Please confirm the following information before making reservations or inquiries.
Guide Arrangements
Guiding arrangements will be made only after all the information regarding the itinerary and other information in the table below has been determined with the understanding of the following notes.
Please note that we will not be able to arrange a guide if you do not respond to our questions, or if you do not provide us with the necessary information by the deadline below due to a delay in response.
If you do not provide us with the necessary information by the deadline below after we have arranged a guide, we can cancel the tour, even after we have arranged the guide.
About Support Guides
If the number of participants exceeds the number specified, a support guide will be provided for safety reasons.
The conditions for having a support guide vary depending on the course and number of participants, so we will inform you whether or not a support guide will be provided upon receiving your request.
If you do not agree to have support guides, we will refuse your request.
Deadline for receipt of inquiries
The deadline for requests for the guide is 2 weeks prior to tour start date.
Please note that we will not be able to respond to any inquiries after that time for any reason.
We will not accept requests for itinerary changes after the following deadlines, except in the case of emergency or when inclement weather is expected the day before or on the day of the tour.
Please note that we may decline your request even if it is within the above time limit during consecutive holidays such as Golden week, Obon vacations, and year-end and New Year holidays.
Pre-interview with the guide
We operate as a contractor.
In the case of outsourced contracting, there is no relationship of command and order between the client (travel agency) and the contracted worker (guide).
We do not allow pre-interviews with guides, as it may violate the Worker Dispatching Business Law.
In particular, direct orders to the guide, requests to present work history, or refusal to work after the pre-interview are in violation of the Worker Dispatching Business Law.
Consultation on itineraries
We are unable to provide consultation on itineraries, including specific accommodations and transportation, as this may violate the Travel Agency Law.
In addition, due to the difficulty of fully conveying the charms of the guide to our clients, we suggest that the following itineraries be changed or partially deleted.
- Long travel time and distance from inn → start point of Kumano Kodo walking, end point of Kumano Kodo walking → inn
Example:
①Koyasan inn → Nakahechi area → Kumano city inn
②Kumano city inn → Hongu area → Kumano city inn - Over-packed itinerary
Example:
Hosshinmon Oji – Hongu Taisha (lunch at a restaurant in Hongu area) → paper-making experience → river boat ride → Hayatama Taisha → inn in Katsuura
We reserve the right to refuse requests for tours that take less than the times listed here. Please understand this in advance.
Please refer to the following list of travel times for major courses and create your own itinerary.
Please feel free to inquire about the time required for courses not listed here.
The time required is walking time. Basically, travel time by bus or other means to the site is not included.
If the course does not include lunch and lunch is included, one hour will be added to the tour time.
Please contact the Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau if you would like to propose an itinerary that includes accommodations and transportation.
| Course | Time | Distance（km） | Lunch Time |
| Takijiri to Takahara | 3 | 3.9 | not included |
| Takijiri to Chikatsuyu-oji | 8 | 14.4 | included |
| Takahara to Chikatsuyu-oji | 5 | 9.4 | included |
| Takahara to Tsugizakura-oji to Nonaka Ipposugi bus stop | 8 | 14.6 | included |
| Gyubadojiguchi to Tsugizakura-oji to Nonaka Ipposugi bus stop | 5 | 6.7 | included |
| Tsugizakura-oji to Hongu Taisha | 9 | 21.7 | included |
| Doyukawa bridge to Hongu Taisha | 8 | 17.5 | included |
| Hosshinmon-oji to Hongu Taisha,Oyunohara | 5 | 7.5 | included |
| Dainichi-goe | 2 | 2.9 | not included |
| Akagi-goe | 5 | 7.9 | included |
| Kogumotori-goe | 6 | 12.6 | included |
| Ogumotori-goe | 9 | 15.4 | included |
| Hayatama Taisha to Kamikura Shrine | 2.5 | 2 | not included |
| Daimonzaka to Nachi Falls | 3 | 2.5 | not included |
| Hayatama Taisha to Kamikura Shrine＝Daimonzaka to Nachi Falls | 8 | 4.5 | included |
Regarding Collaboration with Other Guide Organizations or Individual Guides
If you arrange another guide organization or individual guide within the same itinerary,
please inform us of the guide’s name, assigned section, and scheduled date(s) either in advance or once the arrangements are confirmed.
We request this information in order to ensure proper safety management and smooth information sharing throughout the entire itinerary, and to prevent any misunderstandings among the parties involved.
We appreciate your kind understanding and cooperation.
Arrangements other than guides
Since our association is not licensed as a travel agency, we are unable to arrange transportation or accommodation on your behalf.
For such arrangements, please contact Wakayama Guide Tour, a licensed travel agency specializing in guide services.
