Day 1: ARRIVAL IN TOKYO

You arrive today at the New Tokyo International Airport (Narita), and quickly clear customs and immigration, after which our local rep will meet you and escort you to the Airport Shuttle.

We've arranged for transportation on the airport limousine bus right to your lodgings at the comfortable Grand Palace Hotel.

On your way into town, you'll see glittering Tokyo, extraordinarily modern, yet always orderly and well-mannered. It's a first lesson in Japanese heritage! After you check in, you'll have time to familiarize yourself with the city and explore its safe streets.

Day 2: TOKYO

We'll call for you in the 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 to the Asakusa Kannon Temple, a harmonious melding of design and spirituality. 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 remarkable modern electronics, or stroll the exciting neon-lit streets of Ginza. Feel free to wander in one of the safest cities anywhere. Of course, we're at your service to arrange excursions.

Asakusa Kannon Temple

Day 3: TOKYO - NIKKO - TOKYO (Lunch - Japanese Style )

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. Then 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 your way back on your own to your hotel.

Toshogu Shrine

Day 4: TOKYO - MOUNT FUJI - HAKONE (Lunch-Western Style )

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, ever 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. Our lunch stop is the Highland Resort, then we'll 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 5: HAKONE - TAKAYAMA

This morning, we'll drive through the foothills to Odawara Station, and 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. Takayama is sometimes called "Little Kyoto" because of its rich heritage. 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, see a collection of colorful festival floats at Yatai Kaikan Hall, and visit the Kusakabe Folk craft 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.

Shirakawago

Day 6: 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. Later, we'll find our rooms waiting at the Holiday Inn in Kanazawa.

Day 7: KANAZAWA - KYOTO

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 for Kyoto, where we'll stay two nights at the Rihga Royal Hotel Kyoto.

Day 8: KYOTO - NARA - KYOTO (Lunch Buffet Style )

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), and the ancient Imperial Palace. (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 Kyoto Sanjusangen-Do Temple which is a national treasure with 1,030 standing Buddhist statues in the main hall , the principal image , a seated Thousand-handed Kannon was carved by Tankei.
All the kannon and its 29 followers are designated National Treasures by the Japanese Government. The smaller 1,001 smaller images are considered very important cultural heritage. The temple takes its name from the 33 spaces between pillars in front of the main altar . In Buddahism , the number "33" os of symbolic importance , because the bodhisattava Kannon incarnates in 33 different shapes in its missions of mercy.
On to Heian Shrine : a famous structure dedicated to Emperor Kammu, the founder of Kyoto, and the Emperor Komei, the last emperor in Kyoto . It was built to commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of the founding of Kyoto in 1895 . Its building , with the exception of the ferroconcrete torii gate , are miniature replicas of the first Imperial Palace built in Kyoto , in 794 . The garden behind the shrine is well known for its water lilies, roses , azaleas, maples and weeping cherry trees.

Our last stop is Kiyomizu Temple . Kiyomizu Temple is noted for its cliff top Main Hall with a broad wooden veranda with a panoramic view of Kyoto city . The veranda is supported on a scaffold of wood towering on a wooded hillside, the veranda seems to hang in mid-air. The depth of the valley below is such that the Japanese expression " Jumping from the veranda of Kiyomizu Temple " means doing something daring . The present temple building was built in 1633. The main hall has been designated as a National Treasure.

We head back to your hotel in Kyoto . Before you go to bed , verify your departure time tomorrow on the Airport coach

Day 9 : Kansai Airport - DEPARTURE FROM Osaka ( If you prefer to leave from Tokyo , please click here)

Use your remaining time to explore Kyoto on your own. In accordance with your flight schedule, we'll see you to Kansai International Airport to begin your homeward journey. Our local rep. will be on hand to see you board the airport coach / van .

This tour departs :
Year : 2006
March 5,8, 12 , 15, 17, , 19, 22 , 24 , 26, 28, 29 ,31
April 2,4,5 , 7, 12 ,14 , 16,18,19, 21,23
May 7 , 10, 12 , 14, 17 , 21 , 24 , 28
Jun 4, 11, 18 , 25
July 2 , 9 , 16, 23, 30
August 13 , 20 , 27
September 3 , 10 , 17 , 20 , 24 , 27, 29
October : ( bring warm cloth) : Oct 1 , 3, 8 , 10, 11 , 13 , 17, 18 , 20, 22 ,24, 25, 27 , 29
November : ( bring warm cloth) : Nov 5, , 8 , 12 ,19, 26

Year : 2007
March 4 ,11 , 14 , 18, 17, , 21, 23 , 25 , 28, 30

Rate per person in US$

Special Winter Rate per person in US$ valid only for Jan & Feb :
Please deduct $ 200 per person from any of the listed rates

Rate includes:

• Transportation from Tokyo Airport to your hotel and from Kyoto to Kansai Airport
• Hotel accommodations as described, including taxes and service charge
• All ground transportation by motor coach, Bullet Train, and express train as per itinerary
• Tours as listed, including entrance fees and guide service
• Three lunches with set menu (L)

Not included:

• International air transportation
• Meals & Beverages that are not specifically included
• Expenses of a personal nature (phone calls, room service, etc.)
• Travel and trip-cancellation insurance (please consult our flyer)
• Optional tours

Remarks :

1. Due to traffic conditions, it may be necessary to omit Mt. Komagatake Aerial Cableway depending on traffic conditions, especially during local holidays.

2. When the driveway up to Mt. Fuji's 5th station is closed in winter and spring, the motorcoach will drive up to the highest possible point.

3. Other visits may also deleted or substituted depending on traffic and weather conditions and/or for operational reasons.

Multilingual tour tape available for Fuji-Hakone tour :
For your convenience tour tapes are available as well in French, German, Spanish, Korean, and Chinese (for Mt.Fuji-Hakone tour ) it's a free service, please book in advance. 

Comfortable shoes are recommended, along with warm clothing during visits in March, April, October and November.