Chubu · Driven from Nagoya
This is our home mountain range, and the tour we have run the most. Thatched farmhouses that survive only because the whole village re-roofs them together, an Edo merchant town at 600 metres, and a drive through the Hida highlands that no train can give you.
Hour by Hour
A starting point, not a script. Every stop can be swapped, dropped or lingered over on the day.
From Nagoya, Takayama or Kanazawa.
UNESCO gassho-zukuri village. We start at the Shiroyama viewpoint before the buses arrive.
The Wada House — four storeys of silk-worm lofts, and a hearth that has not gone out in generations.
Hida beef — the wagyu that locals rate above Kobe — on a hoba magnolia leaf.
Edo-period sake breweries and merchant houses. Free tasting where the cedar ball hangs.
An open-air museum of relocated farmhouses, or the gilded yatai floats in their hall.
A castle above a water town, where they dance in the streets for 31 nights each summer.
Nagoya, Takayama, or Kanazawa.
Yes — bring the Alphard
This is the clearest case for the car anywhere in Japan. Shirakawa-go by public transport is a four-hour ordeal with fixed bus times; by Alphard it is ninety minutes and you arrive before the crowds.
Under 2h from our Nagoya base. Shirakawa-go by public transport is a 4-hour ordeal — this is the tour the car was made for.
Spectacular in every season. Snow (Jan–Feb) and autumn colour (late Oct) are the ones people fly for.
¥100,000 guide only — trains, walking and taxis at cost.
¥300,000 with the Alphard and driver, door to door — about ¥50,000 each with 6 of you.
¥500,000 guided by Master Ken himself, six days a month.
The Rate
Every one of them is one private group per day, priced for the group rather than per head.
The only question is whether you need the car — and on some days you genuinely do not.
We will tell you which.
BUSHIDO Guideガイドのみ
¥100,000per day · whole group · up to 6
Guide only · all 47 prefectures
Your own English-speaking guide for the day, anywhere in Japan. You travel by train, on foot and by taxi — we go where the rails already go well.
BUSHIDO Private車付き
¥300,000per day · whole group · up to 6
Guide + Alphard + driver
The full day, door to door. A private Toyota Alphard with its own driver, so six of you and six suitcases move as one — including the places the trains make painful.
A Day with Master Kenケン本人
¥500,000per day · whole group · up to 6
Kensuke Ueoka himself · 6 days a month
Ken guides a handful of days each month and no more. Kyudo 4th dan, calligraphy 6th dan, yabusame rider — the day is his practice, not a performance of it.
One flat price for the group — not per head. Two of you or six of you, the day costs the same.
Multi-day journeys are ¥300,000 per day, plus the guide’s accommodation (¥15,000–¥25,000 per night, at cost). Beyond 10 hours, ¥15,000 per hour.
Begin Your Journey
One private group per day — nationwide.
— dates are currently open, synced with Ken’s own calendar.
Inquiring is free. Nothing is charged until your itinerary is confirmed in writing.
We reply within 24 hours — Ken reads every message himself.
Nothing is charged at this stage. You receive a written itinerary and price first;
a 30% deposit by bank transfer confirms the date.
Guiding & hospitality by BUSHIDO LLC. Reservations, travel contracts and payment are handled by our licensed partner 有限会社ローライ (Rollei Co., Ltd.) — Aichi Prefecture Registered Travel Agency No. 3-1516. All vehicles are operated by licensed chartered-hire operators.
Payment & cancellation terms →
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