Private day trip · Day trip from Tokyo
From Tokyo: Ueda Castle, Bessho Onsen & Octagonal Pagoda
Ueda Castle, the 1,000-year-old Bessho hot-spring village and Japan's only octagonal pagoda. Private van with hotel pickup, your own pace, one price for your group.
Private · your group only◆12 hours◆Up to 6 guests◆Pickup included
Road-day snapshot
This is your private tour, so the route is flexible: tell us if you want to skip a stop, stay longer somewhere or add a place nearby.
The experience
A private journey, thoughtfully paced
Ueda Castle held out against the Tokugawa twice – in 1585 and again in 1600, when it delayed 38,000 men on their way to the battle that decided Japan. The Sanada clan who built it are the samurai heroes of every Japanese schoolchild, and their valley in Nagano, two and a half hours from Tokyo, holds a hot-spring village older than Kyoto's temples. Foreign tours go to Matsumoto and Nagano city and drive straight past it.
We collect you at your Tokyo hotel early and drive up the Joshinetsu expressway. Ueda Castle keeps its moats, gates and two towers, with a museum of Sanada armour and the six-coin crest; the park around it is the city's cherry-blossom ground. Below the castle, Yanagimachi is a street of Edo-period merchant houses with a sake brewery and a miso shop that still work.
Then Bessho Onsen, twenty minutes into the hills. Bessho has been a hot-spring resort since the Heian period and a temple town for as long: Anrakuji has the only octagonal pagoda in Japan, built in the 1290s in the Chinese Zen style and standing in cedars above the village; Kitamuki Kannon is a cliff temple with a 1,200-year-old tree; and the village has three public baths where a soak costs 200 yen. Lunch is Shinshu soba on the temple street.
If the day allows we stop at Unno-juku, a post town on the old Hokkoku road with 100 preserved houses and no souvenir shops, on the way back to Tokyo.
What you pay is what you pay
The price is one fixed amount for your whole group: the private van, fuel, tolls, parking and your driver-guide for the day. There are no per-person supplements and no booking fees. The castle museum and pagoda entries are included. Any bath and your lunch are paid by each guest on the day.
Good to know
A long day with about five hours of driving. Bessho's temples are on hillsides with stone steps. The castle's cherry blossom is in mid April; the valley has snow from December to March and the roads are cleared.
Choose with confidence
Is this the right journey for your group?
Excellent fit if
- Ueda Castle - the Sanada fortress that stopped the Tokugawa twice
- Yanagimachi merchant street with a working sake brewery
- Anrakuji - Japan's only octagonal pagoda, in the cedars above Bessho
- Bessho Onsen public baths for 200 yen and a soba lunch
- Private van from your Tokyo hotel with an English, Urdu or Hindi guide
Said plainly
About 12 hours with five hours of driving and regular stops. Temple approaches in Bessho have stone steps. Bring a small towel if you want to try a 200-yen public bath. Castle museum and pagoda entries are included; any bath and lunch are paid by you on the day. Travelling with small children? Tell us their ages when booking and we will confirm the child-seat arrangement for your date.
Your day
Suggested itinerary
Times are approximate. Your driver-guide adjusts the order for traffic, weather, opening hours and the best light.
Ueda Castle - the Sanada fortress that stopped the Tokugawa twice
Yanagimachi merchant street with a working sake brewery
Anrakuji - Japan's only octagonal pagoda, in the cedars above Bessho
Bessho Onsen public baths for 200 yen and a soba lunch
Private van from your Tokyo hotel with an English, Urdu or Hindi guide
What is covered
What you see is what you pay
Ours — included
- Private air-conditioned van for your group only
- English, Urdu or Hindi speaking driver-guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off within Tokyo's 23 wards
- Ueda Castle museum and Anrakuji pagoda entry for everyone in your group
- Fuel, expressway tolls and parking
- Bottled water
- Child seat free on request
- One fixed price for the whole group - no hidden charges and no per-person supplements
Yours — paid on the day
- Bessho Onsen public bath (about 200 yen, optional)
- Food and drinks (optional - bring your own or buy on the day)
- Gratuities (never expected)
Good to know
Before you book
Languages
English, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi
Pickup
Pickup and drop-off at your Tokyo hotel or accommodation (23 wards).
Group and vehicle
Private for up to 6 guests. Enter adults, children, infants and child seats separately at booking.
Dietary and mobility needs
Halal, vegetarian, allergy, walking or other practical requests go in your booking notes and are planned before the day.
Questions
Frequently asked
Can we change the route on the day?
Yes. It is a private tour in our own van, so your driver-guide can skip, extend or add stops where time allows.
Is the price per person?
No. The price is for your whole private group of up to 6 people, including the van, fuel, tolls, parking and your driver-guide.
What is the cancellation policy?
Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for an automatic full refund to the original payment method. Within 24 hours, contact us directly so we can help. If a typhoon or official weather warning stops the trip, we offer a new date or a full refund. For a GetYourGuide booking, the terms shown on that booking apply.
Somewhere else in mind?
Any destination in Japan
If this route is not exactly what you need, tell us the destination, dates and group. We confirm the plan and the exact price before any payment is taken.
Plan a custom journeyYour private Japan day
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From¥71,000
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