Private Full-Day Tour in Obuse and Zenkoji Temple

A journey exploring the art town of Obuse and one of Japan's most important temples, Zenkoji-temple. A private guide, fluent in the language and knowledgeable about the area, will accommodate your preferences flexibly. We can take you to local spots that are difficult to find without the help of locals.

This tour help you
- to understand Hokusai who is the most famous Ukiyoe artist.
- to enjoy local food and taste sake
- to understand Zenkoji-temple

Obuse is a small town which has rich Japanese culture.
One of the most famous Ukiyoe artists in the WORLD "Katsushika Hokusai" moved to Obuse when he was 83 and made lots of masterpieces. If you are interested in art, Obuse is the place you must visit.

Zenkoji-temple is important temple for Japanese and attracts millions of travelers every year.

Itinerary can be flexible. We can recommend and organize the tour, so please let us know your preferences.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Pass By: Nagano Station, Kurita, Nagano, 380-0921, Japan

We will meet up in front of Starbucks coffee shop at Nagano station.
And take a train to Obuse city, which takes around 30mins.

Stop At: Hokusai-kan, 485 Obuse, Obuse-machi, Kamitakai-gun 381-0201 Nagano Prefecture

From Nagano station, it takes 40mins on a local train.

You can enter Hokusai museum and see Hokusai's master pieces in his later period. Painting are mostly with English introduction. Guide will also explain about this place.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Ganshoin Temple, 615 Karida, Obuse-machi, Kamitakai-gun 381-0211 Nagano Prefecture

You can enter Ganshoji-temple and see Hokusai's masterpiece "Phenix ceiling painting".
The size of the painting is 21 tatami mats wide, about 34 square meters.

we take a bus to visit.


Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Stop At: Obuse-machi, Obuse-machi, Kamitakai-gun, Nagano Prefecture, Koshinetsu, Chubu

We have lunch at Obuse city central. Obuse is famous for chestnut, so you can enjoy meals made from chestnut like steamed chestnut-rice.
There are some options, so guide will recommend good restaurant by your preferences.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Kozan Takai Memorial Museum, 805-1 Obuse, Obuse-machi, Kamitakai-gun 381-0201 Nagano Prefecture

You can enter Takai Kozan museum.

Takai Kozan was one of the wealthiest farmer-merchants of Obuse. You could see the interior of a house in Edo Period, that decorated with works of art made by Takai Kozan.
If you are interested in art or history, this could be a food place to visit.
Guide will give you introduction.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: (株)松葉屋本店, Japan, 381-0201 Nagano, Kamitakai District, Obuse, 中町７７８

Matsubaya-Honten has more than 200 years history as Japanese Sake brewery. The building are made of bricks with a chimney.
You can taste different kinds of Japanese-sake.
Guide will explain differences and features.
You can find your favorite one.

※this place is an optional. If you are not interested Sake, we can skip this place.
※Sake brewing only can be seen winter season.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Zenko-ji Temple, I-491 Motoyoshicho, Nagano 380-0851 Nagano Prefecture

Back to Nagano city with 20mins train ride to visit Zenkoji-temple, which is one of the most important and popular pilgrimage sites in Japan, attracting millions of visitors each year.
This temple also has lots of small shops selling local snacks so we recommend you the one really tasty and local people love to eat when they visit there.
Furthermore, we can take you to other temples nearby, which are hardly find for travelers because they are not located on the main street.

Guide will explain about temple and how to pray.


Duration: 2 hours

Pass By: Nagano Station, Kurita, Nagano, 380-0921, Japan

We back from Zenkoji-temple to Nagano station on foot which takes around 20mins.
we arrive at the station before 18:00, and finish the tour.

You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.