長野
Nagano
Japan/Chubu/Nagano

Chubu · Driven from Nagoya

Nagano
Snow monkeys, alpine roads and the Nakasendo

¥300,000
per day · with car and driver · up to 6 guests

Japan’s roof. Macaques sitting in a steaming hot spring with snow on their heads, a temple that has kept a hidden Buddha for 1,400 years, and post towns on the old Kiso road where the Edo period is still the architecture. Mountain roads that reward having a driver.

Snow monkeys in the onsenZenko-ji’s dark passageMatsumoto CastleNakasendo post townsTogakushi soba

A day in Nagano

A starting point, not a script. Every stop can be swapped, dropped or lingered over on the day.

06:30

Pickup

Early, from Nagoya, Matsumoto or Nagano. Sleep in the car — the seats recline fully.

09:30

Jigokudani Monkey Park

A 1.6km forest walk to the only place on earth where wild macaques bathe in an onsen.

11:30

Zenko-ji

1,400 years old and older than the sects that divide Japanese Buddhism. Walk the pitch-dark passage beneath the altar and find the key to paradise by touch.

13:00

Lunch

Togakushi soba — buckwheat ground in the mountains that grew it.

15:00

Matsumoto Castle

Black-walled, original, never rebuilt. One of only twelve keeps in Japan that have stood since the samurai era.

16:30

Narai or Tsumago

A Nakasendo post town at dusk with no power lines and no vending machines — the preservation is that strict.

18:30

Drop-off

Nagoya, Matsumoto, or your ryokan.

Do you need the car here?

Yes — bring the Alphard

Jigokudani, Matsumoto and the Kiso post towns are three hours apart on trains that do not connect well. Without the car this becomes two days instead of one.

Getting there

The Kiso valley is 1h30m from Nagoya; the snow monkeys are a longer 3h30m run — worth an early start or a two-day plan.

Pickup points

  • Nagoya hotels
  • Matsumoto / Nagano hotels
  • Nagano Station
  • Chubu Centrair Airport (NGO)

When to come

Snow monkeys are best December–March. The Nakasendo is loveliest in October and May.

The rate

¥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.

Three ways to travel with us

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.

  • One private group per day — never shared
  • Itinerary written for you before you arrive
  • Trains, walking and taxis, paid at cost
  • Restaurant and experience bookings made for you
  • Best in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima, Fukuoka

Check dates

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.

  • Everything in BUSHIDO Private
  • Guided personally by Kensuke Ueoka
  • A kyudo lesson or calligraphy sitting, at his own dojo
  • Access to people we do not list publicly
  • Six days a month. They go early — ask well ahead

Check dates

¥300,000BUSHIDO Private, per day
÷
6Guests
=
¥50,000Per person · approx US$325

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.

Included in BUSHIDO Private

  • Private Toyota Alphard for the whole day — no other guests, ever
  • Your own English-speaking guide-driver
  • Up to 10 hours, door to door
  • Fuel, expressway tolls and parking
  • Hotel, airport, station or port pickup & drop-off
  • Itinerary designed with you before you arrive
  • Bottled water, umbrellas, phone chargers, child seats on request

Not included — and we say so up front

  • Admission & shrine fees (¥0–¥3,000 per person on most days)
  • Meals — we book the table, you settle it directly
  • Optional experiences (kyudo, tea ceremony, zazen, ninja, craft workshops)
  • Accommodation, and the guide’s room on multi-day journeys
  • Domestic flights or ferries for Hokkaido, Kyushu and Okinawa

Check Availability

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.

Other days we know well

Check Availability — from ¥100,000 / day