Set in the Asagiri Highlands at the western foot of Mt. Fuji, this small-group taxi tour is a rather unorthodox one. The theme of this tour is "Challenge and Experience," with opportunities for you to actually participate in various activities.
JR Shin-Fuji Station or your hotel in Fuji City
JR Shin-Fuji Station or your hotel in Fuji City
・You can experience a paraglider flight off a 300-meter-high cliff, with Mt. Fuji visible in the background when the weather is good. This is not a solo flight but a tandem flight with the instructor sitting right behind you. Before flight, the guide translate for you all the instructions so that you can grasp necessary information and precautions.
・Clad in only your birthday suit, you can enjoy soaking in a Japanese-style communal bathtub. Prior to bathing, the guide provides you with the necessary information so that you know just what to do.
・The Asagiri Food Park contains several facilities on the premises, where you can experience various hands-on activities, including butter-making, cookie-making, and tea-blending, among others. There is also a buffet-style restaurant using a lot of local ingredients, and a sake brewery offering a brief factory tour and sake tasting.
・The Jimba Waterfalls is a small but beautiful waterfalls hidden in a remote, rural area. Since this is not a nationally famous spot but rather a pristine, hidden-gem type one, it is not necessarily "kind" to visitors, meaning that, for instance, there is not necessarily a path where you would expect one. So, sometimes you may need to step over some stones to cross a small stream. And if you slip, your shoes might get wet. So, please be forewarned.
・As an option, you can experience animal-related activities, like riding a horse, walking a goat, feeding a rabbit, and milking a cow.
・You can also choose to enjoy rainbow trout fishing in one of the fishing ponds. This region is known as the largest trout farming area in Japan, mainly thanks to the clear spring water provided by Mt. Fuji.
Guide fee, tour guide's transportation fees.
・Taxi fare (we use a chartered taxi for transportation. I'll contact you via text message with an approximate price).
・Price for the tandem paraglider flight: 10,000 yen per person (10,000 yen is about 91 USD as of May 2019).
・Admission to the Japanese-style bathhouse: between 600 and 900 yen per person.
・Asagiri Food Park is admission-free, but some of the activities it offers require fees and prior booking (the prices and details are different for each activity).
・The (optional) animal farm requires an admission fee, and so does the trout fishing pond.
Please refrain from resorting to the "direct booking." I hope you will book after we reach an agreement over the total price (including the taxi fare) through the exchange of text messages.
・In the event of rain or strong wind, paraglider flight are not offered. But fortunately, this area provides a relatively large number of alternative options to choose from. So, if you take this tour, I hope you will also consider alternative activities in that case.
・For a paragrider flight, you are kindly advised to wear long-sleeve shirts, pants, and sports shoes.
・If your weight exceeds 100 kilograms (220 pounds), I am sorry but you are not permitted to take the paraglider flight.
・For the Japanese-style bathing, you are kindly advised to bring your own towel and bath towel if possible, because renting or buying these at the facility requires an extra cost.
It is not impossible, but I am afraid it might be a little difficult unless you have plenty of time in Shimizu (at least 9 hours). For one thing, the main area of this tour (the Asagiri Highlands) is simply a little bit too far from the port of Shimizu, and for another, the time management would be not so easy in the case of this tour due to its characteristics. Considering that the first priority for cruise ship passengers is to return to the port well before the ship's departure time, this tour has several risk factors.
Thank you for taking me on the Ukiyo-e Tour of Kanbara, Yui and up Satta Toge. I was especially pleased we saw Fuji-san clearly. I appreciated your guiding style. I found you organised, considerate and knowledgeable. I enjoyed the experience and your company. The tour is a highlight of my 3 week vacation in Japan. I would recommend it to people with an interest in the Edo period and Hiroshige's "53 Stations on the Tokaido" ukiyo-e.
Dear Neville-san, Many thanks for your warm comment! I also thank you for telling me a lot of interesting things during the tour. I thought that your idea of following Hiroshige's footsteps though the small towns of Yui and Kanbara was very interesting, and it actually rekindled my interest in the historical Tokaido Road. Well, of the 53 shuku (old post stations), you have visited two so far. How about exploring other interesting shuku sites next time? I will continue to study, and by the time you revisit Japan, I should be ready.
very accommodating and understanding. knowledgeable and well organized. easy to get along with. highly recommend.
Dear Larry, Many thanks for your review! It was good that the weather was fine, and I also enjoyed the time with you two. Please take care, and send my regard to cheryl. Thank you very much!
Koji was very knowledgeable on the area. He arranged a private driver for us which was very reasonable . He was prompt, courteous and flexible to our needs. He answered all our questions with more than expected . The time together went very quickly. I would highly recommend him and when I return will use him again.
Dear Rosanne, What an honor to me to receive such a good comment from you! It was a joy for us to welcome you two in this best season of the year. I hope that you can go back to your home country safe and sound and look forward to seeing you again.
We had a great day with Koji and Tetsu. Koji was extremely well organized and ensured that we saw a number of beautiful sites in the area. Tetsu is an excellent driver, communicated well with us and contributed greatly to our very positive day. Koji speaks very good English, had many relevant and important pieces of information and history to share with us and willingly answered all of our questions. He had a microphone in the van which was extremely helpful and appreciated. Our day was made more special by Mt.Fuji appearing and staying in clear view all day! Thank you Koji and Tetsu for giving us such a wonderful day and for ensuring that Mt.Fuji was so visible.????
Dear Marc, Many thanks for taking my tour today and writing the wonderful review! We also enjoyed spending time with you four. Thank you for asking us a lot of questions and giving us your feedback about the places you visited in Japan. Please enjoy the visit to Tokyo tomorrow. (I will convey your words to Tetsu the driver. He'll be glad.)