Travel In Style Around the World Series | From Istanbul to Tokyo In 14-days Turkey and Japan weekly in Istanbul on Wednesdays

This tour eases your way into the very essence of Japan, through encounters ranging from the mundane to the sublime. You'll experience the serenity of a family inn, where you'll be greeted with slippers at the door, and soak in the comfort of a steaming tub. You'll join the Japanese as they get about by steam train, subway, taxi, and Bullet Train, We'll even arranged for you to share real-life experiences and pastimes, ranging from a campfire to a farm stay to gathering edible plants. And of course, we won't pass up the perfect beauty of Mount Fuji.

DAY 1 - ISTANBUL - Wednesday
You're met at the airport by our representative, who sees you to your hotel, and answers any questions you may have about getting to know the city. As you ride into the great metropolis from the airport, two thousand years of history are revealed: towering Roman walls, ancient Byzantine churches, slender minarets framing the bulbous domes of graceful mosques. These ancient monuments float on the skyline of a bustling modern metropolis of ten million people. Welcome fruit basket in your hotel room awaits you with our compliments.(Inter.continental or similar)

DAY 2 - ISTANBUL- Thursday (BL) The center of ancient Constantinople and Istanbul was on Seraglio Point, framed by the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. We visit the Blue Mosque, built by Sultan Ahmet III to challenge the architectural primacy of neighboring Sancta Sophia. We then walk next door to compare achievements in Justinian's great Sancta Sophia. Right behind Sancta Sophia is our next stop, sumptuous Topkapi Palace, the sultans seraglio for centuries, filled with breathtaking exhibits of priceless jewels, golden thrones, delicate colored tiles, and lavish court costumes. We finish up in the bustling Grand Bazaar, where you can find jewelry, carpets, goat-hair rugs, hand-painted ceramics, copper and brass in labyrinthine streets holding nearly 4000 shops.

DAY 3 - BOSPHORUS - Friday (B)
Istanbul's history was formed by the Bosphorus, the winding strait that separates Europe and Asia, connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. Now, as in ancient times, it is a maritime vital link between the countries bordering the Black Sea and those in the rest of the world. Today we take a leisurely cruise northward along this historic waterway. Along its shores are ranged palaces great and small-Topkapi, Dolmabahçe, Beylerbeyi, Küçüksu, Hünkar Iskelesi. Four great fortresses rise on the hills, reminding us that to control the Bosphorus was to control the destinies of nations. Our afternoon cruise of two continents, crossing from Europe to Asia and back, includes visits to the Military Museum, the Bosphorus Bridge, Çamlica Hill lookout, and stupendous Dolmabahçe Palace.

DAY 4 - ISTANBUL- Saturday (B)
Istanbul is all yours, day at leisure, any way you like it.
Grab your Lonely Planet guidebook to Istanbul and stroll along the restored 19th-century thoroughfare of Istiklal Caddesi, once known as the Grand Rue de Péra. Search for spices and folk remedies in the Egyptian Bazaar. Admire the medieval mosaics in the city's many Byzantine churches. Shop in the chic boutiques around Taksim Square. Climb the Galata Tower, built by the Genoese six centuries ago, for a panoramic view of Old Istanbul.

Day 5 - Sunday"Imperial Constantinople in the Belle Epoque"
(late 19th century), the exotic romance of the "Paris of the East:" Sunday (BL)

Morning walking tour : We start with our guide in Karaköy where the foreign bankers and shipping companies had their headquarters, then take the Tünel up to istiklal Caddesi; stop in the whirling dervish tekke, and walk past the various old embassy buildings (now consulates), and point out the architecture. Stop for tea (included) at the famous Pera Palace Hotel.
Walk at least as far as Galatasaray Square, and have lunch in the Çicek Pasaji (Flower Passage); then walk up to Taksim Square and be picked up for the afternoon tour.
In the afternoon the tour visit Yildiz Palace Park and the Ihlamur Kasri, a mini-palace south of Yildiz, and finish up with a visit to the Military History Museum in Harbiye in time to hear the "Mehter," or Ottoman military band (mid-afternoon).

DAY 6 - ISTANBUL Monday (B)
There are many more things to see and do in this fascinating city, but they will have to wait for your next visit. After breakfast, our representative escorts you to the airport for your Tokyo bound flight--until next time! Dinner is served on board. Overnight flying over Asia.

DAY 7 - ARRIVAL - TOKYO - Tue
You'll land today at ultramodern Narita International Airport, after your introduction to the serene ways of the Orient aboard your transpacific flight. Of course, our Tokyo-based representative will be on hand to greet you at the customs exit, and make sure that you get on the right bus for your downtown hotel. Though Narita is a fair distance from Tokyo, everything moves quickly and efficiently in Japan, and in only ninety minutes, you'll be at your hotel (the New Takanawa Prince or a similar establishment). After you settle in, you can have a look around, and appreciate the small marvels of Japanese urban life: spotless streets, a pace that's fast but always in control, bicycles left unlocked, vending machines dispensing superb hot coffee in cans (or whiskey, if you wish), and signs in English. Everything's the same, but a little bit different. You'll be comfortable in, and fascinated by, Tokyo.

DAY 8 - TOKYO - Wed (BL)
Enjoy breakfast at your hotel, with the option to please your palate with Japanese specialties, as well as more familiar Western fare.

Your tour voucher will specify the time at which to meet your English-speaking guide in your hotel lobby. Board the coach to get to know Tokyo, but don't think that this is an ordinary bus tour! You'll see the essential sights, including the sky-piercing Tokyo Tower, the extensive Imperial Palace and its gardens, and the national legislature, the Diet.

