Dec 25, 2018

Shimizu private tour Customers' Voice

Hello Hirokane


We have received the voucher and will bring it with us.
We look forward to our excursion. 
Thank you for your attentive and professional assistance and service.

(Thank you for your message. 
Our guests from Canada. We also look forward to serving you! Hirokane)

For Norwegian Jewel passengers who call at Shimizu!

A Special excursion with students!
(Shimizu Port, Japan / 7th October 2018)


Shizuoka Outback Tour with students!
①Lantern Festival  
②Green tea ceremony
③   Edo period inn (19th century)

9:00-15:00 (7th October 2018) 
Start and finish at Shimizu Port
Participants:up to 12 persons
Hurry!!
4-5 numbers of  students and their professor (a national licensed guide) will accompany this tour.
1st trial Special Price!: US$ 60/person
or 7,000 JPY/person

You can enjoy the movie! 



click below to the short movie
https://www.dropbox.com/s/73bosoelylrqypi/Welcome%20to%20Fujieda%2C%20Center%20of%20Japan.m4v?dl=0


Itinerary
Shimizu Port → (Edo period inn) Ohatago Kashibaya → Gyokuro no sato → Lantern Festival → Shimizu Port

(※included: medium sized bus tour, licensed English guide, 4-5 number of volunteer students who make this excursion more enjoyable, 
green tea ceremony at Gyokuro no sato, making your own Rakuyaki (tea cup) experience at the festival,)

(※not included: lunch)
Please have your own lunch at the Lantern Festival.


This tour will be held under the collaboration of 
Tokoha University, Fujieda City and us

Lantern Festival held on 7th October
(Note: As our tour will be held in the daytime ,
lanterns will not be turned on yet.)



Old style Japanese Inn in Edo period (19th century) / Ohatago Kashibaya



Gyokuro no sato (Japanese garden & green tea)

Overview

With friendly Students!
These students are studying English and Tourism at Tokoha University and this tour was planned by them and their professor.

Their wishes are simple.

1. They want to be your good partners who can help your shore excursion very enjoyable and memorable.

2. Through communicating with overseas travelers, they want to improve their English ability and communication skill.

3.They are wishing to introduce you profound Japanese culture in countryside which you can hardly experience through conventional large bus excursions.
  
This is their first time to plan a tour. They have spent much time to prepare for this tour. (visiting each destination, studying about each history, taking many photos in order to advertise the tour. )

If you are interested in these students' challenge,  please join us! They  are looking forward to serving you!

Ohatago Kashibaya (stay about 60 minutes)
This is an old inn in Edo period. (now only for sightseeing, not opened as a real inn) When you enter this inn, you can feel as if you were a Shogun who were exclusively allowed to use this inn.

You can learn how ancient travelers spent their time in this old inn. if you like, you can also enjoy wearing kimono in this facility and take pictures for SNS!

Gyokuro no sato (stay about 50 minutes)
This facility is the most popular spot among overseas travelers who visit Fujieda City. It has beautiful Japanese garden and tea room.

 You can enjoy Gyokuro and Japanese confectionery. 
Gyokuro is a name of the highest quality of Japanese green tea. It has wonderful fragrance, sweet taste and richness.

Gyokuro farming is very hard work,so the cost of it is expensive. But in this tour, you can enjoy Gyokuro in Japanese tea room with beautiful garden.

Lantern Festival (stay about 75 minutes)
Fujieda City has a long tradition of ceramics.
They make ceramic lanterns too.
This festival is held only once a year, on 7th of October.

You can experience  "Rakuyaki".
 Rakuyaki is a kind of pottery. Usually, people use ”pottery wheel” to molding  but Rakuyaki is molded by maker's hands and spatula. 

Rakuyaki in Fujieda takes only 15 minutes and all the completed article has original color and design. Of course you can bring pottery you made!


Photos taken by students are as below.


Ohatago Kashibaya


Ohatago kashibaya


Gyokuro no sato
(Miyazaki pref, Kagoshima pref, Shizuoka pref.)

  
Gyokuro no sato


Pretty Lanterns



"Setoya Croquette" at Lantern Festival
(popular among locals)


Meeting at their university



She is making the itinerary.

Please enjoy the slide show below!



Why don't you enjoy the one and only event
with us?
We are looking forward to meeting you!

Book and Inquiry

Thank you! See you soon!







































This blog site moved into our new website.

Hello, Welcome to our blog!



This is HIrokane ISHIKAKI, the manager of Local Travel Partners.

Today, I would like to inform you that this blog posts moved into our new website.

We are looking forward to your visit!

Click here to our new website!


with our guest at Shimizu Port (a cruise ship passenger) 
Hirokane ISHIKAKI

Contact




Shimizu private tour Customers' Voice

We took a taxi tour from the cruise port to visit Satta Pass and the Tokaido Hiroshige art museum. 

We had used the company in 2016 to visit the Nihondaira plateau and Kunozan Toshogu shrine and were satisfied enough that we decided to use them again this year. 

Both trips were excellent. 
Communication with Hirokane Ishikaki by email was very easy. 
Our emails were answered promptly.
 On each occasion the taxi drivers were very courteous and friendly. 

Mr Ishikaki even arranged for us to be accompanied by a local student this time. 

It was lovely to meet him and spend time with him. 

If you are visiting Shimizu on a cruise, we would definitely recommend using this company. 

It's easy to arrange, much better value and much more flexible and tailored to your own requirements than the tours offered by the cruise lines.

