Day trips from Tokyo
The cheapest coach day to Nikko on GetYourGuide, with the most time at Toshogu: three hours on your own at the shrine, then the Irohazaka, Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls. Guides speak English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
Starts inShinjuku or Tokyo
The coach leaves from Shinjuku or central Tokyo and takes a little over two hours to Nikko. The first stop is the longest of any coach day: about three hours of free time at Toshogu, enough to see the Yomeimon gate, the sleeping cat and Ieyasu's tomb at the top of the steps without hurrying, and to have lunch in the town.
Then the coach climbs the Irohazaka, with a stop at the Kengamine viewpoint over the hairpins, gives you half an hour at Lake Chuzenji and about 50 minutes at Kegon Falls, where an optional lift takes you down to the platform at the foot of the falls. It is back in Tokyo after about ten and a half hours.
The guide explains each stop on the coach, in several languages if the group is mixed, but does not take you round the shrine. Shrine tickets, the Kegon Falls lift and lunch are paid on the day.
Through the year
From mid October to early November the Irohazaka is slow with traffic and the stops at the lake and falls can be shortened. In winter Kegon Falls can freeze and the lake road is often white; the tour runs all year.
Our summary of the reviews GetYourGuide shows on the product page.
Worth knowing: Short stops at the lake
Shinjuku or Tokyo
Coach to Nikko, about 2 hours.
Toshogu Shrine
About 3 hours of free time, with lunch in the town.
Irohazaka and Kengamine viewpoint
The hairpin road up the mountain, with a stop at the viewpoint.
Lake Chuzenji
About 30 minutes.
Kegon Falls
About 50 minutes; the lift to the lower platform is extra.
Tokyo
Back after about 10.5 hours.
Price and time at the shrine. It costs less than the Ginza and Shinjuku buses and gives you longer at Toshogu, at the cost of a guide inside the shrine. For a guided visit, take the Ginza bus; for the ticket included, the Shinjuku bus.
Checked against the GetYourGuide listing on 21 October 2026. Prices and options change: the calendar shows the current ones.
The three hours at Toshogu are free time: the guide explains the shrine on the way, then you go in on your own, and the ticket is not included.
What to do. Buy the Toshogu ticket at the gate (1,600 yen) or ahead, and read up on the carvings before you go.
The operator says the group is shared by guests from several countries and the guide may explain in several languages.
What to do. If you want everything in English, take the Ginza or Shinjuku bus.
No. Pay at the gate, 1,600 yen for adults, or buy the ticket ahead and exchange it at Tobu-Nikko Station.
No. Lunch is during the free time at Toshogu, in the town below the shrines.
Yes. The operator emails the meeting point and time, the guide's phone number and the coach's number plate at about 7pm the night before.
The best-selling coach day from Ginza: Toshogu with a guide, Kegon Falls and Lake Chuzenji.
Departs from Ginza, Tokyo · 10.5 hours
✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
A coach day from Shinjuku with a licensed English guide and the Toshogu ticket included.
Departs from Shinjuku, Tokyo · 10 hours
✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Nine seats in a van from your Tokyo hotel, long stops, and the Oya stone quarry on the way home.
Departs from Tokyo (hotel pick-up) · 10 hours
✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Sources: getyourguide.com, getyourguide.com. Checked October 2026. Photos: GetYourGuide.