Mar. 3rd is "Girl's day" called Hina Matsuri (dolls festival) in Japan. Households with girls display their Hina Dolls to pray for the happiness and...
Aikawa Tourist Information Center
Varieties of Hina Dolls displayed in Aikawa town
Aikawa Tourist Information Center
Mar. 3rd is "Girl's day" called Hina Matsuri (dolls festival) in Japan. Households with girls display their Hina Dolls to pray for the happiness and healthy growth of their children.
Aikawa town in Sado prospered from the beginning of the 17th century to the late 20th century along with the development of Sado Gold and Silver Mine.
People of many kinds of professions moved to Aikawa from many parts of Japan to make a fortune and brought in colorful cultures and traditions which led to create an unique Sado culture and tradition.
During this time of year, hotels, sightseeing spots, cafes, shops and even private homes exhibit their Hina Dolls for the public and visitors can enjoy walking in the town admiring dolls from different eras.
In this tour, we walk around Aikawa town and visit places where Hina Dolls are displayed.
With diverse historical backgrounds, there are many kinds of Hina Dolls in Aikawa, some of them from the Edo period or older, the others are made by modern craftsmen.
FYI, No.1 At some hotels and restaurants, you can enjoy special "Hina Doll Festival" lunch.
No.2 This is a walking tour in Aikawa, but some of the places are accessible by taxi.
guide fee
transportation fee for the guide (1000 JPY)
Taxi fare from place to place if necessary
Booking should be made 3days in advance.
We enjoyed our visit to Sado because our guide Fujiko was not only informative but she shared her passion for her hometown. It was fun to go around the island with ‘the ambassador of Sado’, she made our visit quite welcoming and personal. She adapted the tour to our interests and her English is perfect! What a lovely soul!
Dear Gary san, Thank you so mach for writing such a wonderful review of the tour. It's so encouraging. Yes, I will try hard to be an active ambassador of Sado and promote Sado to have more foreign tourists. I hope your safe and wonderful trip ahead. Fujiko
I contacted Fujiko about three months prior to my visit to Niigata with ideas about what I wanted to see. Niigata is in a special area of Japan blessed with a flat plain and wetlands. Fujiko was extremely responsive in our Go With Guide correspondence and also gave a lot of thought to the itinerary based on my wish list. Fortunately for me, Fujiko is extremely knowledgeable about nature, agriculture, botany as well as the city sites of Niigata. Besides the geography of Niigata and surrounds, tasting local foods was high on my wish list. Fujiko arranged a very delicious and reasonably priced dinner featuring local snow crab. As well, she took us to a local sweet shop at my request. Fujiko is extremely fluent and colloquial in her command of English. As well, she is a very nice and kind person. It was a real pleasure to have had the opportunity to spend time with her, discussing all things Japanese, local and otherwise. Our tour was a lot of fun and I highly recommend Fujiko for your tour guide when you are in Niigata!
Hi Karen san, Thank you very much for writing such a wonderful review of the Niigata tour. Yes, we discussed a lot about the itinerary because you did a very good research of the places of interests in Niigata. It was a perfect timing to see canola flower at Fukushimagata wetland and sakura in full bloom! But we didn't have enough time to stroll in Furumachi area. Let's do a second tour in the near future!? Thank you again and see you again! Fujiko
We really enjoyed our tour with Fujiko-san. She was very knowledgeable about Niigata and explained very well our selected destinations and also pointed out other interesting places and things to see as we walked around the city. We got to learn about the history of the city and about various areas of the city.
Hi Cynthia san, Thank you very much for writing a heartwarming review of the tour. It was such a pleasure to be your guide. The weather was a bit cold and I was worried if you might catch a cold! Yes, Niigata is not well known for foreign tourists so far but we have plenty of choices to offer. I'm looking forward to guiding three of you in Sado for your next sake quest tour! Thank you again and see you in the near future. Aloha! Fujiko
My tour with Fujiko-san was fantastic! She is a great guide - friendly, knowledgeable and always making sure her customers are enjoying their tour. She was very flexible when setting the itinerary, taking into account all of the places I wanted to see and my interests, resulting in a large variety of sights throughout the island. She knows a lot about Sado Island and it was so interesting to hear all about the different places we went to! I had a great time with her and definitely want to visit again to see many more sights on the island! I would recommend having Fujiko-san as your guide if you are thinking of visiting the island. Thank you again Fujiko-san!
Hello, Nancy san Thank you very much for writing such an encouraging review of the tour! It was a bit busy tour since we only had 6 hours but I'm happy that you've enjoyed almost to the fullest. But we have much more to offer in Sado and I'm looking forward to guiding you in the near future. Fujiko