Nikko Private Day Tour from Tokyo

A Nikko day tour from Tokyo is a long day and it earns the distance. Nikko sits well north of the city, and the shrines, the waterfall and the lake are spread far enough apart that doing it by train and bus eats most of the daylight. By car you spend the day on the sights instead of the transfers, hotel pickup included, and the price covers the whole vehicle rather than each seat.

What you see in Nikko

Toshogu is the main stop, about ninety minutes, and the Yomeimon Gate is where people stand the longest. The red Shinkyo Bridge sits a few minutes away over the Daiya River, worth stopping for on the way through town. Lunch is near Nikko Station. The afternoon climbs the Irohazaka road to Kegon Falls, which drops 97 metres and has a lift down to a platform at the base, and to Lake Chuzenji beside it at 1,269 metres, where the air turns noticeably cooler.

How the day is paced

Pickup is from your hotel or any address inside Tokyo's 23 wards. Expect roughly two and a half hours of driving each way depending on traffic, which is time you spend sitting rather than standing. Tolls, parking and fuel are already in the price. Everything in the town comes first so the mountain road is driven once rather than up and down all day. That road, the Irohazaka, is a long set of tight hairpin bends, so if anyone in your group gets carsick, tell us early and we take it slowly.

Who this tour suits

Good for people who want shrines and mountain scenery in the same day, and very good for photographers in autumn. It is a lot of car time for a toddler, so families with very young children usually enjoy the Kamakura day tour more. Our drivers hold a Japan Class 2 commercial passenger licence, and your English-speaking guide is the same person driving the car, at no extra charge.

Best time to visit Nikko

Late October into early November is the strongest window. The colour around Lake Chuzenji and the Irohazaka road is also why the traffic is heavy that month, so an early pickup matters more than usual. Spring is quieter and green. In deep winter some higher roads close and Kegon Falls partly freezes, which is a sight in itself, so ask us before booking in January or February.