Passeios por Lake Biwa

Everything is fine, thank you.

Sonrika was our driver for the day. He arrived at our hotel promptly, and confirmed the destinations we wanted to visit. He used translation apps to communicate with us, and always remained transparent with us throughout the trip. The driver assisted us with buying tickets for the Ine Boathouse ride and the Amanohashidate cable car/chairlift ride. The commute was 4 hours overall (2 hrs both ways), but it was a smooth journey. Our family had a great experience due to the driver's assistance.

This is the very first time we've booked this kind of service. It isn't cheap, but it's worth the money. The driver was professional and on time. He picked us up from our hotel and dropped us off at the same location in the evening. The vehicle was clean and comfortable. We communicated with the driver via Viber. We really enjoyed our day in Kyoto and Nara. I will book this again the next time I have guests who want to visit Kansai.

This trip included the historic Sanzen-in Temple, Shirahige Shrine with its floating torii gate, Mangetsu-ji Temple, and "La Collina Omihachiman," Shiga Prefecture's first Baumkuchen specialty store—"Fairytale Town." Apart from Sanzen-in, which is a larger area requiring about 2 hours, the other attractions each take approximately 1 hour. In addition to experiencing Japanese culture, historical architecture, and high-altitude climate, you can also savor exquisite and delicious cakes. Furthermore, our guide, Liu Du, was incredibly friendly and professional, explaining each attraction with great detail and depth, which significantly enhanced the entire itinerary. We were very fortunate to encounter such a wonderful guide and attractions, and we will definitely choose a similar itinerary next time.

This is a meaningful tour visiting four locations: Shirahige Shrine, Sanzen-in Temple, Mangetsuji Temple, and La Collina. I chose it to see Shiga Prefecture, which is not well-known in the Kinki region, and it was great to see the magnificent Lake Biwa, which is quite large. Sanzen-in Temple, included as an alternative to the Lake Biwa Terrace during the winter season, unfortunately turned out to be a temple located in Kyoto Prefecture. Personally, I would prefer a schedule that only includes attractions in Shiga Prefecture, excluding Sanzen-in. It seems that an image upgrade is needed for Shiga Prefecture tours. Unfortunately, the tour bus (18-seater) was old and fully booked with no empty seats, so if you ended up in a bad seat, you had to endure the discomfort of a long journey.

Had a great time exploring Lake Biwa! I was the only non-Chinese speaker in the group, but our guide made sure I was included the whole time—translating key info and checking in with me throughout the tour. I forgot her name, but she was incredibly helpful and friendly. All the stops were beautiful—I loved every place we visited!

It was cloudy until morning and cold enough to see our breath because it rained the night before the tour. However, thanks to our self-proclaimed weather fairy guide, Jeon Ara, we were able to see Mount Fuji on the way back to Tokyo. It was a breathtaking view that we encountered after a long wait, making for an even more pleasant end to our trip 🗻. It was great that Guide Jeon Ara adjusted the itinerary according to the weather and on-site conditions, rather than sticking to the planned order. We were also grateful for her recommendations for delicious snacks at each location and her accurate guidance and explanations 💗. I realized that seeing Mount Fuji is more difficult than expected and requires a lot of luck (😅). Since the temperature is about 5 degrees lower than in downtown Tokyo, the cherry blossoms will be in full bloom and the weather will be warmer until late April, so it would be a good time to visit in April 🌸.

December 28, 2025: My first trip to Fukuoka with my family, we bought a package tour. It was my first time seeing snow in Japan, and we even had a small snowball fight. Our tour guide told us that the group from the day before couldn't make it up because of the snow on the ground. We were lucky today; although there wasn't much snow, it was still a great experience. The scenery in Itoshima was truly beautiful, and the coconut trees were lovely too. We had a lot of fun on the swings and it was also perfect for taking photos. The Ichiran factory is also a great place for an outing. For lunch, our guide arranged for us to eat Ichiran ramen. We heard it was the main branch, so we didn't have to queue outside with everyone else, which was also a great treat. Finally, at Miyajidake Shrine, enjoying delicious food and watching the sunset was a truly perfect combination. So happy, so happy!