Aizu Customized Private Tour by Car with Licensed Guide

Tsuruga Castle (Tsurugajo), also known as Wakamatsu Castle, is the symbol of Aizuwakamatsu. The elegant five-story keep is famous for its red-tiled roof, the only one of its kind in Japan, and is renowned for withstanding a month-long siege during the Boshin War of 1868. Inside, a museum traces the history of the Aizu domain and its samurai, while the top floor offers sweeping views of the castle town and the surrounding mountains.

Iimoriyama is a hill best known as the tragic site where the Byakkotai, a band of teenage samurai, took their own lives during the Boshin War of 1868 after mistakenly believing that Tsuruga Castle had fallen. Their graves and memorials line the wooded hillside, and from the spot where they made their fateful decision visitors can still glimpse the distant castle they fought to protect.

Aizu Sazaedo is an extraordinary hexagonal wooden temple built in 1796 on the slope of Iimoriyama. Its unique double-helix spiral ramp allows visitors to walk all the way up and back down without ever meeting anyone coming from the opposite direction, an ingenious architectural feat that has earned it designation as a National Important Cultural Property.

Aizu Bukeyashiki is a sprawling open-air complex centered on the faithfully reconstructed mansion of Saigo Tanomo, a senior chief retainer of the Aizu domain. Visitors can wander through more than thirty rooms and outbuildings to discover how high-ranking samurai families lived, and learn the moving story of the household during the turmoil of the Boshin War.

Oyakuen is a tranquil Japanese garden that once served as a villa and medicinal herb garden for the lords of the Aizu domain. Laid out around a graceful heart-shaped pond, it cultivates several hundred species of medicinal plants and offers a peaceful place to stroll and enjoy a cup of tea while admiring the seasonal scenery.

Ouchijuku is a beautifully preserved post town from the Edo period, lined with rows of thatched-roof houses along a former trade route through the mountains. The historic buildings now hold shops, eateries and inns, and the town is famous for negi soba, a bowl of buckwheat noodles eaten with a single long green onion in place of chopsticks.

To-no-Hetsuri is a dramatic natural rock formation along the Okawa River, where millions of years of erosion have sculpted tower-like cliffs rising above the water. A suspension bridge spans the river, letting visitors walk out along the unusual rock ledges and take in the scenery, which is especially breathtaking during the autumn foliage season.

Higashiyama Onsen is a historic hot spring town tucked into a wooded valley on the edge of Aizuwakamatsu. With more than 1,300 years of history, it was a favored retreat of the Aizu lords and the celebrated poet Yosano Akiko, and its traditional ryokan and bathhouses line a picturesque river gorge that is especially lovely in autumn.