戸隠： 聖なる森とそばの伝統を歩く穏やかなひととき

It’s an amazing and truly unique experience! The surrounding nature is so beautiful and calming. Our guide was super helpful and knowledgeable, telling us about both Japanese history and his own experiences. The area is one of the few left with strong Shinto beliefs and we really enjoyed learning and participating in local traditions. We also appreciated the time span of 4-6 hours. It suited us very well and gave us time to rest and go sightseeing in Nagano later in the day. Lastly we’d like to recommend going to the optional Ninja Museum. Entry fee was affordable (1000 yen). Do however make sure you have some time to solve the maze! It’s great fun but we did in fact not make it out and had to get help from staff, lol!

My guided tour of the Togakushi shrines and surrounding forest and natural botanical areas was one of the highlights of my trip to Japan. Masayo OKABE was a phenomenal guide. She speaks excellent English and knows so much about Japanese culture and history in addition to the natural sciences and botany.I took the bus up from Nagano to meet her at the start of our hike near the shrine. We proceeded through a promenade of 300 year-old huge cedar trees. She made the culture of shrines in general alive for me so that I will be able to apply what I learned to all the other sites I will encounter in Japan. I had thought of doing this on my own using an all trails map, but was afraid of being attacked by bears so I hired a guide and I’m so glad I did because I got so much more out of the experience due to Masa’s knowledge. My tour lasted around five or so hours. The cost was ¥18,000. When I return to Japan, I will definitely seek her out again to explore the Alps above Nagano.

Highly recommend this activity. We enjoyed it immensely even under extreme weather conditions, it rained heavily throughout so part of the trail to the shrine was slippy and quite a climb but all was OK. The trees and colours are just right atm so if it's a dry sunny day it would be spectacular. Masa, our guide was charming and helped make the day pleasant even in rain, he told us all the stories. He took us to a lovely authentic restaurant with great food, much better than expected as some tours that part of the day is disappointing. It's a windy drive but we went as a small group in a comfortable vehicle. Thankyou Masa for a great day!

Our guide Masa was very knowledgeable about the local area, and knew the best restaurant for an authentic soba experience, which was amazing! Although it was a little rainy in the morning, the tour was amazing. The shrines and the forest were very beautiful! Highly recommend you take this tour with Masa, if you can!

The tour was very nice and the guide as well! I had a wonderful day and would totally recommend this :)

Stunningly beautiful location. The guide was fantastic, he has family connection to the area and can ground you in a sense of place and history. His knowledge about the shrines and Shintoism was wonderful. The lunch at a local restaurant was super tasty too. Highly recommend the walk and the guide. Only suggestion is if you go in early spring the walk can be quite icy, so shoes with good traction is a must.

It was a wonderful, informative personal tour for only two of us. Masa, our guide, was outstanding, accommodated our pace, interests, and food. Masa suggested leaving earlier than scheduled to avoid crowds, which worked out well. Kagami Iki Pond was absolutely beautiful, with autumn leaves and mountains reflected on the water's surface. We visited four of the main shrines, plus an additional hidden one, and learned about Shinto and how to properly bow and clap at shrines. The hike to Okushi was the longest and the most challenging, but the path is well maintained and accessible for anyone in modest shape. Lunch was authentic soba at a restaurant over 100 years old. At the end of the tour, Masa dropped us off at the Zenko-ji Temple because we mentioned we wanted to try the Beni-Beni pie. Masa was born and raised in the Togakushi area and, therefore, very knowledgeable, providing a unique perspective. His English was very good as he completed graduate school and worked in London prior to moving back to Nagano. Masa also took many pictures of us at the different sites, that he sent to us the next day as part of the package. Overall, we highly recommend this tour company to anyone interested in sightseeing in the Nagano area.