We are professional guides and we will accompany you on your visit to Takashima town. Our group, ABLE TAKASHIMA, is an organization of guides certified by Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture. We offer guided excursions on which you will be able to meet and communicate with the locals. We also answer all your questions in English or French regarding your stay in Takashima: hotels, transport, activities and restaurants. We will be happy to welcome you to Takashima.
We love Lake Biwa, we love nature, and we want you to love our town. Our wider goal is for you to see the real Japan through the lives of Takashima people who value water, nature and traditional culture. Please feel the relaxing time in Takashima that you can not taste in the big cities.
Takashima being a rural town in Japan, it remains relatively unknown to foreign tourists. You will be able to discover authentic landscapes and off the beaten track.
We may not be able to do the big luxury events like a large travel agency. However, ABLE TAKASHIMA works closely with the Biwako Takashima Tourism Association, which holds a travel agency qualification, and we have strong connections with the locals and activities in Takashima.
Our guided sightseeing is mainly done on foot, by bus or by train, but if you need a bicycle rental or chartered bus, please contact us for consultation.
Our specialty is visiting ordinary homes, visiting rice fields, talking to locals, and having a homely and personal experience as if you were a local. Takashima is a rural town in Japan, so there is still a lot of information that cannot be easily searched on the Internet. If you have special requests when booking our guide service, we do our best to accommodate you.
■Language : English or French
■Guide fee (including tax)
①Half day (maximum 4 hours) : 13,200 yen
②One day (maximum 8 hours) : 22,000 yen
■The maximum number of people for one guide is 6 people. If your group has more than 7 people, please hire a second guide. The total fee is the above price multiplied by the number of guides.
■Please pay the above amount when you meet the guide at the start of the tour. Payment is cash only.
■In Takashima, there are no banks that can exchange foreign currency. Please be sure to have cash ready before coming to Takashima.
■The start and end of the tour will be one of the stations in Takashima City (Omi-Takashima, Adogawa, Shin-Asahi, Omi-Imazu, Makino), or a hotel in Takashima City. If you want to meet your guide at Kyoto Station or a hotel in Kyoto City before coming to Takashima, you will be charged an additional fee. For access to Takashima City, please see Access.
■Your expenses and those of your guide, for activities such as fruit harvesting and Japanese pastry making, as well as transportation during the tour (bus, taxi, train and boat), are not included and are at your expense.
■Meals are not included in the price mentioned above. If you want your guide to have lunch or meals together, the actual cost will be at your expense.
■Our guide fee does not include insurance during the tour. In case of injury during the excursion, please use your own travel insurance.
■To book a guide or ask questions, texte us at : tadashiinterprete@gmail.com
■Please be sure to specify your name, your email address, the number of people for the tour, nationality, the date you require our guide service, the name of the hotel you will be staying at the day before, a usable mobile phone number in Japan and language (English or French).