Temple Tour: Zenko-ji & Sake Tasting Experience

Delight in a guided temple tour and participate in a fire ceremony, followed by a traditional tea experience. Savor local dumplings, enjoy a ‘sake’ tasting, and experience a distinctive stay at a traditional ‘shukubo.’

Duration: 2 days
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights

Fire Ceremony and Local Delicacies

Ogawanoshodaimonten - Delight in a simple treat of ‘oyaki’ at Ogawa-no-sho and enjoy sake tasting at Imanishiki. (The order can be reversed)
Zenko-ji Temple - Participate in a private ‘goma’ prayer fire ceremony, performing the ritual yourself, within the Daikanjin temple complex at Zenko-ji. Following this,…

What's Included
  • English-speaking guide in Nagano City
  • Guided tour of Zenko-ji and fire ceremony
  • Accommodation at a ‘shukubo’ temple lodging
  • ‘Japanese-style Room’ with on-floor ‘futon’ bedding
  • Dinner
  • Breakfast
  • Sake Tasting
  • Tea ceremony experience with matcha and traditional sweets
  • Simple snack of two oyaki
What's Not Included
  • Additional food, snacks & drinks
  • Entry to other paid attractions at Zenko-ji’s, or the ‘O-Asaji’ morning ceremony
Additional Information
  • All listed events, activities, and experiences are subject to availability. Please note that while certain tour options may appear bookable through our platforms, this does not guarantee that every experience can be carried out as scheduled in the tour itinerary. Many activities require direct confirmation with our partner venues, and availability may…
Location
Nagano Station
Meetup with your guide inside Nagano Station - they will be waiting for you in front of the large Information Board directly across the Shinkansen / 'Bullet Train' ticket gates - and walk toward Zenko-ji Temple, stopping at the smaller Saiko-ji Temple along the way and onto lunch.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(20 Ratings)
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1 star
Vidarhaugstad
Mar 25, 2026
Excellent tour guide - Excellent tour w/ Kevin and authentic shukobo stay! Would highly recommend
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Explorer60772136344
Mar 10, 2026
Wonderful tour of Nagano Zenkoji Temple - Shawn was a fabulous tour guide, being happy, friendly, very informative and checking in on us making sure we enjoyed our tour. The tour was great value for money and well paced. Alissia, who was learning was a beautiful girl who accompanied Shawn on the tour. She was lovely too. I highly recommend this tour and hope you are lucky enough to get Shawn as your Guide!!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Charnaycook1956
Feb 3, 2026
Unforgettable Experience - We had a fantastic tour with Shawn! He was incredibly knowledgeable and went above and beyond with translation, which truly elevated the entire experience. We can’t wait to tell our friends and family about this tour and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a genuinely authentic Japanese cultural experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
X9815tpbrendak
Jan 8, 2026
See Zenkoji Temple - We had a fabulous walking tour of the Zenkoji (Buddhist) Temple and area before New Year's Eve. There were lots of preparations being made and everything looked so lovely. Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly, taking us to his favorite spots along the way. We also participated in a fire ceremony, a tea ceremony, had a delicious snack, and sake tasting. It was an enjoyable afternoon.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Eby2686ih
Nov 27, 2025
Zenkoji Temple & Tea ceremonies 101 - The tour was excellent. Our guide was Joyce from snow monkey resorts. She was an excellent guide and very well informed on the topics discussed regarding zenkoji temple, the surrounding area and tea ceremonies. I would recommend Joyce to all travelers.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
619nab
Nov 17, 2025
A very special and one-of-a-kind experience with a great tour company & guide - This tour was the highlight of my one month trip to Japan, for many reasons. Nadine was fantastic when communicating in advance and planning the best possible experience based on my needs. The day of the tour, I was the only one, and I was happy to see that Nadine was also my guide. While going through the tour, it felt more like I was hanging out with a very knowledgeable friend that also speaks Japanese (she is from the US, and even the locals were so impressed with her!). We spent a great afternoon eating, talking about living in Japan, the culture, and of course Nagano and its history. The temple experience was one of the most special things I have done in my life, and I am so grateful that I was in good hands with Nadine arranging and supporting me until I got settled at the end of the tour. The next morning I was by myself at the temple stay, and since this stay (as far as I understood) was not the one the tour company usually works with, I felt a little lost in the morning when nobody was there at the meeting time established: this is because all the other guests were part of a separate tour and left earlier. Thankfully I managed to make my way and didn’t lose one bit of the morning prayer experience. This was the second tour I did with Snow Monkey Resorts during this trip and I highly recommend them, they are truly fantastic and they are very well organised. All in all a very special and life-changing experience. Thank you Nadine & Snow Monkey Resorts for making this possible.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Audreyrh4974zb
Nov 14, 2025
Immersive experience in Nagano - Great tour with wonderful culinary, spiritual and historical experiences. Thank you Sean for your kindness and professionalism.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Robert_i
Jul 18, 2025
We had a great time on... - We had a great time on our experience and learned a lot about the history and culture of all of the activities. Our tour guide, Shawn, was really helpful especially when we had to get checked into our temple stay.
Review provided by Viator
Curiosity528375
Apr 27, 2025
Money well spent for an inside view on the culture of Zenkoji - The tour was absolutely phenomenal - the guide was knowledgeable, the temple was amazing, and Suki and Tetsu at the tea making ceremony were so enthusiastic it was infection. Definitely worth experiencing!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trail53201518410
Jul 25, 2025
Great tour and amazing temple ceremony - It was a great tour to immerse in Japanese culture, as we got a wonderful tour through Nagano, including the best Oyaki place ever and a very friendly introduction to the matcha tea ceremony. At this remark, thanks to Kevin for being a great tour guide! The highlight of the event was - after a nice and quite night at the shokun - the morning ceremony in zenkojin temple.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $273
up to 10 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).