Treasures of Japan

A Two Week , True Grand Tour of Japan
14 - Days Tokyo, Nikko, Kamakura, Mt.Fuji, Hakone , Ise, Kyoto, Nara,  Takayama, Shirakawago, Kanazawa

Tour: JP14B

Photo Credit : By JNTO

You've come all this way. Why not stay a while? Settle in, and get to know not only the modern face of Japan, but also its heritage . . . its famous destinations and hidden treasures . . . its industry and also its arts and culture. You'll reap riches both expected and unforeseen during your fourteen-day discovery, and undoubtedly you'll find some Treasures of Japan to carry home.

Day 1 ARRIVAL IN TOKYO - Mondays - Weekly Departures

You'll arrive today at New Tokyo International Airport (Narita). After clearing immigration and customs, our representative will be on hand , waiting at the arrivals lobby , after you clear the "Customs" exit gate, he/she will help you make your way to the shuttle van , taking you to your hotel.
Welcome to Tokyo! Your van ride will provide a first view of the Japanese capital, so modern and familiar, and yet so different. Streets are busy but orderly and neat, lights and signs glitter everywhere, alternating with serene green oases. You'll find a most comfortable room waiting at your hotel : the Grand Palace.
After you check in, it's time to get to know Tokyo on your own, and appreciate its 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.

Day 2: TOKYO

We'll call for you in morning to show you the sights of Tokyo. You'll ascend the Tokyo Tower to the observatory level for a commanding view of the city, and visit the Imperial Palace Plaza. Then it's on through Akihabara to the Asakusa Kannon Temple. We'll also include time at the Tasaki Pearl Gallery, a multi-level emporium of pearls and much more, a must for visitors with fine taste. Your afternoon will be yours, to rest or to explore further on your own. Perhaps you'll take a cruise on Tokyo Bay, or browse the remarkable modern electronics, or the exciting neon-lit streets of Ginza. Feel free to wander in one of the safest cities anyway. Of course, we're at your service to arrange excursions.

Asakusa

Day 3: TOKYO - NIKKO - TOKYO (L)

Extraordinary beauty awaits within easy reach of Tokyo, as we'll see in our travels today. Our coach will call for us this morning, and take us toward the Shinto pilgrimage center of Nikko, considered by many the indispensable destination outside the capital. We'll pay a morning visit to the Toshogu Shrine, one of the most spectacular temple complexes in Japan. You'll marvel at the intricately carved details. Then we'll follow the Irohazaka road with its notorious hairpin turns upward into the mountains, where we'll stop to take a traditional Japanese lunch. We'll visit Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls, where a viewing platform is sited for the perfect photo. We'll return to Tokyo to conclude our day in the exciting Ginza district or Shinjyuku, each full of restaurants, electronic showcases, and avant-garde shops on every level of glittering buildings. Stay in the area for dinner, by all means, before you make you way back on your own to your hotel.

Toshogu Shrine

Day 4: TOKYO - KAMAKURA - TOKYO (L)

We'll leave Tokyo this morning by train for the short journey down the coast and into another world at the seaside town of Kamakura. We'll visit the Great Buddha, and the exquisitely constructed and maintained Hase Kannon Temple, famous for its statue of the eleven-headed goddess Kannon. Then it's on to the thousand-year-old Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, dedicated to a traditional patron god of the Samurai. We'll take lunch at a local restaurant, then return by train to Tokyo Station, where you'll be on your own to enjoy the rest of the day in Tokyo.


Great Buddha

Day 5: TOKYO - MT. FUJI - HAKONE (L)

Your motor coach will pick you up in the morning, and before long, you'll be out past the suburbs and into the neatly tended countryside beyond. Mount Fuji with its perfect, snow-capped conical shape will hover into view, every more impressive as we approach. We'll continue right onto the slopes of Japan's highest mountain, and ascend to the halfway point at 2300 meters (7600 feet) for spectacular views of rolling fields, orchards, lakes, and streams. We'll take our lunch at the Highland Resort, then continue with a relaxing cruise on Lake Ashi, and a breathtaking ride on the Mt. Komagatake aerial tramway. A comfortable bed will be waiting in nearby Hakone at the Hotel Kowaki-en, where you can delight in a relaxing hot-springs bath.

Mt.Fuji

Day 6 : HAKONE - NAGOYA - Inuyama or Gifu (L)

We'll take a short drive this morning through the Hakone mountains to Odawara station on the main rail line, where we'll catch the Bullet Train for Nagoya . Change to Meitetsu train at Nagoya and arrive at Inuyama around 12:50 PM . After lunch ( included) , visit Inuyama Castle and enjoy Japan Rhine Boat Cruise. After dinner at your hotel, enjoy cormorant Fishing Show ( Ukai) , traditional Japanese fishing method . Accommodation at Meitetsu Inuyama Hotel or Gifu Grand Hotel . In case we overnight at Gifu Grand Hotel , we'll visit Gifu Castle and Kinkazan Ropeway instead of Inuyama.

Nagoya Castle

Day 7: Inuyama or Gifu or Nagoya- KYOTO (L)

Transfer to Nagoya fro a full day touring . Visiting Noritake Garden . Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology , Lunch included. After which we'll be off to see the sights. Nagoya grew as a fortified town, and we'll see the reconstructed Nagoya Castle with its tiers of roofs. . Then we'll continue to the train station to board an express train for the Imperial City of Kyoto. We'll check in at the New Miyako Hotel.

