Morning temples and quiet lakes
Before the day fills up, there is a stillness around the temples and the western shore of Lake Biwa. We begin here — unhurried, attentive, and welcomed in.
Japan, as it is.
Begin with a bow.
Small-group journeys into Japan’s quieter places — shaped by practice, local life, and genuine human connection.
- Practice
- Place
- People
Beyond the checklist
Japan is not only found in its landmarks.
It is also found in the rhythm of a local town, the silence before practice, and the conversations that happen after dinner.
Lake West Tourism creates journeys that make room for those moments — a slow morning by the lake, a session in the dojo, a meal where you are a guest rather than a spectator. We travel in small groups, at a thoughtful pace, designed around people, place, and practice.
The western shore of Lake Biwa is our home, not a place we drive out to for the day. You are welcomed by people of the region, and a single hand looks after the whole journey — here in Shiga, and onward across the rest of Japan.
Signature experiences
Travel closer.
Kendo practice and the discipline of the dojo
Not a demonstration to watch from the side, but the etiquette and rhythm of the dojo entered with respect — guided by someone who has spent a life in it.
Evenings of food, conversation, and local life
The part of a town that opens up after dark — a small counter, a few dishes, the people who keep the place going. You arrive as a guest, and you stay a while.
Martial arts & kendo
The Kendo Meeting
Two days on the northern shore of Lake Biwa, training beside people who step onto the dojo floor every week — led by a sixth-dan instructor who stays with you from arrival to farewell.
The Kendo Meeting is a two-day, one-night program built around practice, not a demonstration. You train in the Makino Kōgen gymnasium across two sessions — an evening keiko on the first day and a morning keiko on the second — alongside members of our own Kosei Kendo Club （湖西剣道クラブ） and kendoka from the Takashima City Kendo Federation. These are people who practise every week. Several of them are French, Spanish and English, so the language of the floor is one you can follow.
Naoyuki Kishimoto — sixth-dan, and a Certified General Travel Services Manager （総合旅行業務取扱管理者） — leads every session and remains with the group for the full two days. He runs the club himself. The club and the company share a name, because Kosei means Lake West: you practise with his club, not with a dojo found for the occasion.
If you already wear bōgu, the heart of the Meeting is jigeiko — open practice, at your level, against partners who meet you honestly. If you have never held a shinai, a parallel beginner menu runs in the same hall: footwork, the first cuts, and the etiquette that frames all of it. Both are real practice; neither is staged for a camera.
Then the second dojo opens.
In Japan, the evening that follows keiko carries a half-joking name — the “second dojo.” It is where the day’s stiffness turns into friendship. Dinner is laid on at your lodging: depending on the season, a barbecue in the garden or sukiyaki around the table, with a 鳥すき (chicken) setting for anyone whose diet or faith calls for it. Every meal across the two days is included — the second dojo among them.
You stay in a minshuku or a hotel in the Makino Kōgen area. The gymnasium is reserved through your lodging, so the two come as one — which is exactly why we arrange them together. As a registered travel business, we hold the room, the hall, the meals and the practice under a single booking, and can extend the trip with transport or extra nights on request. Makino Kōgen Onsen “Sarasa” is close by, and a visit is included. One honest note: Sarasa does not admit visible tattoos, Japanese or foreign guests alike — but tattoos covered with tape are welcome, and we provide the tape. Tell us in advance and it is settled.
We photograph the keiko and film a little of it, and you receive the files afterward — nothing to chase. You also take home a tenugui designed by Naoyuki himself, and a group photograph from the floor.
