Hakone Hachiri Trail and Izu Peninsula Guided Hike

Tony was an excellent guide. His knowledge was extensive providing a great insight into the culture and history of Japan and the Izu Peninsula. Every day was different; walking through old growth forest, on the sea shore or on cliff walks with a good variety of accommodation. I would recommend the Izu Peninsula with Tony as a guide to anyone considering a walk in Japan

The Hakone Hachiri Trail and Izu Peninsula Walk was fabulous – one of the best walks I have been on! The scenery was spectacular, especially stunning with the autumn foliage. Our guides were so knowledgeable and helpful. Every day we walked through very different landscapes – ancient trails through forests, along rivers and waterfalls, past coastal villages, along volcanic coastlines and best of all, we did not meet many other tourists. Our accommodation also provided a variety of wonderful experiences – staying in a traditional ryokan, cabins on the coast, a Japanese hotel, and a guest house. Our meals were excellent and our guides ensured we were well-fed! Highlights were tea & sweet treats in a traditional tea house, freshly caught golden eye snapper for dinner, and breakfast at a beautiful beach. Such a fantastic trip and so many happy memories!

Accommodations, meals, and especially our guide, Tony, were outstanding. Great scenery and historical background from Tony made this a memorable excursion!

Our guide Tony is my favorite memory of this trip. He is a 66 yo man of boundless energy, a passion for his adopted country, and a deep understanding of culture, history and customs. He walked with us every step of the way, and was able to provide an authentic deep dive into the cultural and historical importance of the Izu peninsula. Being completely bilingual, he gave us insight into how the Japanese beyond Tokyo see the world. It was a magnificent cultural bootcamp.

Wonderful mix of historic tour, climbing ancient volcanos and days with 25,000 steps, with emersion in the wonderful Japanese culture with local guest houses, food and great baths. Delightful tour guide, who was New Zealander and Japanese who along with his Japanese wife personally hosted us and shared their kindness and sweet insights into the culture. Tony was awesome!

Great experience overall. The guide (Tony) was knowledgeable and organized. He was able to navigate challenges with a typhoon and bad weather well, kept us informed and despite the challenges he made the trip a rewarding experience. The trekking was interesting, not too challenging and he provided a wealth of information about Japan that made the trip so much more interesting. The guest houses we stayed were wonderful and the food was excellent. I would highly recommend this trip to anybody who has read Shogun as the trek took place in the region that played such an important part of the book. The scenery along the coast was spectacular and I'm sure the views of Mt Fuji and the Izu peninsula in general would have been stunning if the weather had cooperated more. His historical knowledge of Japan add important depth to the whole experience.

We have done many enjoyable tours to many countries over the past 35 years or more with W.E. & last October did Backroads of Japan coupled with Hakone Hachiri/Izu Peninsula We particularly enjoyed the Hakone / Izu tour as it gave a great insight into the culture & landscape from city, rural & coast & our guide Tony was excellent in every way having married a Lovely Japanese lady & lived in his adopted country for 9years. Having perfect knowledge of the area & history plus fluent language skills made him the best guide possible. He also acknowledged the groups mixed coping skills & organised accordingly making sure everyone enjoyed the journey.

I had an amazing dream adventure holiday on this tour! The itinerary was superb, offering a variety of spectacular vistas and different experiences from day to day, from hiking up a volcanic mountain one day, to enjoying rugged spectacular coastline and beaches another day, walking the historical old Samurai Trail and historical Shimoda port town another day. And not to forget, the spectacular Kawasu 7 waterfalls, 400 year old cedar forests, all unforgettable!

Apart from hiking in beautiful nature, we were immersed in the history and culture of the area by our very knowledgeable guide, Tony. The beauty of the ryokans with beautiful Japanese gardens and onsens and beautifully presented fresh delicious kaiseki meals made for an unforgettable Japanese experience.

An amazing part of Japan and Tony our guide provided detailed information about the area. The trek was set for a good pace and was flexible with when we started some days. It rained on the second day, so this allowed us to explore the ryokan in the morning before starting the trek further along the intended path via taxi. There are many steps and Tokaido trail has many slippery rocks so a pole is very helpful. Be prepared for some early morning starts to achieve some great walks.