(Our guests from the U.K. Thank you so much for joining our tour again!
and thank you so much for your warm review.  Hirokane)





Jul 28, 2018

Steam Locomotive & Farm stay in Shizuoka

Hello, Welcome to our blog!

This is Hirokane at Local Travel Partners.
We are a travel agency  in Shizuoka City,(near Mount Fuji) Japan.

Today, I would like to introduce "Farm Stay" in Honkawane town, 
Shizuoka prefecture


Our guest from France.
She enjoyed 2 nights at this farmers' house last June.

The lady wearing the red apron is Ms.Watanabe, the host of this farmers' inn.
They held a vegetable B.B.Q for this vegetalian guest.

You can visit this place by taking the  Oigawa Railway.
We recommend to board this Steam Locomotive at Shin Kanaya Station.


Oigawa Railway Steam Locomotive


Normal train on Oigawa Railway Line


In April,  enjoy the beautiful views of teaplantations in this particular area.



12:45 Arrive at Shimoizumi Station 
(Please check the latest time table before starting your travel.)


This is very rare Japanese old style post box that we seldom see anymore.

The farmer can pick you up at this  station.


Some farm houses can accept overseas travelers.
You can enjoy vegetable harvest experience, cooking dinner with farmers,
making soba noodles, sleeping in traditional Japanese tatami rooms,  communicate with locals, go to onsen / Japanese hot springs, e.t.c.


Traditinal Japanese tatami room
Guests spend the night in this room.


 Do you know  "Kotatsu"?
This is a Japanese style heater. very comfortable!




Green tea and handmade orange confectionery


The view from the farmers' house
Please note there are  no convenience stores around there.




Hanabi (fireworks) with local people


You can also enjoy visiting Kawane Onsen.
Would you like to  spend a leisurely time like her?


If you are interested in farm house stay, this area is recommended.
It is easy to visit it by train and people are very warm.

We can introduce and arrange  a farm house on request.
Please feel free to contact us when you  need arrangements.

Thank you!





















Jul 7, 2018

Shimizu private tour Customers' Voice

We visited Shimizu during a cruise.

I am handicapped and cannot manage the stairs into a bus.

Thus we needed a private tour and I came about Local Travel Partners.

This was perfect.

The communication and planning before the trip with Hirokane Ishikaki were phantastic.

He always responded quickly and appreciated my special needs.

Our guide on that day, Tetsuya Nakazawa, was so kind and caring and we had a wonderful tour.

Compared to a bus tour we saw much more in a shorter time but I could still go on my pace without having to hurry.



(Our guests from Germany, Thank you for joining our tour and thank you for your warm comment! Hirokane)




Shimizu private tour Customers' Voice

Wonderful day couldn’t have asked for a better day Bethany you so much

(Our guests from Australia. 
Thank you for joining our tour and your warm comment!  Hirokane )




Shimizu private tour Customers' Voice



We had an wonderful day in Shimizu Port. 
The booking process was easy via email and Hirokane was always quick to reply. 

Our guide for the day was wonderful Tetsuya? (sorry I can't remember how to spell the name correctly). 

We were all provided with a small gift at the beginning of our tour, the taxi was immaculate, we were provided with information throughout the tour on the various locations we visited and we were even given a sd card from our guides camera at the end of the tour as a lovely memento of our day. 

We visited the Nihondaira Plateau and Kunozan Toshogu Shrine and also a local tea farm. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone who wants a relaxing day tour.


(Our guests from Australia, Thank you for joining our tour and Thank you for your warm Commnent! Hirokane) 




Jul 4, 2018

Tokaido Hiroshige Museum (Ukiyo-e museum) in Shizuoka City

Hello, Welcome to our blog.

I am Hirokane at Local Travel partners, a travel agency in Shizuoka City, Japan.
We have been supporting travelers from overseas since 2016.

If you have a plan to travel around Shizuoka or Mount Fuji area, 
you can count on us!

Today, let me introduce one of the most popular spots among overseas travelers.



A museum of ukiyo-e(Japanese woodblock prints) 
where you can discover  the art of Edo period(1603-1867).

"Yui" drawn by Hiroshige Utagawa

Ukiyo-e was a popular art form during the Edo period and 
remains a unique art of Japan.

Have you noticed the 3 people on the upper left?
2 of them are travelers and are enjoying this beautiful scenery.

On the other hand, the man walking in the back with firewood is a peasant.
He is used to climb this mountain and is not interested with this scenery anymore.
He is just climbing without enjoying the view.


Satta Pass,  today
Even now you can enjoy this spectacular scenery.


Hiroshige Utagawa, a renowned artist of the time, created about 1,400 ukiyo-e prints, some of which are on display at this museum.

His representative work is "The 53 stations of the Tokaido Road"
From Edo (Tokyo) to Kyoto there were 53 stations and he drew up all the stations
that you can enjoy now in this Art Museum.


Mariko Station


And now. Chojiya, the oldest restaurant in Shizuoka City.
 You can enjoy traditional meals as ancient travelers did. 


The museum is a popular destination for art lovers, as not only you can see representative works by Hiroshige, 
but there are also famous works mimicked by Van Gogh.




You can also try your hand at make an ukiyo-e print yourself here, a simple and fun activity that will help you deepen your knowledge of the art form.
(Our guests from France)


(Our guests from the Philippines)
Ukiyo-e will be completed by adding color ink  one by one.
 black, blue, green, red, 
They are painting black ink on the mold.

After that, they apply the white paper on this mold and rub it
to let the ink on the paper.

The gifts at the museum's shop include  ukiyo-e mortif that make great souvenirs from your visit to Shizuoka.

Access: 2 kilometers from JR Yui station