(Note: We can arrange or reserve lunch boxes and restaurants.)
Furthermore, please note that advance payment of accommodation fees or transportation costs other than local route buses may constitute a violation of the Travel Agency Law, and therefore we must decline such requests.
When arranging accommodation or transportation, please refer to the examples below:
Example
| Guide books his/her own accommodation → Charges the travel agency for the cost | × | If the guide requires accommodation, please arrange it through the travel agency. |
| Guide temporarily pays for a local route bus fare on site → Charges the travel agency for the fare | 〇 | |
| Guide temporarily pays for a taxi fare → Charges the travel agency for the fare | × | Please arrange by using an hourly charter or similar method. |
| Pre-purchased JR train tickets are sent in advance to our association → Handed over to the guide | 〇 | |
| Guide buys tickets at the station and hands them to the customer → Charges the travel agency for the tickets | × | Please consider one of the following alternatives: ① You purchase in advance and send the tickets to our association ② The customer purchases the tickets directly (the guide may provide purchasing support) ③ Consult with Wakayama Guide Tours (they can handle arrangements and delivery of tickets) ④ Other agreed methods |
Rough standard of prices
Prices change depending on numbers of people, hours, contents, your budget and so on.
Please feel free to contact us concerning prices.
| 4 hours | 20,000～26,000 yen |
| 8 hours | 36,000～45,000 yen |
- Basically the prices are for up to 10 people per one guide.
- In case of trekking in difficult courses, participant’s limitation would be 6 per one guide for security.
- We will try our best to arrange a guide who belongs to our association.
- However, if it is difficult to arrange a guide who belongs to our association, such as when all the guides are already booked, we may arrange a guide from a friendly organization.
In such cases, the fee may differ from the fee according to the Association’s regulations. - Please note that guide fees are non-refundable except for cancellations due to natural disasters such as typhoons. We appreciate your understanding in advance.
- We do not negotiate discounts under any circumstances. Thank you for your understanding.
Additional charges
- Transportation fee for the guide（from guide’s home to meeting place・during the tour・ending place to guide’s home）*There is the rule of the association depending on the guide’s area of residence and the area to be guided. The upper limit is 12,000 yen.
- Admissions
- Cost of meals for the guide
- In case of very early start and returning home on the same day is difficult, accommodation fee and cost of meals for the guide
Guide Designation
If you order a specific guide, the fee will be based on the guide’s personal request, and the guiding fee stipulated by the Association may not apply.
Cancellation Policy
We hope you enjoy your tours with our professional guides, but if you do have to cancel your reservation, for whatever reason, please let us know as soon as possible.
In the event of cancellation for the customer’s reason, a cancellation fee will be charged at the following rates.
However, this does not include cases due to force majeure such as natural disasters, typhoons, paralysis of transportation.
The tour will be cancelled if any of the heavy rain, flood, or storm warnings are in effect or remain in effect at the meeting time, or if there is a warning for the guide’s residential area and travel to the site would be dangerous.
In addition, the guide may discuss the following conditions directly with the customer (travel agency) in the following cases.
Therefore, please be sure to provide emergency contact information.
Please note that even in cases other than the above, we may cancel the tour if our guides, who are familiar with the local area, determine that it is dangerous.
- One week before the tour, 30 percent of the guiding fee;
- 6 to 3 days before the tour, 40 percent;
- 2 days and 1 day before the tour, 50 percent;
- On the day, 100 percent of the guiding fee is expected.
Luggage Shuttle Service
For customers traveling around the Kumano area, there are service providers who offer luggage transportation from one accommodation to another. If you are traveling with large luggage, please feel free to contact us in advance.
If you are booking a through-guide, please also arrange for the guide’s luggage transportation.
Wakayama Guide Tour
Email Address
info@wguidetour.com
Other Notes
The Kumano Kodo (Nakahechi and Kohechi) have many ups and downs, and many customers say that it was tougher than they expected.
In addition, it takes more time than indicated on the map because of the invisible time consumed by the large number of people.
Please make your itinerary with plenty of time to spare.
If we deem the itinerary to be unreasonable, we will ask you to change it.
In the unlikely event that you are unable to comply with our proposal, we will refuse to accept your application.
In addition, our group’s principle is to leave the Kumano Kodo by 4:00 p.m. We ask that you follow this principle in preparing your itinerary.
Please be aware of this for your own safety.
Please understand that neither our organization nor individual guides are responsible for any accidents or problems that may occur during the guided tours. (We have insurance, but in the event of an accident, it will be covered only to the extent stipulated by the insurance company.)
Please understand that there may be times when a trainee accompanies the tour in addition to the arranged guide.
Please understand that the guide may be changed or the tour may be cancelled due to an emergency.