Musubi: Curating unique Japan experiences for sophisticated travellers

Kimono, Peach Blossoms & Afternoon Tea in Koga

A One-Day Spring Escape from Tokyo

After two days exploring Tokyo, it’s time to step slightly off the beaten path.
On Day 3, travel just one hour from the city to Koga, a charming historic town where you can experience Japan’s spring with all five senses.

Dress in a traditional kimono, enjoy an authentic matcha tea ceremony surrounded by peach blossoms, and end the day with a refined afternoon tea in a Taisho-era Western-style mansion.

This experience is designed to be relaxed, cultural, and deeply seasonal—perfect for travelers who want to go beyond the highlights.

This tour is warmly hosted in collaboration with the Koga Tourism Association and trusted local partners.
Guests are welcomed not as tourists, but as visitors to the community, supported by regional artisans, tea specialists, and cultural practitioners.

🕰️ Detailed Schedule (AM / PM)

9:20 AM | Meet at Koga Station

Meet your guide outside the ticket gates at Koga Station, in front of the Tourist Information Center.
Staff wearing orange happi coats will be waiting to welcome you.

9:20 AM – 11:00 AM | Guided Walk in Koga

Begin the day with a gentle walking tour of Koga, once a historic castle town.
This introduction offers insight into local life and history—an authentic contrast to Tokyo.

11:00 AM – 12:10 PM | Kimono Selection & Dressing

At the elegant Literature Museum, housed in a Taisho-period Western-style building,
professional kimono dressers carefully fit each guest in a refined and stylish kimono.

Once dressed, you’ll head toward the peach blossom festival area.

12:10 PM – 1:50 PM | Peach Blossom Festival & Matcha Experience

Arrive at Koga Kubo Park, where around 1,700 peach trees color the park in soft shades of spring pink.

Here, enjoy an authentic matcha tea experience hosted by local tea specialists.
Take memorable photos in kimono, stroll through the festival grounds, and sample light local snacks from food stalls if you wish.

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM | Peach Blossom Afternoon Tea

Return to the Literature Museum for the highlight of the day:
a Peach Blossom–themed Afternoon Tea.

Enjoy a curated selection of Japanese and Western sweets created exclusively in Koga, paired with Sashima Tea, one of Japan’s earliest export teas.
A calm, elegant moment to relax and reflect on the day.

4:00 PM | Change Clothes & Tour Ends

After changing back into your clothes, the tour concludes.
You can return to Koga Station and be back in Tokyo by early evening.

💰 Tour Details

• Price: ¥61,000 (USD $407) per person

• For groups of 3 to 4 people: JPY 47,000 (USD $313)

• Group size: 2-4 guests 

• All group sizes: Same price 

• No group discounts – Premium experience guaranteed

• Duration: Approx. 6.5 hours

• Minimum Participants: 2 guests

• Age Requirement: 18+

• Languages: English

Cancellation charges apply based on the timing of cancellation:
– 20 days or more before departure: up to 20% of the total tour price
– 7 to 19 days before departure: up to 30%
– 1 day before departure: up to 40%
– On the day of departure: up to 50%
– After departure or no-show: up to 100%

📅 Available Dates (Spring 2026)

March:

• Wednesday, March 18

• Thursday, March 19

   

  Weekday Immersion by Design

  This experience is intentionally designed for weekday participation, allowing for:

  • Peaceful exploration without weekend crowds
  • More intimate interaction with Koga’s daily rhythm and residents
  • Deeper engagement with artisans and local tea producers
  • Unhurried pacing that honors both cultural authenticity and guide expertise

  Weekday availability ensures the quiet, authentic Koga—the town as it truly lives—rather than as it appears on crowded festival days.

✈️ Why This Fits Perfectly on Day 3 in Tokyo

• Easy day trip (about 1 hour each way)

• No rushed schedule—ideal after busy sightseeing days

• A chance to experience traditional culture, seasonal nature, and local life

• Returns to Tokyo in time for dinner or evening plans

Why Koga?

A Refined Day Trip Beyond Tokyo — Privately Guided

For travelers who have already experienced Tokyo, Kyoto, and Japan’s major highlights, Koga offers something increasingly rare: a quiet, authentic, and beautifully seasonal Japan, just one hour from the capital.

What makes this experience truly special is that the entire day is privately guided— allowing guests to explore at a comfortable pace, with depth, context, and personal attention.

Expert Guidance, Unhurried Pace

This experience is expert-guided and limited to a small group of up to 8 guests, allowing for personal attention, smooth coordination, and meaningful cultural interaction throughout the day.

