Step into Japan’s past wearing a beautiful traditional Kimono and exploring the oldest sites of Nagoya. Try delicious Soba noodles and locally grown Matcha green tea, decorate your own paper lantern and enjoy a unique stroll past beautiful shrines, past historic warehouses, and along sleepy shopping arcades.
20000 yen/person
Private Experience
Kokusai Center Station (Google Map)
Kokusai Center Station (Google Map)
Start between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. (between 3 and 4.5 hours depending on the number of people)
English, German
English: Fluent ★★★★☆
German: Native ★★★★★
We don’t know about you, but when we first arrived in Japan we used to look longingly at the Japanese ladies (and men) wearing beautiful Kimono. If you are the same, the ‘Nagoya Kimono Old Town Walking Tour’ will satisfy that particular longing.
You won’t be able to recognize yourself once you have been dressed in a traditional Japanese Kimono. The Kimono is very restrictive, and even though it might be harder now to sit down, or even walk, it gives you a beautiful posture and changed atmosphere.
At the local Soba shop close by you will be tempted to overeat on the delicious hot or chilled Soba noodles served. Japanese table manners and the background story of Soba are also on the program.
Filled with new energy it is now time to explore the oldest neighborhood of Nagoya, Shikemichi, with its wide street, white row houses and old shrines. You will love the picturesque surroundings and the many opportunities to take pictures for the family album (or Instagram depending on your generation).
The oldest shopping street of Nagoya is Endoji which you will visit next. Here you will find the old next to the new. Shrines and temples that have been here since the beginning of Nagoya next to sandwich shops and bouldering gyms. Who ever said Nagoya was boring?
Once your feet are tired (from posing for so many pictures) you will get your needed rest and give your hands something to do. Decorate your own Japanese paper lantern and enjoy the most Japanese drink there is: Matcha green tea. This particular Matcha has been grown in the region.
After a couple (of hundred) more pictures it is time to transform back, into your old self. But you will have changed, no doubt, gained a new perspective on Nagoya and a new appreciation for your comfortable jeans and sneakers.
Meet your guide at Kokusai Center Station just one stop from Nagoya Station.
Wear a traditional Japanese Kimono and learn about the different parts and their significance. You will also be instructed on how to walk, stand, sit, and go to the toilet.
At a typical local Soba shop learn about table manners and enjoy a delicious Soba noodle lunch.
Shrines and temples will no longer be a mystery to you after visiting Sengen Shrine.
Learn why this almost 300 year old merchant’s district is still around today and admire the architecture and ingenuity of the Japanese people of old.
The oldest shopping district of Nagoya has seen better days but it is still charming with old next to new.
Decorate a simple Japanese paper lantern at a local paper lantern shop and enjoy Matcha Green Tea with some sweets produced in the region.
On your way back you will get another opportunity to take beautiful pictures in a Japanese setting before the spell is over and you transform back into your usual self by changing out of your Kimono. The tour is over but the pictures and memories will last you a lifetime.
I offer unique and authentic (food) tours in Nagoya. I have been living in Japan for more than 5 years and I have always loved trying and learning about the different kinds of Japanese food and other aspects of the Japanese culture. Starting my (food) tour business in Nagoya gave me the chance to really dive deep into the local cuisine and culture which is very different from other parts of Japan.
After living in Nagoya for one year and devoting my time to the local food and culture, I now have knowledge about Nagoya not even many locals have. I love sharing my knowledge with foreign visitors to Japan and I want people to fall in love with Nagoya as I have.
The trip was enjoyable and educational at the same time! I’ve learned so much about the history, culture, and tradition of Nagoya all while walking around in a kimono! The guide was very efficient and helpful and always had a ready answer for all my questions. They even gave time for me to hang out and get to know my travel mates, which was great! Thank you for this amazing experience!
I think the kimono experience combined with the tour to one of the oldest villages in Nagoya was just perfect. The kimono itself is already an amazing experience, but walking around with it felt so unique and exciting. It felt like just by wearing it I could connect myself better with the surroundings and the activities we did. After the tour, I’m definitely looking at Endoji and Shikemichi with different eyes, because I didn’t know much about those places and now both look much more exciting and magic to me.
The Kimono Experience was a lot of fun! To be honest, I’d never been super interested in wearing a kimono before but I’m always happy to try new things and I was pleasantly surprised! It was a really interesting experience being dressed in a kimono, and I’ve got some cool photos to share with my family back home. The tour of the old town was informative and I learned a lot of stuff I hadn’t really thought about, despite living here in Nagoya for years. Lena and Elisabeth were really nice and made us feel really comfortable. A great day out. Thanks so much Lena!