But you'll also attend a traditional tea ceremony at Happoen Garden, and gain an insight into the tranquil yet solid spiritual life of the Japanese at the Asakusa Kannon Temple. The avant garde of Japanese products-many not yet on sale elsewhere-will be found in the Nakamise shopping arcade. Of course, you'll rub shoulders with the locals on the streets of ultramodern Ginza, Sumida River cruise, Japan Tour, Adventure tour, Turkey Jpana Tour

Sumida River cruise, Japan Tour, Adventure tour, Turkey Jpana Tour

where restaurants and boutiques offer services and wares from street level upward. Lunch will be a Japanese-style barbecue (vegetarian food available) at the Chinzanso Garden restaurant. We'll even manage to fit in a waterside view of Tokyo from the Sumida River. You'll glide under thirteen bridges, and feast on sights that include the Rainbow Bridge over Tokyo Bay, the Tsukiji fish market, a sumo stadium, and other spots both interesting and offbeat. At dusk, we'll offer a courtesy shuttle back to your hotel, though of course, you're free to continue to explore, shop, and taste on your own.

DAY 9 - TOKYO, MOTEGI, TOCHIGI Thu (BLD)
Ride into the countryside alongside the locals today! We take pride in affording you this experience, entirely by public transportation, with orientation by our English-speaking representative. You'll get to Tokyo station by subway or taxi, to board the futuristic Tohoku Shinkansen, or Bullet Train. Your 45-minute ride speeds you through an assortment of neat neighborhoods with narrow streets, and onward through the countryside to Oyama, where you'll transfer to a train for Shimonodate. . Now, it's time for a change of pace, as you go back into time for a journey of more than an hour aboard a vintage train with fully restored steam locomotive.

By now, you'll have mastered the polite bow of greeting, and will find that many Japanese are eager to practice their English-especially with someone who has wandered off the standard tourist routes! At Motegi-Cho station, you'll be warmly greeted and invited to lunch at the family inn (minshuku tabata) that will be your home and base for the next few days. You'll appreciate your unusual accommodations, along with the rural setting of small farms, and a steady, slow pace. To enhance your experience, Travel in Style offers a range of activities that may include a tea ceremony, harvesting garden-fresh vegetables, preparing a traditional barbecue dinner, a campfire, and stargazing. Take advantage of this unusual chance to experience Japanese country life!

DAY 10 - TOCHIGI Fri (BLD)
After a farm-style breakfast in Japanese style, it's time for still more traditional experiences. Depending on the season, you might take part in the harvest of rice. Or join the locals in identifying and picking edible wild plants for your lunch, or making buckwheat noodles by hand. For a change of pace, we'll take time in the afternoon to visit Honda's twin racing oval, the largest in the world, and the adjacent museum, before returning to dinner at your family inn.

DAY 11 - TOCHIGI, TOKYO Sat (BL)
After breakfast, you'll be seen from your family inn to the Motegi-Cho station, where you'll be briefed for your return trip to Tokyo with a change of train at Oyama. Our Tokyo representative will be on hand to greet you on the platform, and escort you to your hotel taxi. You'll have time to continue your explorations of Tokyo on your own. Take a walk through the exciting Ginza district where the street action never ceases, or wonder at consumer electronic marvels in Akihabara.

DAY 12 - TOKYO, MOUNT FUJI, HAKONE Sun (BL)
We'll depart in the morning by motor coach, passing through Tokyo's orderly outlying communities and, later, carefully tended fields and orchards. Majestic Mount Fuji will come into view, increasingly imposing as we approach. We'll ascend all the way to the 2300-meter level mountain for both an unsurpassed experience of the perfect mountain and an appreciation of the countryside. Surrounded by ordered beauty, we'll proceed to lunch at a Western-style resort in Hakone, followed by a cruise on placid Lake Ashi and a visit to the Owakudani Valley, a remnant volcanic crater. Evening will see your departure by rail for Tokyo station. With instructions from your guide, you'll find that you can make it back to your hotel entirely on your own.

DAY 13 - TOKYO Mon (B)
You've learned many of the ropes during your stay in Japan up to now-how to manage the public transport system, ordering food, greeting people and communicating with just a very few words and gestures. Now you're ready for a day exploring on your own! With guidebook in hand, you'll visit shopping areas filled with items both familiar and marvelous. You'll explore the parks of Tokyo, or perhaps ascend the Tokyo Tower for a farewell view, or visit shrines, or charming slow-paced neighborhoods surprisingly close to the city center. We also offer a range of optional tours to take advantage of your time exactly in the way you choose.

DAY 14 - TOKYO, DEPARTURE Tue (B)
It's sayonara today! After breakfast, you'll have time for last-minute shopping and sightseeing, until you board your coach for Narita International Airport, where you'll embark with new insights and pleasant memories of eternal Japan.

This tour operates weekly throughout the year, starting on Wednesday in Istanbul.

Please note: This tour includes a rural experience. If you are allergic or sensitive to plants, animals, or insects, please consult your health professional for advice on whether this itinerary is suitable for you.

As a thank-you gift for your paid trip reservation, we will send you a copy of "Turkey: Bright Sun, Strong Tea," a humorous travel memoir written by Tom Brosnahan, one of America's most prominent travel writers. Brosnahan has written travel guidebooks to Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel and Turkey, so he knows the Mediterranean well. "Bright Sun, Strong Tea" is the story of his discovery of this wonderful area, and how he came to write so many guidebooks about it. It's perfect on-the-plane or end-of-the-day travel reading, and we'll send it to you with our compliments. To read excerpts of the book, or to order additional autographed copies, click here.

Around the World Series

From Istanbul to Tokyo In 14-days : Turkey & Japan

Tour starts weekly in Istanbul on Wednesdays!

From Istanbul to Tokyo .Your Istanbul stay is filled with enough exotic sights, sounds, scenes and scents to make it seem like weeks.