Rather than being led by multiple staff members at different locations, guests enjoy:

• One consistent guide for the entire experience
• Smooth coordination between cultural activities
• Cultural explanations tailored to guests’ interests and background
• A relaxed, unhurried pace with flexibility

This style of guiding is especially appreciated by international travelers seeking quality, trust, and meaningful interaction, rather than mass tourism.

Easy Access, Yet Deeply Local

• Approx. 1 hour by train from central Tokyo
• Simple logistics for a day trip
• No crowds, no overtourism

Despite its accessibility, Koga remains a town where daily life, tradition, and seasonal rhythms are still intact—an ideal setting for private guiding.

Spring’s Signature: The Peach Blossom Festival

Each March, Koga celebrates its agricultural heritage through the Hanamomomatsuri (Peach Blossom Festival), a regionally-rooted seasonal tradition that awakens the town in spring. Approximately 1,700 peach trees bloom across Koga Kubo Park, creating one of the Kanto region’s most poetic landscapes—a transformation experienced by residents and visitors alike.

The festival itself remains locally authentic—not commercially staged—allowing guests to witness the season as the community naturally experiences it. With private guiding, the deeper narrative emerges: why this festival matters to Koga’s identity, how peach cultivation shaped regional pride, and the intersection of agricultural tradition with cultural continuity.

Kimono as Immersion, Not Consumption

Guests are professionally dressed and accompanied by a guide while exploring the town in kimono—walking, drinking tea, and engaging with the landscape and community. What distinguishes this experience is the philosophy behind it.

Like traditional sewing crafts, kimono represents culture sustained by human hands and time. How we receive such traditions—how we engage with them—determines whether they are passed forward to the next generation or simply consumed.

Kimono selection and professional dressing are provided by instructors from Takumi Tanki Daigakko, a nationally recognized vocational institute specializing in traditional textile arts and craftsmanship. These artisans include award-winning textile experts honored at the National Skills Olympics—a distinction reflecting mastery at Japan’s highest standards of technical excellence. This careful, expert attention is not a service detail; it is an act of cultural stewardship.

As a nationally certified interpreter guide and regional DMC operator for over 20 years, I do not approach this from theory or critique. I stand in the field, face to face with people—artisans, residents, guides—making real judgments and adjustments. This is why I speak about cultural transmission with conviction: because I have witnessed, directly, the difference between experiences that honor tradition and those that consume it.

Guests wear the kimono authentically while engaging with the town, supported throughout by their private guide’s cultural knowledge and attentiveness. The experience creates immersion rather than performance—a quiet choice that asks travelers to receive rather than take, to participate rather than observe.

Detailed information and artisan profiles available at: https://musubi-travel.jp/archives/1950

Tea with a Story: Sashima Tea

Koga is historically known for Sashima Tea, regarded as Japan’s first export tea. Through private guiding, guests learn:

• Why this tea mattered historically to Japan’s opening to global trade
• How it shaped the region’s economic and cultural identity
• How agriculture, trade, and cultural pride intersected in Koga’s story

Tea becomes a cultural narrative, not merely a tasting—a moment of understanding how Koga contributed to Japan’s modern history.

A Taisho-Era Setting for Calm Elegance

The day concludes at the Koga Literature Museum, a beautifully preserved Taisho-era Western-style building, where guests enjoy:

• A Peach Blossom–themed Afternoon Tea, celebrating the season
• Locally crafted Japanese and Western sweets
• A refined, quiet atmosphere ideal for conversation and reflection

The private guide remains present, ensuring smooth flow and contextual storytelling while allowing guests space to relax and absorb the experience.

The Ideal Rhythm for Overseas Travelers

For travelers staying multiple days in the Tokyo region:

• Day 1–2: Tokyo (urban energy, contemporary culture, landmarks)
• Day 3: Koga (nature, tradition, seasonal beauty, expert private guidance)
• Day 4 onward: onward travel or deeper regional exploration

This balance of contrast, quality, and accessibility is highly valued by overseas DMCs and international travel producers seeking authentic, memorable experiences beyond Japan’s well-known circuits.

Experience Details:

• Limited to March (festival season)
• Group size: up to 8 guests
• Duration: Full day (recommend 1 hour travel + 6-7 hours on-site)
• Kimono artisan support: Takumi Tanki Daigakko (Featured on TV Asahi, February 2)
• For detailed itinerary and booking: https://musubi-travel.jp/archives/1950