What is included
- Two guided keiko sessions — evening and morning — in the Makino Kōgen gymnasium
- One night in a Makino Kōgen minshuku or hotel, with every meal across the two days
- Practice alongside active members of Kosei Kendo Club and the Takashima City Kendo Federation
- A sixth-dan instructor with you for the full program
- A visit to Makino Kōgen Onsen “Sarasa” (tattoo-cover tape provided)
- Keiko photographs and short video, delivered to you as files
- A host-designed tenugui and a group photograph
- Travellers’ accident insurance for the practice
- English throughout — from the host and from the club’s international members
Not included · good to know
- Travel to and from Makino
- Rental bōgu — four adult sets are kept on hand, and more can be prepared if we know your sizes in advance; please bring your own where you can
- Personal extra drinks and any additional nights
- Armored practice is for ages 16 and over; younger practitioners are welcome on the beginner menu with a guardian
- We ask for a short health declaration; inside the men, contact lenses sit more easily than glasses
- Every participant signs a brief assumption-of-risk and health form before stepping onto the floor
Pricing & booking
From ¥50,000 per person (about US$330), twin-share, for the two days and one night — most meals, practice, onsen, insurance and keepsakes included. A 30% deposit holds your place; the balance is due 60 days before. Bookings close 8 weeks before the dates, and the Meeting runs with a minimum of 2 and up to 30 people. Cancellation follows the lodging’s own schedule and is confirmed in writing at booking.
For the trade: net rates for agents and land operators with a standard commission, and group departures up to 30. Final names and numbers by the 8-week release. We hold accommodation, gymnasium, meals and instruction under one contract, and can add transport or nights on either side.
Journeys
Journeys designed around place, practice, and pace.
Every journey is small-group or private. Dates, accommodation, meals, and experiences are shaped together with you, so the prices shown are indicative starting points rather than fixed packages. Tell us what draws you, and we build a final quote from there.
Module 02 · Stillness
Tendai Mountains, Meditation and Sutra Copying
Zazen, shakyo, and the Tendai temple landscapes above Otsu — a journey of stillness, writing, mountain paths, and reflection.
From US$350–400 per person / journey · indicative
Explore this journey
- Seated meditation (zazen), introduced with care
- Sutra copying (shakyo) as slow, attentive practice
- Walking the temple grounds and mountain paths
- Room for silence and reflection
Module 03 · Water towns
Waterways of Omi
Canal towns, old merchant culture, a castle-town atmosphere, and the spring-fed clarity of Samegai.
From US$350–400 per person / journey · indicative
Explore this journey
- The canals and merchant houses of Omihachiman
- Hikone’s castle-town atmosphere
- Spring-fed waters and old streets at Samegai
- Local food along the way
02
Coming soon
Nagahama & Showa Japan
Module 04 · Lived-in streets
Nagahama and Showa Japan
Glass crafts at Kurokabe and the everyday traces of the Showa era — a town still lived in, not a stage set.
From US$350–400 per person / journey · indicative
Explore this journey
- The Kurokabe district and its glass crafts
- Quiet streets that still carry the Showa era
- Local makers and small shops
- An unhurried, lived-in pace
03
Coming soon
Nakasendo · Kamikochi · Okuhida
Module 05 · Mountain roads
Nakasendo, Kamikochi and Okuhida
Old post towns of the Nakasendo, the valley of Kamikochi, and the hot springs of Okuhida — paced for the mountains.
From US$350–400 per person / journey · indicative
Explore this journey
- A · 3 Days / 2 Nights — a focused mountain route
- B · 4 Days / 3 Nights — more time on the old roads and in the hot springs
- Nakasendo post towns, Kamikochi, Okuhida hot springs
- Mountain travel, old roads, slower pacing, thermal landscapes
04
Coming soon
Nagano · Zenkoji · Yudanaka-Shibu
Module 06 · Art & onsen
Nagano: Zenkoji, Hokusai and Yudanaka-Shibu
Zenkoji Temple, the Hokusai Museum in Obuse, and the hot-spring streets of Yudanaka and Shibu.
From US$350–400 per person / journey · indicative
Explore this journey
- Zenkoji Temple and its grounds
- The Hokusai Museum in Obuse
- Yudanaka and Shibu Onsen streets
- Northern mountain-town evenings
05
Coming soon
Sapporo & Rishiri Island
Module 07 · Northern islands
Sapporo and Rishiri Island
A premium, limited-capacity journey from Sapporo to the remote landscapes of Rishiri Island, in collaboration with local guides.