Ise-Jingu Shrine

Day 8: KYOTO - NARA - KYOTO (L)

We'll tour the major sites of the ancient capital of Japan this morning, including the Golden Pavilion, Nijo Castle with its exquisite interiors (or Ryoanji Temple when Nijo Castle is closed), (On Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays, we'll take in the Higashi Honganji Temple instead.) After lunch at Kyoto's Handicraft Center, we'll continue to Nara, first capital of a united Japan. Highlights will include the Todaiji Temple with its huge Buddha; the 3000 lanterns of the Kasuga Shrine, and the Deer Park, where the animals are free to roam.

Kiyomizu Temple

Day 9: KYOTO

We've included an open day at this point, for you to fill as you wish-and there's plenty to do and see in Kyoto! Perhaps you'll head for one of the historic outlying districts. Fushimi, in the south of the city, is connected with Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who helped create a strong, united Japan, and built his castle here. You'll also find charming canals, sake breweries, and, among others, the Fushimi Inari Grand Shrine, with its thousands of bright gates, all an expected surprise.

SHINKANSEN

Day 10: KYOTO - TAKAYAMA

This morning, we'll board the Bullet Train for the rapid trip to Nagoya, then transfer to an express train to travel northward to Takayama, the town that time forgot. Though it's not all that far from Japan's major cities, sedate Takayama maintains its narrow streets lined with traditional wooden houses, their squared second levels projecting overhead. We'll have a chance to stroll streets lined with traditional craft businesses, including sake breweries, and visit a collection of colorful festival floats and the Kusakabe Folkcraft Museum, once a residence of powerful merchants. Take as long as you like to poke around-we'll be staying the night at the Hida Hotel Plaza.

TAKAYAMA

Day 11: TAKAYAMA - SHIRAKAWAGO - KANAZAWA

We'll experience traditional rural Japan throughout the day. First we'll visit the famous Takayama outdoor market, where farmers bring their produce. You'll find both the familiar and the exotic. Our scenic route will take us alongside Lake Miboro and the Shokawa River to impossibly picturesque Shirakawago, its farmsteads set among piney mountains and green paddies. Designated a World Heritage site in 1995, it's especially known for its Gassho-Zukuri, "clasped-hands" thatched roofs pitched steeply to shed winter snows. We'll continue to Gokayama, another World Heritage rural village, where we'll learn about the craft of Gokayama Washi, traditional Japanese paper making. We'll find our rooms waiting at the Holiday Inn in Kanazawa.

Shirakawago

Day 12: KANAZAWA - TOKYO

We'll spend the morning visiting Kanazawa, an unusual castle town that retains many of its old structures. We'll walk through Kenroku-en, one of the most exquisite formal gardens in traditional Japanese style, visit the Kutaniyaki kiln where vividly colored lacquer ware is crafted, and stroll the streets of the Nagamachi Samurai neighborhood lined by old wooden houses and crisscrossed by old canals. In the afternoon, we'll board the express train, connecting to the Bullet Train that will speed us back to Tokyo by evening.

Day 13 : TOKYO

We've included an open day at this point, to use as you wish. With guidebook in hand, you'll visit shopping areas filled with items both familiar and marvelous. You'll explore the parks of Tokyo, its charming, slow-paced neighborhoods surprisingly close to the city center, or perhaps ascend the Tokyo Tower for a stunning view. With plenty of signs in English, Tokyo is surprisingly easy to negotiate, yet exotic at the same time. Feel perfectly free to relax at your fine hotel. We also offer a range of optional tours to take advantage of your time exactly in the way you choose.

Day 14: DEPARTURE FROM TOKYO

We've arranged your transportation to Narita Airport in time to check in and catch your homeward-bound flight. By now you'll understand the traditional word of farewell: Sayonara.

This tour departs;
Weekly Departure on Mondays :

Rate per person in US$:

US$ 4395.00 per person in double.

US$ 4033.00 (child 6-11 years), sharing parents room.

US$ 5333 .00 , per person in single.

Rate includes:

* All ground transportation as indicated, by motor coach, airport shuttle, and Bullet Train

* Hotel accommodations as described, including taxes and service charge

* Tours as listed, including entrance fees and guide service

*Pre-set menu lunches (L) as indicated + one dinner

* Handling of one large baggage ( checked-in) per person , additional pieces : $22 per piece .

Not included:

* International air transportation

* Trip interruption and cancellation insurance

* Gratuities

* Meals or beverages other than those indicated

* Handling of extra baggage at $20 per item between cities, payable locally

Concerning your visit to Mount Fuji, please note:

1. The ride on the Mt. Komagatake Aerial Cableway might be omitted, depending on traffic conditions.

2. Due to winter and spring road closures, we will ascend to the highest accessible point on Mount Fuji, and not necessarily the Fifth Station.

3. Weather and operational conditions could cause other changes or substitutions due to conditions beyond our control.

4. With advance notice, we'll be pleased to arrange audio tour tapes in French, German, Spanish, Korean, or Chinese at no charge.

We recommend casual attire and comfortable shoes, as the program includes a walking tour. Take warm clothing for travel during March, April, October and November.