Custom Japan private tours for magical early mornings and secret places

My Japan private tours are designed for adventuture, off the beaten track, and experiencing elusive phenomena (like morning mist or fire flies). You choose the flavor and I turn that into a self-guided tour (Sgt) that gets you there, walks you through each step, and gets you back to where you started (or somewhere else).

My Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka private tours, guided or self-guided, are often based on the standard tour routes found in most guidebooks and online. I have simply improved those standard routes by adding and subtracting places to visit. Sort of like using PhotoShop to turn a good picture into a fantastic picture. However, there are situations and clients that want more creative solutions that include hikes, bird watching, the edges of city valleys like Kyoto.

My “secret spot” and early morning Japan private tours are designed to put clients in places that they have all to themselves without any tourists at all. Usually I include something like a "remote or unknown" shrine or temple zone or the edges of any city where grey becomes green there's no rush hour, morning or evening. In big cities I include the early morning wholesale markets and old covered market streets. And for places without tourists, you want to start early in Kyoto during peak season and in general. For the light, for the transition in sounds, for the exotic locations that are just around the corner you've never heard of.

Secret spot tours can part of an early morning Japan private tour or they can be designed to have incredible full moons experiences, town & country. I love the moon and so do the Japanese. The Japanese see a big rabbit (ears tops at one o'clock) making mochi or pounding rice with a wooden mallet or hammer. I grew up seeing the Old Man in the moon and I can still see him or her but it takes a bit of effort. I have been watching a rabbit pounding rice in a perfect circular glow for nearly 30 year now.

While I would like to keep my secrets I can share the flavor of these places without giving away their location as follows:

In Kyoto, my top 5 secret spots can be described as follows. All the off-the-beaten-track sub-valleys and ravines of the main Kyoto valley. There are secret spots all along the east side of the Kyoto, up above the city’s most famous attractions. Along the northern and the northwestern edges of the Kyoto basin there are more spots that are just outstanding in the early morning hours, and also at other times of day. The west side of the valley also has a couple of locations that will simply amaze. One features some of the finest rice terraces in the county. And yet when you are there Kyoto’s Arashiyama tourist center is just a 30 minute cab ride away. So for the rice terraces, a client can experience the best of the Arashiyama bamboo forest zone in the morning and then head into the hills for the afternoon as the masses build and gridlock rages in the peak season periods.

In Tokyo there are also a lot of secret spots. Much more than you might think truth be told. There are unique cemeteries full of illustrious graves. There are temples & shrines that few guidebooks mention. And many of these secret locations are stunning in the early morning hours before the city fully wakes up. There are also spiritual centers on the edge of the city that are really ancient and really special. And there are hiking destinations that start less than an hour from the city center.

Secret spot tours are not just about the location they are also all about timing. What is the place like at first light? If gloomy not so great. If flooded with morning light, then perfect. The same applies for sunset spots that you would have pretty much to yourself. Kyoto has many outstanding Buddhist cemeteries that are empty at sun set but which offer incredible views over the valley. All easy to get to if you know where they are. Then it’s just a matter of timing it right. And that’s easy too because the internet provides precise astronomical information.

Another occasion for a secret spot tour is full moon in Japan. Full moon can be an amazing experience in any city if you know where to be and when. It’s much easier in the countryside because the visibility of the sky makes finding a good spot for full moon much easier. That said, I recommend full moon secret spot experiences whereever you go.

If you are going to be in Kyoto in late March, April, Golden Week (first week of May) or November, then a secret spot tour is just thing. Learn more! Email me today and I'll tell you a secret or two . . .

Guided tour FAQs (start time and location; itinerary design; expenses; tips . . .). Self-guided tour FAQs (design; delivery; types; expenses . . .).

Content by Ian Martin Ropke, owner of Your Japan Private Tours (est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with Japan private tour clients and have worked for all kinds of families, companies, and individuals since 1990. Clients find me mostly via organic search, and I advertise my custom Japan private tours & travel services on www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps in Japan! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip. And thank you for reading my content. I, Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search), am also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!