16 Jan 2024
We booked our Shirakawa-go and Takayama trip with Omakase-tour.com I specifically wanted to book with Omakase-tour.com because I have read a lot of good reviews about them. I sent them an email and they were very swift with their response. I booked the one that included the guide, the driver and vehicle with pick-up/drop-off from our hotel in Nagoya. There were 5 of us: 3 adults, 1 teenager and 1 pre-teen. The trip was last December 24, 2023.
During the whole booking process, Omakase-tour.com was very attentive and thorough with the details of our booking. I want to thank them for having Toshi-san as our guide for this trip.
We were very fortunate to have Toshi-san as our guide during our trip to Shirakawa-go and Takayama. Even before the day of the trip, he was already frequently updating us about the weather at Shirakawa-go, about what to expect and clothing/shoe items to bring (because of the snow).
During the day of the trip, the more than 3 hours drive from Nagoya going to Shirakawa-go did not feel long, because aside from being mesmerized by the beautiful scenery around us, Toshi-san kept us entertained with games, trivia and stories. He created a mini trivia game that kept all of us including my teenager and pre-teen hooked. He even arranged prizes for all of us. Before we even noticed it, we were already at Shirakawa-go.
He brought us first to the top of the mountain (view deck) to admire and take pictures of the whole of Shirakawa-go, he then guided us going down the mountain path by foot towards the Shirakawa-go proper. Along the way he told us stories and facts about Shirakawa-go. I was also able to take so many pictures while going down the mountain, it was really breathtaking! We were able to go inside one of the farm houses and learned so much about how life was back then 200 years ago. He never tires of answering our questions as we were very curious about the farm houses in the area. It was my first time to see Persimmon Trees! My teens were able to play snow because the whole town was covered in thick snow when we visited last December 24, 2023. Toshi-san brought us to a store that sold tasty pork buns, beef cubes on stick and sausage. All of them tasted really good especially the sausage, as Toshi-san informed us that the sausage in this area is especially good and you can only find this here. We never wanted to leave the place as it was really so breathtaking.
After Shirakawa-go, Toshi-san brought us to Takayama, He brought us to a store that sold Hida Beef sushi, it tasted so good! He also brought us to the historical houses and shared so many facts about the area. We also went to a shop that sold Hida Beef curry, Toshi-san was so helpful when I was deciding what to buy, he asked the store person which was the bestseller among them.
Toshi-san also brought us to an archery place to try out ancient Japanese Archery, he told us that this was how the Samurai trained during their time. It was very interesting and challenging! I was not able to hit any bulls-eye out of all the 10 tries haha!
It was already early evening when we finished the trip. Toshi-san brought us safely back to the hotel. He double checked the vehicle to see if there were any things left. He gave a special gift to my son which made my son really happy.
All in all the whole trip was so meaningful and truly truly memorable. I know this is because Toshi-san really took good care of us and guided us throughout this whole trip. He is truly a great guide.
I would 100% recommned Omakase tours and Toshi-san to all my friends!