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【Teaser Tour】 HAKONE / Mori san's Online & Interactive Photo Tour 1

Beautiful Scenery History Onsen(Hot Springs) Culture Experience Outdoor Activities
1,100 JPY - / person
About 0.5 hours
Language: English

What we'll do

Mt. Hakone is one of the very popular tour spots in Japan. It takes about 1 hour to get there by car from Tokyo.
I like Hakone very much.
It has Hot Springs, Beautiful Forest, Lake Ashi with big Sightseeing Boats. On a clear day, you will see Mt Fuji beyond the lake. You visit Hakone Shrine with a lakeside Torii gate, Owakudani Valley where you can observe the live Volcanic Activities, Yosegi-zaiku workshop, and more.
I live in a town close to Hakone. So, I have visited there many times since I was a kid.
I am a licensed tour guide and lead many tours to Hakone for foreign visitors.

In this Online & Interactive Photo Tour, I will introduce Hakone in 30 minutes.
I will show you not only the typical tourist spots, but also spots which are very local and interesting.
At the same time, you will learn the brief history of Hakone during the Edo period when Samurai government controlled the country.
Looking forward to seeing you in this Online & Interactive Photo Tour.

Your questions are always welcome.
Let's enjoy the interactive tour with me!

Details

Price per person (tax included)
1,100 JPY - / person
Max participants
Up to 10 people
Languages
Hosted in English
Communication tools
Please download Zoom meeting in advance.
Purpose
Best for enjoying Japan
Things you need to know before the tour

- The teaser trips will be held using Zoom meetings.
- Personal computers and smartphones can be used to participate, but when using a smartphone,
please be sure to download the Zoom application in advance.
- The URL for the teaser trip will be sent to the email address you used to register no later than one
hour before the start time.
- The meeting room will open to participants five minutes before the start of the teaser trip.
- Participants may join the teaser trip even if the start time has passed. However, please note that we
will not be able to receive or respond to messages after the trip begins.
- Please make sure that your microphone is off and your camera is on during the teaser trip.
- Depending on the internet connection on the day of the teaser trip, there may be issues with the
sound or video. We ask for your patience and understanding.
- Any internet or data fees incurred by participation in the teaser trips are the sole responsibility of the participant.
- In order to avoid any mishaps or trouble, the teaser trips may be recorded.
- The company and the WOW U mediators (guides) will not be responsible for any malfunctions of
participants’ computers, smartphones, or tablets that may occur during the teaser trips.
- Reservations cannot be canceled after payments have been made. Please double check your
reservation before finalizing your purchase.

Highlights

  1. 1
    Lake Ashi (Local call it "Ashi-no-ko")

    Lake Ashi is a caldera lake formed about 3000 years ago when Mt Hakone erupted. It is located at the top of Mt Hakone about 730m above see level.
    The lake area is about 7 square kilometers and the depth is 43 m at the deepest point.
    It is one of the most popular spots for tourists visiting Hakone. On a big sightseeing boat, you can enjoy the nice and cool mountain breeze, and view of the resort hotels in the woods, the red torii gate of Hakone Jinja Shrine on the shore, and the magnificent view of Mt Fuji.

  2. 2
    Owakudani Valley

    You will have lunch at the Togendai port, northern edge of Lake Ashi. From there, a 16 minutes ropeway(gondola) ​ride will bring you to the Owakudani Valley where visitors can enjoy the real volcanic activity. It is so close that you can even smell the volcanic gas. Actually, I like it because it reminds me of hot springs. On a clear day, you can see the magnificent Mt Fuji from there.
    Trivia: ONSEN (hot springs)
    Volcanic activity and hot springs are always go hand in hand. There are many active volcanoes in Japan, so, there are many hot springs in Japan.
    Japanese hot springs are different from European counterparts. Some years ago, one of my clients was eager to go to the hot springs in Japan. She said I'm well prepared. I have my favorite swimsuit with me. . . . Well, I told her, I'm sorry but you do not wear swimsuits in hot springs in Japan. Japanese hot springs (ONSEN) is not like European hot springs where they wear swimsuits. Don't worry there are Men's ONSEN and Women's ONSEN in the same hotel or facility. The water is hot and you are supposed to stay and relax in the water. In some hot springs, you can not even move in the water because it is so hot! Ouch!

  3. 3
    Yosegi-zaiku workshop

    On the way back from Owakudani Valley, we will stop at Hatajuku, a small village famous for its Yosegi-zaiku products.
    Yosegi-zaiku is the wood product with mosaic pattern, a very good souvenir of Hakone area. It is designated as one of the Japanese Traditional Craftmanship Products which is given to the local handmade products made for daily use, not to display on the shelf and appreciate.
    You can also make your own Yosegi-zaiku at the workshop in Hatajuku.

Reviews

Customer Reviews

Traveler

Mori-san is an absolutely fluent speaker of English! His tour is so enjoyable and instructive. I learned a lot from him!

Traveler

Mori san,
I really enjoyed your tour, Very informative and interesting,
Next time I travel to Hakone, I'll visit Narikawa museum, your favorite museum to enloy japanese paintings and to see Mt. Fuji from there.
I'll try Yosegizukuri craft lesson,
I want you to guide me around Hakone area.

Thank you so much.

Traveler

I joined Mori san's tour with my friends. It was well organized, educational, and so fun. We had a great time on the tour and his songs after the tour. Thank you, Mori san. Bravo!!!!

Mori_san

Entertainer

Hi! My name is Hideki Mori. Thank you for visiting my self introduction page. Please call me Mori-san. I spent total 6 years in USA. 1 year as a student at University of California, and 5 years as a liaison office manager in New York. I have a master's degree in Engineering from Tohoku University Japan, and MBA from New York University. I like sports. I have been playing soccer for more than 50 years. I also like playing golf, running, and cycling. I play musical instruments and sing songs. Please see the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI-_2lEF1Wk (I am the singer!) My main activity as a guide is 2-3 day tour for small group tourists, in Tokyo, Hakone, Nikko, Kamakura Japan. I also work as an interpreter for international meetings and tours, including Nuclear Power Plant Tour in Japan. I am very happy to introduce you the Japanese culture, history, technologies, and at the same time, the daily life of locals. Looking forward to seeing you soon!

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1,100 JPY - / person