Day 1 Fly USA to Tokyo

Day 2 Welcome to Tokyo, Japan

Upon arrival and after clearing customs and immigration, an English speaking representative will greet and assist you to your shuttle bus transfer that services your Tokyo hotel.

From its bright billboards and crowded sidewalks, one could confuse Tokyo for New York City, but hiding in the shadows of the skyscrapers, neatly-clipped bonsai trees frame ancient wooden houses and kimono-clad women shuffle down narrow streets. Pass spring days under a pink cloud of fragrant cherry blossoms in Ueno Park, or awake early to witness the madness of a tuna auction at Tsukiji Fish Market. Sail down the Sumida River and make a grand entrance at Sensoji, Tokyo’s oldest temple, or feast your eyes on the world’s largest collection of Japanese art at the Tokyo National Museum.

Day 3 Tour - Tokyo half day city tour

Please assemble in your hotel lobby to start a half-day tour of Tokyo. Today you will visit Tokyo Tower, and enjoy panoramic views of this amazing city from the observatory platform at a height of 150m. You will also take in the Imperial Palace Plaza, Asakusa Kannon Temple with its shopping Arcade 'Nakamise', and Tasaki Pearl Gallery.

Day 4 Coach transfer from Tokyo to Hakone (Via Mount Fuji)

Depart for Hakone, en route drive halfway up to Mt Fuji and stop at 5th station. You will enjoy a western style lunch at a local restaurant. Upon arrival in Hakone, you will take a mini cruise on Lake Ashi, and take a cable car ride to Mt Komagatake. At the top of the mountain, you will have spectacular views of Mt Fuji & Hakone National Park. You will then be dropped off at your hotel in Hakone.

Hakone is a favorite weekend getaway for Tokyoites, offering everything from hot-spring resorts to magnificent views of Mount Fuji. Getting to Hakone is an experience in itself. Depart Tokyo on a high speed train, switch to a small mountain tram, and zigzag through forests and over streams. Enjoy unbelievable views as you ride a cable car and skim across Lake Ashi by boat before entering an alpine wonderland.  

After enjoying the sights of Hakone, relax in the hot spring baths.

Day 5 Tour - Bullet train from Hakone to Kyoto

Experience a ride on a ‘Shinkansen’ (Bullet train) as you journey to Kyoto. The distance is 267 miles. 

With its Zen rock gardens and air of tradition, Kyoto is a city for lovers. Young couples drift down the Oi River in wooden boats glowing with red lanterns while older sweethearts stroll along the narrow streets of historic Eastern Kyoto. As home to 20% of Japan’s national treasures, Kyoto is a massive museum.

The city boasts an impressive catalog of 1,700 well-preserved Buddhist temples and 300 Shinto shrines. Kinkakuji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, is one of Kyoto’s most famous and elaborate attractions. Featuring a three-story pavilion covered in gold-leaf and crowned by a phoenix, one has to shade their eyes from its brilliance. Rivaling this luster is Nara’s Great Buddha, Daibutsu, one of the largest bronze statues in the world containing 286 pounds of pure gold. 

Tour – Nara afternoon tour

This afternoon assemble in your hotel lobby to start an afternoon tour to Nara. This afternoon you will visit Todaiji Temple with its huge Image of Buddha; Sacred Deer  Park; and Kasuga Shinto Shrine famous for its hundreds of stone lanterns.

Buddhism gained a foothold in Japan after monks from the Korean kingdom of Paekche introduced the faith to the Japanese court.  It quickly won an influential following, reaching the highest circles of imperial power by the 7th century.  In 685 the Emperor Temmu ordered that every family throughout the land should establish a Buddhist Altar.  His descendent Prince Shotuku went further, decreeing that a national branch temple be built in every province.  Two years later, in 743, he ordered the construction of a grand national temple to oversee them all.  Todaiji was the result.

Completed in just four years by 751, Todaiji was truly a wonder of the world.  It housed the largest wooden building the world has yet seen.  Even the 2/3 scale reconstruction, finished in the 17th century, it remains the largest wooden building on earth today.

Day 6 Tour - Kyoto half day city tour

Please assemble in your hotel lobby to start a morning tour of Kyoto. Today you will discover the historical sites of this interesting city. The first site will be the Nijo Castle, the old residence of the Shogun, followed by the famous golden pavilions at the Kinkakuji Temple, the Higashi Honganji, and finishing at the Kyoto handicraft Center. This tour begins at 8.30am, and concludes at 12.30pm at your hotel.

Kinkakuji means the temple of the Golden Pavilion.  Constructed in Kyoto's northern hills in 1398 by Yoshimitsu, the third Ashikaga shogun, it was once part of a much larger villa complex.  When he died it became a Zen temple in accordance with his will. Sadly, the original temple burned in 1950 when a deranged Buddhist monk set it ablaze. 

Day 7 Fly Kyoto to USA

Transfer to Kansai International Airport by scheduled shuttle bus on a seat-sharing and set-timetable basis without assistance. Refer to information at hotel front desk for a schedule of bus pick-up times and meeting point within the hotel.