Kakegawa is a middle-size city famous for its castle and its green tea production. As the city is located at almost the mid-point between Tokyo and Osaka, I hope that, during your Japan tour, you will get off a bullet train (shinkansen) here at Kakegawa Station and enjoy a short walking tour featuring the attractiveness of this region.
JR Kakegawa Station
JR Kakegawa Station
・The highlight of this tour is Kakegawa Castle, which was originally built about 500 years ago and flourished in the Edo Period. Although the castle tower was destoryed in the earthquake of 1854, it was rebuilt in 1994, using the original blueprints from 1644. The guide explains the history of the castle.
・The present structure of the Ninomaru Palace was built in the late Edo Period. Taking off our shoes, we can tour the inside, and the guide explains how each room was used.
・You can also taste the local Kakegawa green tea served in the authentic, traditional-style tea house.
guide fee
Entrance fee for Kakegawa Castle (combined ticket for the castle tower and the palace): 410 yen per person
Entrance fee for the Japanese-style tea house (including the charge for a cup of local green tea): 510 yen per person
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.
・To go to the top of the castle tower, you need to climb a lot of stairs. Some stairs are steep and may be a little demanding for some people. So please tell me beforehand if that's going to be a problem.
・If you are not very much familiar with the transportation system of Japan, it may not be very easy to get to JR Kakegawa Station. I think we will have an opportunity to exchange text messages prior to the tour. So I hope I will be able to help you get there and answer any of your travel questions via text.
You can get there by the Tokaido Shinkansen or the regular JR lines. If you use the shinkansen, please take the Kodama train because only Kodama stops at Kakegawa Station. The Nozomi and Hikari don't.
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.)