Sado island - guided tour

Hi.
Intend to visit Sado island in April.
Unfortunately we do not drive. Are there any guided bus tours (or similar) around the island ?
Japanese tours are OK.

Alternatively, how much does it cost to hire a taxi for a day to bring us around the island ?

Thanks.

Yes, there are guided tours in Sado island. As you write that Japanese is okay just search for something like 佐渡島ツーア and you will find several options.

Alternatively there are also public buses that run on the island and at least in the plain between Ryotsu and Mano riding on a bicycle is also very nice. There are bicycle rentals and proposed tours at the tourism information.

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.nl/2017/10/part-5-day-21-day-25-sad...

Enjoy your trip to Sado island.

LikeBike,
Many thanks for your reply.
Unfortunately I am unable to find anything on the Internet for 1 day sightseeing bus tours around Sado island from Ryotsu.

Biking is indeed a good idea, but am travelling with an elderly mother.
So this option is out for this trip.

Alternatively, does anyone know how much a taxi may costs for a day tour ?

Thanks.

Isn’t this what you are looking for?

http://www.sado-bus.com/sightseeing/

As said, there are also ordinary buses to visit the island.

When I visited in September we simply used the bus to get around - our main objective was visiting the goldmine as a day-trip from Niigata. It was pretty easy - but we did also use a taxi for one of the shorter pieces.

Awesome, thanks very much for the link.

Does anyone know if the bus tours include the Osado skyline ?

Thanks.

Yes, two of them have 大佐渡スカイライン　which is Japanese for Oosado Skyline. It says however that due to weather it may be closed at some times.

Thanks for the clarification.

Think I may need some help on translation (google translate does not seem to work on the pdf documents).

We will only be in Sado (based in Ryotsu) on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday in mid-April.
Based on 2017, do the tours only run on specific days ?

I am OK to join a few different types of tours and am keen to also try to the wooden tub boat ride.

Can someone advise pls ?

Many thanks in advance.

If I understand you correctly you are 3 days on Sado island. Right? And you don’t speak Japanese, right?

In this case I would really take the local busses. You have a lot of time available so you can do one part of the island every day.

Unless you need to take the ferry back to Niigata, you could also take the ferry from Ogi to Naoetsu on your last day.

I suggest normal bus, because you can move at your own pace (instead of super fast Japanese pace) and I also think that the Japanese guide might be in a bit of a difficult position if you don’t speak Japanese. She(he) will have a hard time doing her work as correctly as she(he) wants to do it.

For the “bath tub” tour in Ogi, you just need to go to the harbor and can do it. No special organization needed.

The tourism information board at Ogi or Ryotsu harbor will be able to give you all the information on the local busses.

Thank you for your reply LikeBike.

1) 2.5 days in Sado island (taking into account that I need 0.5 day to get from Niigata to Sado)
only speak very rudimentary tourist Japanese but totally cannot read Japanese

2) Is there a website with the local bus timetable, i fnot for 2018 at least for 2017 ?

3) I may have to change my travel plans and move the trip to end Feb/early Mar.
If so, is it still worthwhile visiting the island ?
(thinking of weather wise and temperature)

Cheers.

Has anyone visited Sado island in the 1st week of March ?
Just wondering hos the weather will be there then; do ferries get cancelled often with inclement weather ?

The public bus from Ryotsu to Ogi seems like a long journey.
Is a visit to Ogi still worthwhile in during that period ?

We do have luggage so do not really want to check out from our ryokan in Ryotsu and bring our bags on the bus to Ogi etc.

Thanks.