Meet Your Guides

Dan is an English-speaking local guide based in Tsuruoka, at the foot of the three sacred mountains of Dewa Sanzan. On Dewa AAA's private tours he accompanies guests up the cedar-lined stone steps of Mt. Haguro, through the castle town's samurai and silk heritage, and to the quiet places in between.

Rather than following a scripted route, Dan treats every tour as a conversation — pacing the day around your interests, adding stops when something catches your eye, and sharing the stories behind Japan's centuries-old "journey of rebirth" as you walk it yourself.

Shoji is a Japanese-speaking local guide based in the Tsuruoka area, leading Dewa AAA's private tours around Mt. Haguro and the Shonai region in Japanese. He enjoys introducing first-time visitors to the region's layered history — from the ascetic mountain faith of Dewa Sanzan to the samurai families who built Japan's northernmost silk industry.

Tours with Shoji are unhurried and flexible: whether you want to climb all 2,446 stone steps or linger over the details of a single shrine, he shapes the day around you.