Togakushi Tour: Experience Soba Making, Explore Ninja Town and Visit Hidden Shrines

Discover the secrets of Togakushi on this engaging tour. Experience the art of soba making, explore the Ninja Town, and visit hidden shrines. Unravel the myths and legends of Japan’s sacred places.

Duration: 8 hours, 15 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Tonkururin - Start your soba-making adventure from scratch with guidance from your instructor and the museum’s skilled soba artisans.
    Relish the results of your efforts with a handmade soba lunch in the museum’s restaurant seating area!
  • Togakushi Shrine Chusha - Head to the Togakushi Ninja Museum, making a brief stop at the Togakushi Chusha…
What's Included
  • Guided tour at all listed attractions
  • Transportation fee from Nagano to Togakushi and between activities/attractions
  • Entry ticket to the Togakushi Ninja Museum
  • English-speaking guide
  • Lunch
What's Not Included
  • Shinkansen/Bullet Train ticket
  • Accommodation
  • Additional food, snacks & drinks
Additional Information

Positioned on the outskirts of Nagano City, the Togakushi woods house some of the most sacred Shinto shrines in Japan, associated with the country’s creation myths and the mountain hideaway of the Togakure Ninja. This intriguing journey provides a glimpse into the everyday life of a ninja, guiding you along short parts of the ‘Togakushi Kodo’ pilgrimage…

Location
Nagano Station
The meetup point is inside Nagano Station. Your guide will wait for you infront of the large Information Board and video montiors, directly across from the Shinkansen/Bullet Train ticket gates. They will be wearing a SNOW MONKEY RESORTS tour tag. The meetup time is 09:15.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(9 Ratings)
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F9497xgrichardl
Nov 10, 2024
Memorable Togakushi tour - Our experience of this one day tour was most memorable from learning to make soba noodles and being served our handiwork for lunch, to finding our way out of the Ninja House, and walking through the tranquil cedar forest to explore hidden shrines along the way. We were lucky to have Shawn as our guide. He gave us interesting commentaries on stories on soba, ninja culture and legends behind the shrines of Togakuschi. He was also very flexible and accommodating in conducting the tour at a pace that was comfortable for us senior citizens.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
R1330sksuef
Nov 9, 2024
A fantastic experience - Dai was an excellent guide who impressed us with his knowledge of all the sites that we visited. We also enjoyed our first time experience of making soba noodles and enjoying them as part of a delicious lunch. We had a fantastic time. Thanks, Dai, you made our day. Sue and Fen
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Amy
Nov 5, 2024
Awesome Tour - We had the best time on this tour. The cedar lined walk to the shrine was stunning. The Ninja house was great fun. We really enjoyed the Soba house experience as well. Kevin was a great guide! Lots of great memories. Would highly recommend
Review provided by Tripadvisor
691houstonc
Oct 28, 2024
Breathtaking sights in togakushi - Got to make soba noodles and eat them. Then checked out a ninja museum and puzzle house. Capped it off with a walk to a shrine along a path lined with redwoods. It was easily one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
895joshj
Oct 7, 2024
Excellent guide and experience!! - Had an awesome time. Kevin was a fantastic guide, and the experience was full of beautiful and atmospheric sights. Extra thanks to Fujisawa-san for the expert driving. We will be looking to use the same company if we come back to Nagano.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
J4lin
Sep 25, 2024
Super well organized day trip! Amazing nature and engaging activities! - I’d like to thank our guide Kevin for taking us on this action packed tour! We were a group of 2 couples and didn’t speak Japanese fluently. Having a guided tour with a translator definitely elevated our experience. Right off the bat I was impressed that we had a dedicated shuttle. We started off with soba making in a traditional house. I enjoyed learning from the master and the fact that we started from scratch and ended up with noodles! Highly recommend the sansai and mushroom toppings if you like hot soba. We then visited the ninja village which was more fun than I expected! We all enjoyed the “escape room” and shuriken throwing. Checking out the house of ninja techniques was both hilarious (the earth one) and impressive (water ones). My highlight of the trip was walking through the enchanted forest of Togakushi. There is a sense of beauty and serenity that cannot be put into words. Along the way our guide was knowledgeable and helpful. He taught us a lot about Japanese culture (Nagano produce, Shinto vs Buddhist influences, juwari vs gowari soba, etc), and helped us take pictures. He even helped me make a phone call in Japanese! Overall, it was a very memorable day for us and I wish Kevin and his team great success!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
N5348vxromainf
Sep 12, 2024
Best day trip in Nagano - Great trip into Togakushi shrines and mountains. Thanks a lot to Kevin, Joyce and Azegami-San for their kindness and patience. We could not visit those places alone as we do not drive in Japan and as the transportation are not the most convenient in the mountains... Their explanations and knowledge about japanese culture definitely made the différence. We had a lot of fun making our own soba and escaping the ninja house :D
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Cameronr309
Aug 6, 2023
Nagano Togakushi shrines and Soba noodle making - The TogakushiTour was really good, Kevin let us know from the get go this was the first Togakushi Tour but he was so informative that it seemed like he had done this heaps of times before. It is a winding road out of Nagano but it was nice to get up into the mountains a little so it was much cooler. Kevin laid out what we would be doing for the day let us know at each stop what to expect. It was fasinating to see these shrines built in places that would have made them difficult to build at the time. The settings were were very picturesque and the walk to the furtherest shrine through the Cedar Avenue lined by Cedar trees that were hundreds of years old was amazing. The Soba noodle making was simply the best. The girl that helped us was so helpful and Kevin did a great job as photographer for us, we have so many wonderful photos. The Ninja house was also great fun and there was an interesting farm museum as well. All in all a great tour and highly recommend. Cameron & Mandy
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Frank
Dec 29, 2016
My wife and I and our 12 year-old... - <p>My wife and I and our 12 year-old granddaughter really enjoyed the nature hike and Ninja tour. Our guide was extremely knowledgable and helpful. We learned a lot about Shintoism and the various types of plants in the park. The tall trees were amazing, and the soba noodle lunch delicious. At the end of the tour, our guide was very kind to escort us back to our hotel so that we could rush to catch our train to Tokyo.</p>
Review provided by Viator