Vacation Overview
Tour Details
Travel Honshu to explore Tokyo’s skyline, Shizuoka’s scenery, deep Kyoto temples, preserved Kurashiki, and Hiroshima’s stories in a rich cultural and historic itinerary.
Highlights:- 10 nights deluxe accommodation
- Travel by bullet and local train
- Japanese/western breakfasts daily
- Four full day and one half day tours
Daily Itinerary
Day 1: Tokyo; Arrive Tokyo
Upon arrival at Narita Airport, you will be met by an assistant in the arrivals area before boarding your shared transfer to your hotel in Tokyo. Rest of day at leisure.
Day 2: Tokyo; Tokyo Sightseeing (B)
Take a full-day tour with a local English-speaking guide, using public transportation to get quickly from point to point. First up is Asakusa, Tokyo’s old town. Visit Sensoji, Tokyo’s oldest temple and wander down Nakamise, a historic shopping street. Next, cruise down the Sumidagawa River on Tokyo's Water Bus. Visit Hamarikyu Garden, an Edo-period Japanese garden surrounded by the Shiodome district’s futuristic skyscrapers. Stop for a cup of steaming matcha and Japanese sweets in a tea house on a small island in the park’s lake. Enjoy a visit to Meiji Shrine, and a walk down the flashy Omotesando shopping street, a broad tree-lined avenue home to flagship stores and fantastic modern architecture.
Day 3: Tokyo; Tokyo at Leisure (B)
Day at leisure to explore independently or add a guided experience; ask our Destination Specialists.
Day 4: Shizuoka; Tokyo to Shizuoka (B)
Weather permitting, today you will see Japan’s highest peak, Mt. Fuji. Your ride on the bullet train will take you from Tokyo to Shizuoka where you will commence a guided tour of Nihondaira Plateau, which offers a panoramic view of Mt. Fuji with the port town of Shimizu and Suruga Bay. Take a cable car to pay a visit to the holy Kunozan Toshogu Shrine, dedicated to the Edo period’s first shogun. Next, you will visit the new observatory Nihondaira Yume Terrace, designed by world-famous architect Kengo Kuma in 2018. From here, you can also enjoy the view of Mt. Fuji from a different angle as well as green tea plantations for which Shizuoka is so famous.,Next, Miho no Matsubara where over 30,000 pine trees line the beach stretching 5 miles along Suruga Bay. The contrast between the green pine trees and the blue and white sea have led to this vista being named one of the most scenic places in Japan. Finally, a visit to a cultural center which highlights the importance of Fuji to the Japanese people.
Day 5: Kyoto; Shizuoka to Kyoto (B)
Once again board the bullet train; this time for beautiful and historic for Kyoto. The afternoon is free for you to explore independently or to add a guided experience. Our Destination Specialists can help you decide. A suggestion would be to take a taxi to Nishiki Market to wander, shop and graze on street food. Several knife shops in the market sell high quality Japanese knives that can be engraved with a name - these make great souvenirs.
Day 6: Kyoto; Kyoto Highlights (B)
Your guided tour today is all about the most magnificent temples and shrines of Kyoto. With your guide, using public transportation to get around, you will visit these temples and shrines: Fushimi Inari, Sanjusangendo, Kiyomizu, Kitano-Tenmangu and Kinkakuji. All are so different, yet similarly stunning.
Day 7: Kyoto; Nara Day Tour (B)
Travel to Nara with your guide for a tour of the Park, home to hundreds of deer, and the famous temple. Stroll around a historic merchant district and admire its elegant machiya houses, inside and out.
Day 8: Kurashiki; Kyoto to Kurashiki (B)
Take the bullet and a local train to Kurashiki where you will explore the old town and wander along its canal. It’s easy to feel as if you have slipped back in time.
Day 9: Hiroshima; Travel to Hiroshima (B)
Today’s bullet train journey takes you to Hiroshima. Afternoon at leisure to explore independently.
Day 10: Hiroshima; Hiroshima Day Tour (B)
Tour this amazing city with your guide and marvel at how its dark history has been left in the past. In its place, is a determination to move forward. Starting at the Peace Memorial Park, you’ll visit the Museum, an unmissable site. A short ferry ride takes you to Miyajima, a small sacred island located in the Seto Inland Sea. It’s “floating” red tori gates are one of the most photographed sites in Japan.
Day 11: Osaka; Hiroshima to Osaka or Tokyo (B)
Take the bullet train back to Osaka to depart from Kansai Airport, or Tokyo to depart from Haneda or Narita airports. (Travelers with morning departures may require an extra night near their airport)
Day 12: Osaka; Depart Osaka or Tokyo
Your Japan travel arrangements end today.