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What you’ll do

SHIOYA is my small hometown, a quaint peaceful fishing village nestled in a valley. It takes about 15 minutes from Kobe, 40min from Osaka and 70min from Kyoto by JR train. It’s surrounded by beautiful mountains and the sea, its historical and has a lovely quaint market street.

On meeting at JR SHIOYA station, I’d like to give your own Japanese name card to you. It would be useful for communication with friendly local people.

First, let’s go to the harbour. Enjoy a photogenic view of the area. You can see Mt Rokko, Awaji island, the pearl bridge, etc. Also, my fisherman friend waits for you. You can sample Nori (seaweed) if you like.

Then through the tunnel, we’ll go into SHIOYA town. I’d like you to know about real Japanese daily life by walking through a temple, a shrine, a cemetery, etc.
Also, enjoy the narrow market street and I want to share my local vision with you, visiting a barber shop which has over 100 years history, a tatami factory, and our beautiful heritage, the Guggenheim house when they are open.
Let’s enjoy more than 8 different yummy Japanese snacks & drinks.

Have fun talking with local people & a super smiley environment !
Other things to note
Comfortable shoes and clothes for walking are recommended.

Children, non-English speakers and people who study Japanese are welcome.
We can use gestures!

Location

We’ll meet at the gate of JR SHIOYA station. ( It takes about 15 min from JR Kobe station.)
First, we’ll go to the harbour.
Then go into SHIOYA town and walk around a temple, a shrine, markets, shops, the Guggenheim house and so on, while enjoying various snacks at a croquette shop, restaurants, fishmonger, a tofu shop, a bakery, a cake shop, and fresh fruits and vegitable shops etc.
Let’s enjoy communication with local people & belong Shioya!

Reviews

★★★★★
Shioya, Japan Walking Tour
“Konnichiwa! Sumire, thank you for your message, so good to hear from you. And thank you and Yurina so much for the pictures. We have had a really great time here in beautiful Shioya, Japan. I wish to say our most memorable time was having you as our best tour guide ever and all the wonderful Shioya people we were privileged to meet during our tour. We will never forget you, Yurina, and Shizuko-san, who was so kind and generous and served us refreshing and cool drinks. Please tell her I will always cherish her gift to me that will always remind me of her and the warm and beautiful heart of Shioya, Japan. Sumire, you made this unique and memorable visit to Shioya all happen because of your genuineness and sincerity in allowing me, Rosemary, and Mia, to experience the uniqueness and beauty of Shioya and take you and some of Shioya with us in our minds and hearts. I certainly want to keep in touch with you and hope to revisit with you and Shioya very soon again. Take care and good health to you and your family. This walking tour was simply the best!”
JESSE R (June 24, 2023)

★★★★★
Meet the Locals
“It was a unique experience we enjoyed on this day. Sumire picked us up from the cruise ship and traveled with us by train to a village outside Kobe. She showed us around her hometown, visiting a school, barber shop and much more. We interacted with local people and had a tea break. I can highly recommend to everybody who would like to do something outside the normal tourist attractions.”
widi (June 20, 2023)

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