From US$350–400 per person / journey · indicative
Explore this journey
- Sapporo as the northern gateway
- Rishiri Island’s remote landscapes
- Collaboration with local island guides
- Premium, small-capacity arrangement, subject to season and confirmation
06
Coming soon
Kyoto & Osaka extension
Module 08 · Before & after
Kyoto and Osaka — Before or After Your Journey
An extension designed to connect with the main modules — Kyoto, Osaka, local food, and curated cultural evenings.
From US$350–400 per person / journey · indicative
Explore this journey
- Kyoto and Osaka, paced to connect with your main journey
- Local food and contemporary city life
- Optional curated evenings: Gion after dark, a Kitashinchi evening, yakitori and local dining, or a karaoke-bar experience
- Evenings are arranged as cultural experiences for guests who want to see how the city lives now — not as a party product
How pricing & booking work
The figures above are indicative land prices, per person, for the journey, based on twin-share accommodation. They exclude international flights and are shown only to give a sense of scale. Once your journey is shaped together, we confirm a single, itemised quote in writing.
To hold your dates, we ask for a deposit. We begin making arrangements on your behalf — reserving accommodation, transport, dojo sessions, and experiences — once that deposit is received. The remaining balance is due before departure, and full payment and cancellation terms are confirmed in writing at the time of booking.
The founder
Travel with the person who understands the practice.
Naoyuki Kishimoto
Founder & travel host · Sixth-Dan kendo practitioner and instructor
- Founder of Lake West Tourism, based in Shiga, close to Lake Biwa and the quieter side of Kansai
- Sixth-Dan kendo practitioner and instructor
- Certified General Travel Services Manager — Japan’s national qualification for travel operations (総合旅行業務取扱管理者)
- Former media professional with a background in broadcasting, production, and storytelling
For selected journeys, the person who designed your trip may also travel with you — not to rush you from landmark to landmark, but to help the journey unfold with care. As a kendo practitioner, he can share the etiquette of the dojo with respect rather than as a spectacle; with a background in media, he can tell the story behind a place and the people who shape it.
A travel host accompanies selected journeys; it is arranged per trip and is not guaranteed for every journey.
Read the full story
Travelling with you
A journey, held together with care.
Local guides bring the knowledge of a place. Your Japanese tour conductor looks after the journey as a whole.
From the first arrival to the final farewell, we pay attention to timing, comfort, conversation, and the relationships that make a visit feel welcome. The purpose is not to speak over Japan. It is to help you encounter it — with respect.
A tour conductor, not a tour guide
In Japan, these are two different roles. A guide explains one place — a temple, a district, a craft. A tour conductor (添乗員, tenjōin) travels with you and holds the whole journey together: the timing, the transfers, the meals, and the small adjustments a day inevitably needs.
The Japanese tradition is deliberately understated. A tour conductor often keeps a quiet professional distance — at times staying at a different hotel, or dining apart — precisely so that your evenings and your free time remain your own. The role is to make the journey run, not to fill every hour or to stand between you and the country.
Why I travel as your tenjōin — on request
For selected journeys, I accompany you in this Japanese way: as the person who quietly represents you to every hotel, restaurant, and host, so that you are free simply to be a guest.
I am honest about the craft, too. Carried too far, an advocate can become demanding — suppliers in our industry sometimes say a tour conductor is louder than the travellers themselves. I take that as a lesson. My aim is to represent you firmly but quietly, and to treat the people who welcome us with the same respect I ask them to show you. That balance, I believe, is what lets a journey feel cared for from the first arrival to the final farewell.
Accompaniment as your tour conductor is arranged per journey, on request, and is not part of every trip.
For travel partners
For travel partners.
A Japan-based receptive partner for overseas agencies, tour operators and DMCs. We build small-group and tailor-made itineraries — and you keep the client relationship.
- Overseas travel agencies
- Boutique tour operators
- DMC partners
- Private travel planners
- Small-group & high-value specialists
- Small-group and tailor-made itineraries
- Kendo and cultural, practice-based experiences
- Local accommodation, meals, transport and experience coordination
- Support for agent partnerships and custom itineraries
- White-label or co-created itinerary discussion may be possible, subject to agreement
Enquiries
Begin planning your journey.
Tell us a little about who you are and what draws you to Japan. We will review your request and respond with the next steps — there is no instant booking here, and nothing is confirmed until we have spoken.