major cities, this tour offers the perfect way to experience the spiritual heart of Japan and explore the natural highlights of Ise in one unforgettable day.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Your guide will lead you through the expansive grounds and towering cypress groves of Ise-Jingu, providing insights into Shintoism, the history of the shrine, and the proper actions to take as we make our way to the Inner Shrine.
Your guide will provide you with a tour of Okage Yokocho before stopping for lunch and free time to purchase souvenirs. The street is home to many well-known restaurants serving up local dishes, craft beer, and Instagramable desserts. We highly recommend the Ise Udon or fried oysters. Feel free to ask your guide for lunch recommendations or let your nose lead the way!
Your guide will lead you through the island sharing how pearls are formed, harvested, and turned into jewelry, beauty products, and more. You will even learn how to tell for yourself if pearls are real or fake! During your exploration of the island, you will learn how Ama sea divers were harvesting oysters and practicing sustainable fishing in the region long before Mikimoto cultured his first pearl. Today, Mikimoto employs these divers to harvest their pearls, not only for the Ama's skills and expertise, but also to preserve this tradition. You will have the unique opportunity to watch these divers in action during a live demonstration. Please note that the Ama demonstration may be canceled due to weather. After seeing the Ama dive for oysters, we will continue our journey along the coast to one of Ise's most iconic shrines.
Our final stop of the tour is Meoto Iwa and Futami-Okitama Shrine. These wedded rocks are another important Shinto location and an excellent spot for photos. If you’re lucky, we may even catch the silhouette of Mt.Fuji in the distance. Your guide will give you a brief tour of Meoto Iwa and help you translate your fortune. Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time for taking pictures.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Travel time between destinations/activities included in the total duration
Reviews(51)
We loved the excursion; it is truly magnificent and interesting. Our guides Israel, Kondo, and Shoko are truly remarkably kind. I highly recommend these guides as well as the excursion.
Merci encore de nous avoir accompagnés. Nous sommes ravis d'apprendre que vous avez apprécié votre excursion d'une journée de Nagoya à Ise. Nous espérons que vous avez beaucoup appris et que vous vous sentirez désormais plus à l'aise pour découvrir d'autres sanctuaires japonais par vous-même. Profitez bien du reste de votre séjour au Japon !
Kim and Vincent were fantastic guides on the 1-Day Tour from Nagoya: Ise’s Sacred Shrines and Captivating Coastlines. They were friendly, knowledgeable, and shared many interesting and fun facts that made the tour engaging and memorable. The tour was well-organised, relaxed, and never felt rushed, allowing us to fully enjoy the beautiful shrines and coastal scenery. Kim and Vincent’s enthusiasm, professionalism, and attention to the group made the experience even more enjoyable. Highly recommended! We learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the day. Thank you, Kim and Vincent!
Thank you for joining us and for taking the time to leave a review. We are so happy that you enjoyed your day exploring Ise and got to learn more about this beautiful region of Japan. We hope you have a wonderful rest of your trip and a safe flight home.
We were educated about the places we visited in detailed. Vincent was also able to answer most of our questions, showing deep in appreciation and knowledge about the places. The guide was also prompt and timely so there was no wasted time.
We are so glad you were able to learn a lot about Ise and Shintoism. We hope our tour makes it so you feel more confident exploring other shrines in the future!
It was a wonderful trip. The guides, Vincent and Kate, are knowledgable and gave good comprehensive enough about the places we visited. Do try this trip by Snow Monkey Tours.
Yay! We are so happy to hear that you had a wonderful day and are honored that you recommend our tour. We hope you have a wonderful rest of your trip in Japan.
Tour leader Ms Kim talked about many fascinating history and folklore related to Ise. She would suggest some excellent photo spot. The management and weather is perfect. Definitely worth attending. Besides, she introduced a lots of food and place that we may try in Nagoya, we are looking forward to explore. The driver Mr Iwasaki was very nice and also a safe driver, I took a nap when travelling on car. : )
We are so happy to hear that you enjoyed your day! Our staff works hard to be able to share the regions of Japan they live in as well as possible, so we are always happy to hear when travelers appreciate their efforts. We hope you enjoy the rest of your time in Japan!
Kim and Vincent were the best tour guides I ever had! They were kind and informative. Highly recommended!!
Thank you for your kind words. Our guides work hard to be able to show off the regions they live in, so we are always happy to hear when travelers appreciate their hard work. Thank you for the recommendation and we hope you keep Snow Monkey Resorts in mind for any future travels to Japan!
We had a great tour today. The trip to the Isse Grand shrine, Kotaijingu, was excellent I learnt a lot about the Shinto traditions, gods and mythology. The beauty of the Nature forest park was never outplayed by the shrines themselves. The shrine by the sea was also beautiful with the force of the sea and wind. Our guude and driver were very good. Would reccommend.
Thank you for joining us yesterday and for taking the time to leave a review! We are so glad you enjoyed the day and appreciated the beauty of Ise. It's one of our favorite places too so we are always happy to hear from travelers who also recommend it!
Very interesting as very different experience The shrines were tranquil despite a lot of people These areas are very important to the Japanese but very few caucasians visit
We are so glad to hear you enjoyed it! Ise Grand Shrine is truly one of Japan's most special places but is relatively unknown to international travelers. We hope you learned a lot and feel more comfortable and confident exploring other shrines around Japan now.
Great tour of Ise sacred shrines and Meoto-Iwa. Beautiful scenes and so special to see and understand why these sites are so important. Shoko was a great guide and we had an excellent driver.
Yay! We're happy to hear that you enjoyed your trip and that you learned a lot about Shintoism and Shrines in Japan. Thank you again for joining us and we hope you enjoy the rest of your travels in Japan!
It was a great experience, Mir was our tour guide and he explained everything very well. Mr. Iwasaki drove so smooth. We enjoyed very much. Highly recommended..
Thank you for recommending our tour. It means a lot to us. Our guides are passionate about showing this beautiful area of Japan to travelers and love sharing the stories of the Shinto kami at the shrines. So we are always happy to hear when their dedication is appreciated! Please enjoy the rest of your time in Japan!
