1-Day Togakushi Tour: Soba making, Ninja Town, and Hidden Shrines
Overview
Sitting just outside Nagano City, the forests of Togakushi are home to some of Japan’s most important Shinto shrines, sacred places that are linked to the myths of the creation of Japan itself, and the mountain refuge of the Togakure Ninja. This engaging tour gives insight into the daily lives of the ninja, taking you along short sections of the pilgrimage trails of the ‘Togakushi Kodo, ’ and deep into culture, myth, and legend. This tour includes a hands-on soba making experience, visits to two of the most important Shinto shrines, the Togakushi Ninja Museum, and ends with a stroll through the grand avenue of giant cedar trees.
Inclusions
- English-speaking guide
- Transportation fee from Nagano to Togakushi and between activities/attractions
- Lunch - including your own handmade noodles
- Entry ticket to the Togakushi Ninja Museum
- Guided tour at all listed attractions
- Entry/Admission - Togakushi Folk Museum Togakushi Ninja Museum
- Entry/Admission - Togakushi Shrine Okusha
- Entry/Admission - Tonkururin
What to expect
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Tonkururin, 3018 Togakushi, Nagano 381-4101 Nagano Prefecture
Start your soba making journey from scratch with the help of your guide and the museum's expert soba artisans.
Enjoy the fruits of your labor with a handmade soba lunch inside of the museum's restaurant seating area!
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Togakushi Shrine Chusha, 3506 Toagakushi, Nagano 381-4101 Nagano Prefecture
Depart for the Togakushi Ninja Museum, with a short stop at the Togakushi Chusha Shrine along the way.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Togakushi Folk Museum Togakushi Ninja Museum, 3688-12 Togakushi, Nagano 381-4101 Nagano Prefecture
Once arrived at the ninja museum, your guide will accompany you to the ninja trick house to enjoy engaging and authentic puzzle-solving to escape the manor. Time permitting, you will have time to enjoy other aspects of the ninja museum during free time.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Togakushi Shrine Okusha, Togakushi, Nagano 381-4101 Nagano Prefecture
Walking from the Ninja Museum with your guide, you will head toward the 'Okusha' (Upper Shrine) through the 'Zuishimon' Gate and along the giant cedar avenue. This is specactular landscape and ideal end point for the tour. The walk to and from the gate takes around 25-30 minutes (in both directions). Please note, due to time constraints and difficulty of the walk, we will not walk all the way to the Upper Shrine.
Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Tonkururin, 3018 Togakushi, Nagano 381-4101 Nagano Prefecture
Start your soba making journey from scratch with the help of your guide and the museum's expert soba artisans.
Enjoy the fruits of your labor with a handmade soba lunch inside of the museum's restaurant seating area!
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Togakushi Shrine Chusha, 3506 Toagakushi, Nagano 381-4101 Nagano Prefecture
Depart for the Togakushi Ninja Museum, with a short stop at the Togakushi Chusha Shrine along the way.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Togakushi Folk Museum Togakushi Ninja Museum, 3688-12 Togakushi, Nagano 381-4101 Nagano Prefecture
Once arrived at the ninja museum, your guide will accompany you to the ninja trick house to enjoy engaging and authentic puzzle-solving to escape the manor. Time permitting, you will have time to enjoy other aspects of the ninja museum during free time.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Togakushi Shrine Okusha, Togakushi, Nagano 381-4101 Nagano Prefecture
Walking from the Ninja Museum with your guide, you will head toward the 'Okusha' (Upper Shrine) through the 'Zuishimon' Gate and along the giant cedar avenue. This is specactular landscape and ideal end point for the tour. The walk to and from the gate takes around 25-30 minutes (in both directions). Please note, due to time constraints and difficulty of the walk, we will not walk all the way to the Upper Shrine.
Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes
Additional information
- This tour has a minimum of 2 guests to operate
- Not wheelchair accessible
- This tour includes a significant amount of walking, often along forest trails. While paths are well-maintained, the ground is uneven in places and requires a reasonable level of fitness to partake. The itinerary is designed to breakup periods of walking into 30-minute blocks. Please ensure you wear good quality shoes or boots.
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour is well-suited to children but they will need to be able to walk or be carried for up to 30-minutes at a time.
- This tour spends a considerable period of time outside. Weather conditions in Togakushi are often notably cooler than Nagano City, even in summer. Please also ensure you wear suitable clothing for the season and bring a waterproof jacket and/or umbrella as weather conditions can change quickly.
- This tour includes a 'soba' (buckwheat) noodle lunch in Togakushi village. If you have any dietary requirements please let us know at time of booking.
- Infants (0-5) are free of charge. An infant lunch is not included and the order will be made directly to the restaurant according to your needs.
- Due to the amount of walking, this tour is not suitable for guests who are mobility impaired
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
Cancellation
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.
cameronr309
August 2023
The TogakushiTour was really good, Kevin let us know from the get go this was the first Togakushi Tour but he was so informative that it seemed like he had done this heaps of times before. It is a winding road out of Nagano but it was nice to get up into the mountains a little so it was much cool...
The TogakushiTour was really good, Kevin let us know from the get go this was the first Togakushi Tour but he was so informative that it seemed like he had done this heaps of times before. It is a winding road out of Nagano but it was nice to get up into the mountains a little so it was much cooler. Kevin laid out what we would be doing for the day let us know at each stop what to expect. It was fasinating to see these shrines built in places that would have made them difficult to build at the time. The settings were were very picturesque and the walk to the furtherest shrine through the Cedar Avenue lined by Cedar trees that were hundreds of years old was amazing. The Soba noodle making was simply the best. The girl that helped us was so helpful and Kevin did a great job as photographer for us, we have so many wonderful photos. The Ninja house was also great fun and there was an interesting farm museum as well. All in all a great tour and highly recommend. Cameron & MandyFrank G
December 2016
My wife and I and our 12 year-old granddaughter really enjoyed the nature hike and Ninja tour. Our guide was extremely knowledgable and helpful. We learned a lot about Shintoism and the various types of plants in the park. The tall trees were amazing, and the soba noodle lunch delicious. At th...
My wife and I and our 12 year-old granddaughter really enjoyed the nature hike and Ninja tour. Our guide was extremely knowledgable and helpful. We learned a lot about Shintoism and the various types of plants in the park. The tall trees were amazing, and the soba noodle lunch delicious. At the end of the tour, our guide was very kind to escort us back to our hotel so that we could rush to catch our train to Tokyo.