Your family’s day in Japan is planned before you land.

Tell us who is coming and we plan around them, not around an itinerary. Every line below is something we already do, not something we will try to do on the day.

• Child seats for the Mt. Fuji car. Japanese law requires one for every child under the age of six. Tell us their ages when you enquire and the right seats are fitted before we come for you.
• Prams and wheelchairs, hired or your own. If yours stayed at home, there will be one waiting. Either way we route around lifts and step-free ways round, and we say honestly what will not work.
• Allergies checked before the day. We ring the restaurants in advance rather than asking on the day, and your guide says it again in Japanese at the table. If somewhere cannot handle it safely, we go elsewhere.
• The day can change on the day. Rain means markets and covered temples instead of cancelling. Tired by three o’clock means we finish early, and nobody minds.
• No separate child price. Children count towards the group like anyone else, and ten or twelve guests works comfortably. Larger than that and we add a second guide.

A four-year-old and a seventy-eight-year-old, out on the same afternoon. Two speeds in one group is the hardest day to plan, and the one we are asked for most often.

• One speed: the slowest. We map benches, lifts and clean toilets before you start, and build in two proper sit-down stops rather than hoping you find one.
• A wheelchair, hired to your hotel. Or a stick, or simply a shorter route. Tell us what walking looks like on a normal day and we plan from that.
• Stairs are the problem, not distance. Some older stations still have them. Your guide knows which, and goes round.
• Two adults free at once. On the Mt. Fuji day the driver drives and the guide does not, so there is always someone for the child who has had enough.
• Six or eight of you costs less each. $550 covers four on a walking day, then $100 a head. Beyond ten or twelve we add a second guide.

Arriving with children, straight off a long flight, into a city where nothing is in your alphabet. We keep the first day short and close to your hotel, and your guide shows you how the trains actually work so the rest of the week is yours. You will be met by someone holding a sign that says Japan Trails — no hunting for a stranger in a crowd.

A driver and a guide, not one person doing both. Almost every private Fuji day is run by one person who drives and talks. Ours is two: the driver drives, and your guide is free the whole way — to answer the questions, to sit with a child who has had enough, to keep the day moving when someone needs a stop. Child seats are fitted before we reach your hotel, at no extra charge. We leave at the hour you choose, not from a coach terminal at seven. Kawaguchi Lake, Oshino-Hakkai and Arakurayama Sengen Park are the usual shape of the day, but we decide the order on the morning, once we can see where the weather is clear. The Fifth Station is closed from mid-November to early April, and we say so before you book rather than on the day. Lunch and entrance fees are paid on the day. Up to 5 guests, with hotel pick-up and drop-off included. Larger families are welcome — each guest beyond that is $150.

A birthday in the middle of the trip, or the reason you came at all. Tell us the occasion and the person when you enquire — the moment, the place, the timing — and we work the day around it and keep it quiet from whoever it is for. Cakes, a table booked, a stop that means something.

No strangers joining. Every tour is private, so the day belongs to your group alone — your pace, your interests, your questions. Our tours are led by experienced local professionals who offer deep insights and genuine hospitality. Famous spots are just the start — you’ll experience culture, customs, and hands-on activities that reveal the real Japan, at your pace.