Best of Japan

DAY 1: USA - Tokyo

Fly from the US to Tokyo .

DAY 2: Tokyo

Arrive at Tokyo International Airport and transfer to your city hotel via airport shuttle bus. Alternatively, upgrade to enjoy a private transfer service. The remainder of the day is yours to enjoy independently, perhaps unwinding at your hotel or getting a taste of the city, which is home to around eight million people.

DAY 3: Tokyo

Energetic Tokyo is a blur of neon, malls and skyscrapers sprinkled with hidden temples, bazaars and wooden houses. Today, take a morning sightseeing tour that showcases its highlights. Admire the Imperial Palace Plaza, a clutch of gardens and palaces that are home to Japan’s royal family, and amble along Nakamise Street, an avenue of stalls leading to the Senso-Ji Temple. Peruse the stalls’ souvenirs and snacks, and marvel at the elaborate Buddhist temple, Tokyo’s oldest. After enjoying a Japanese-style lunch, continue to fashionable Ginza, Tokyo’s best-known shopping, dining and entertainment hub. Browse the department stores, big-name brands, malls and eateries of this buzzing area before a transfer back to your hotel. Or, choose to stay on in Ginza independently. This evening, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant before heading back to the hotel.

DAY 4: Tokyo - Hakone - Mt Fuji - Tokyo

Leave Tokyo by coach and travel to Hakone, a picturesque region of hills, forests and lakes spread below Mt Fuji, Japan’s most sacred peak. Take a drive up to Fuji’s 5th station (weather permitting), situated 7,555 feet above sea level, and behold the scintillating views before riding the Hakone ropeway over the beautiful Lake Ashi area. Enjoy a scenic cruise on Lake Ashi and a break for a Japanese-style lunch, before returning to Tokyo. Enjoy this evening at leisure and look forward to experiencing the bullet train to Kyoto tomorrow. Please prepare one piece of luggage for our complimentary optional luggage transfer service, which will free you from carrying luggage on and off the train and deliver your luggage direct to your Kyoto hotel upon your arrival.

DAY 5: Tokyo – Kyoto

Today, step aboard Japan’s famous bullet or ‘Shinkansen’ train for your journey to Kyoto, Japan’s ancient imperial capital famed for its historic temples and rock gardens. Settle on the high-speed train at Tokyo station and race through the countryside at up to 200mph, enjoying views of snow-capped Mt Fuji en route (weather permitting). On arrival in Kyoto, transfer to your hotel and enjoy the rest of the day free.

DAY 6: Kyoto

Today, enjoy a sightseeing tour of Kyoto’s highlights. Visit the UNESCO-listed 17th-century Nijo Castle, once the seat of Tokugawa shoguns, and enchanting Golden Pavilion, a Zen temple whose top floors are covered in gold leaf. Your tour also includes the Kiyomizu Temple and waterfall, one of Japan’s most celebrated temples; and a traditional Japanese tea ceremony experience, with a tea host demonstrating the “way of the tea” by preparing, serving and sharing the drinking of tea with you—all according to delicate, time-honored principles. After a Japanese-style lunch, spend the balance of the day to enjoy Kyoto as you wish, perhaps visiting more temples and shrines or relaxing at your hotel. Tonight, enjoy a Kaiseki Dinner: a traditional, multi-course Japanese meal of beautifully arranged dishes which are specially created to balance textures, flavors and colors. Please prepare an overnight bag for one night at Hiroshima. The check-in luggage will be transferred to Osaka by luggage van.

DAY 7: Kyoto – Osaka - Hiroshima

Depart Kyoto by bullet train"Shinkansen" heading for Hiroshima. Upon arrival, take Japan Rail to Miyajimaguchi and enjoy a short boat ride to Miyajima. Visit the idyllic Miyajima Island. Its giant torii gate is the landmark which at high tide seems to float on the water. Wondering around on the island and enjoy lunch on own expense. In the afternoon, take the boat back to to Hiroshima to visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum, and Atomic Bomb Dome. Overnight in Hiroshima

DAY 8: Hiroshima - Osaka -Nara - Osaka

This morning,  take the bullet train to Osaka and board the coach to Nara in the morning. Visit the famous Todaiji Temple, to see the world’s biggest bronze statue of Buddha, and drink in the scenic charms of Nara Park, best-known for the many wild Sika deer that roam its landscapes. Other highlights include the Kasuga Taisha shrine, a Shinto shrine with origins in the 8th century and famous for its bronze and stone lanterns. Drive back to Osaka and visit the Floating Garden Observatory at the Umeda Sky Building. Marvel at the 360-degree views from this open-air observatory that extends between two skyscrapers. Lunch at local restaurant. In the afternoon, visit  the Kuromon Ichiba Market, a foodie haunt with over 150 enticing culinary stalls  andShinsaibashi, a shopping district nicknamed the ‘Champs-Elysees of the East’ for its unique stores. Cap your day with a succulent Kobe beef dinner at a local restaurant in Osaka.

DAY 9: Osaka

Enjoy the day free at leisure

DAY 10: Osaka - USA

Use the airport limonsine bus for transfer to the airport.