Things to do in Amanohashidate

Our guide, Sarah organized this tour extremely well. Her instructions were clear and she guided us to each attraction seamlessly. We had an amazing time both at Ine Bay and Amanohashidate. This tour is a must if you're in Japan!

I received my reminder and instructions the day before the tour and you are requested to join the WhatsApp group for the tour. We meet outside the Nippombashi Station Exit 2. A lot of other tour groups as gather there to London buses so make sure you arrive early enough and keep your eyes peeled for whatever marker they are wearing/carrying. For our tour we had two tour guides, Nox and Rex. They were engaging and shared stories of Japan’s history of Osaka, Amanohashidate, Ine fishing village, and Miyama. This was definitely the highlight of our trip! One tip I would like to share is, make sure you eat breakfast beforehand and also bring a few snacks in case you end up not having time to eat lunch while exploring. Plan to eat in Amanohashidate, because that’s the only place where you’ll have extended time. We opted to have our tour guides purchase tickets for the Ine sightseeing boat tour as well as the chairlift in Amanohashidate. Get the milk and milk pudding in Miyama!

Our tour guide was Mr. Gu Wenji. This was my first time joining a one-day tour like this, and it was a great experience. There was no hard selling, just a heartfelt sharing of local Japanese culture. Mr. Gu is very impressive; he speaks multiple languages. When giving explanations, he would repeat them in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, so there was no need to worry about not understanding. I also want to give a special shout-out because the night before, I accidentally left my power bank at a restaurant. Since I don't speak Japanese and didn't have a Japanese phone card, I couldn't call them back. So, I asked Mr. Gu for help, and he was more than happy to assist. He even told me that if I encountered any difficulties in Osaka in the following days, I could contact him. Hearing that was truly heartwarming! If I have the chance to join another tour, I would hope Mr. Gu could be our guide again.

We’re so glad we decided to book our group tour with GoGoDay! From start to finish, everything was very well organised, making our trip smooth, enjoyable, and stress-free. A special thank you to our wonderful tour guide, Lui, who was incredibly accommodating, friendly, and helpful throughout the trip. We really appreciated how Lui shared interesting historical and cultural background at every place we visited. Overall, we had a fantastic experience with GoGoDay and would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a well-organised, enjoyable, and memorable group tour.

Last time, I visited Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, so this time I went to places I hadn't seen before. It was just before a long holiday, so there weren't many people, and it was wonderfully peaceful and quiet! When you actually see it, it's not so much 'Wow, that's amazing!' but rather beautiful scenery, the path you walk while admiring that scenery, various photos taken at photo spots, and an unexpected seagull zoo feeding (making eye contact with seagulls and hawks). I didn't have high expectations, but it was fun! The only downside is that the travel time is a bit long if you depart from Osaka! However, our guide, MICA, explained many things about Japan so well and took such beautiful photos that I even changed my KakaoTalk profile picture for the first time in a while! 😄

The tour guide spoke very gently and patiently, and was also very dedicated to resolving any issues we had. The only minor drawback was that the itinerary was a bit tight. We happened to go on a weekend, plus it was a special holiday in Japan, so there were huge crowds and long queues for everything. This meant we didn't have enough time to eat proper meals and had to grab quick snacks, which felt a bit rushed. However, the sea and Amanohashidate were truly beautiful. The final seagull feeding part was a little disappointing; the lower deck of the boat was already full, so we had to go to the upper deck and stand in the sun to feed the seagulls. But there seemed to be very few seagulls, and we ended up eating most of the shrimp crackers ourselves. We were lucky if we fed even one. I'm not sure if it was because there were so many people that the seagulls were already full. For this kind of trip, it would definitely be better to go on a weekday next time to avoid the crowds and long waits for everything.🥺🥺

This tour had to be the best tour I have been on during my time in Japan. It was our first time in Japan and we wanted to see places that would generally be hard to get to on our own within the time we had left. Amanohashidate and Ine have to be and are the most beautiful places I have ever seen! The views are amazing and the highlights were definitely the cable car and especially the boat ride. Highly highly recommend, it’s well worth the money. Also, Jay was our tour guide and I enjoyed the fact that he was very punctual, informative and he explained everything we were going to do down to the minute and it kept us on track. He would also send reminders a decent time before to let us know when we should be back to the bus after every stop. I would love to have him as a tour guide again.

Maggie has been an excellent tour guide! This was my first time booking a group tour and I was hesitant at first but I’m glad I did. The tour was paced well, I did not feel rushed and I honestly felt that the alloted time for each location was sufficient enough to get a feel and have fun on each places. We were in Ine Bay from 1015H-1055H, which includes the boat ride. A tip that I would give if you’re not into feeding seagulls is to skip the boat ride and just explore the Ine bay/ boathouses by foot. Next stop was Amanohashidate and we were there for 2hrs, then last stop was the Miyama thatched village which was phenomenal. Make sure to try their milk!! 🫶🏼

The day before the tour, an email will be sent with meeting information. We met at Nihonbashi Exit 2 early in the morning, where tour guide Momo was waiting for guests with a sign. Before arriving at each attraction, the guide provided explanations in multiple languages. At Amanohashidate, we walked near the sandbar (accessible by cable car); the water was very clear, and the scenery was peaceful and beautiful. The Ine Funaya boat tour (feeding seagulls and eagles) was a special experience suitable for both adults and children, though it was a pity we could only view the boathouses from a distance on the boat. Miyama-cho's thatched-roof village was a quiet place with little else to do but appreciate the local charm. This tour involved a longer drive, making the itinerary a bit tight, but there were opportunities to rest along the way. Including a day trip by tour bus during our free time in Osaka was a truly wise decision!