A WEEK IN JAPAN (CHERRY BLOSSOM) ESCORTED TOUR

The package price does not include:

Airflight tickets, Visas Drinks during meals, tips, meals, personal expenses….

Upon arrival at the airport, an English-speaking assistant will meet you at the arrivals hall.

They will hand over an IC Suica card with 2,500 yen credit per person. You can use it to board train and buses without having to purchase tickets each time. Once the included credit has been used, the IC card can be topped up at the ticket vending machines with your chosen amount.

A shared transfer will take you to your accommodation. Please note you can bring max 1 suitcase per person, for extra luggage, a surcharge will need to be paid on the spot.

Start the day with a Tea Ceremony Experience in a Japanese Garden Teahouse followed by a visit to the Regal Imperial Palace and Nijubashi Bridge, taking a short stroll around the area. Next, you’ll head to the striking Sensoji-Temple in Asakusa with the shop-lined Nakamise Shopping Street running up to its front gate. This morning’s tour lasts for about 3 and a half hours, leaving your afternoon free to spend as you like.

The tour will stop by Imperial Palace Plaza to take photos. Entry to the Imperial Palace itself is forbidden as the Emperor lives there.

Tour ends in Asakusa, you need to make your own way to your hotel.

Today leave Tokyo behind as you journey to Hakone, the gateway to Mt Fuji and surrounding national park. Your local guide for the day will accompany you on the journey there. Your tour will end at your Hakone Accommodation.

Your guide will assist you with sending your luggage to your destination after Hakone (Kyoto, included in today’s cost). The luggage will arrive 2 days later, so please pack a small overnight bag for the following 2 days. Then you will travel together to Hakone and will have the chance to explore the Hakone ‘Loop’. The loop can be done in clockwise or anti-clockwise order and your guide will decide the best course depending on where you are staying tonight, the season and how busy Hakone is when you visit. The loop typically includes a journey up to the Gora area to ride the Hakon e Ropeway to Owakudani volcano crater, where you can try the tasty black eggs boiled in water bubbling up from within the volcano itself. Also included in the day’s arrangements is a cruise across Lake Ashi. On clear weather days you may be able to see Mt. Fuji peeping over the mountains.

Your guide will take you to your accommodation at the end of your tour and will help you to check in before leaving you to enjoy the facilities on hand at your Ryokan or Hotel.

Throughout the day you will have a chance to catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji, but be advised that she is a notoriously shy mountain and the weather needs to be perfectly clear.

You will make use of the Bullet train, car & local busses during this excursion.

Today make your own way to Tokyo station & ride the Shinkansen Odawara to Kyoto. The rest of the day is at your leisure.

Visit some of Kyoto’s most charming spots with an English-speaking guide on this sightseeing bus tour of Kyoto. Visit Kinkaku-ji Temple and Nijo Castle, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. See the Kyoto Imperial Palace, which was used as the Emperor’s residence until about 150 years ago. Continue to see some of Kyoto’s distinct shrines and temples including Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine, Sanjusangendo, and World Heritage Kiyomizu-dera Temple, and discover why this ancient political capital of Japan is now its history and sightseeing capital!

Note:    As Kyoto Imperial Palace is closed on the following dates, tours on these dates will visit Kitano Tenmangu Shrine instead: Mondays, Tuesday if Monday is a national holiday, May 14-17 for the Aoi Festival, New Year’s holidays, and whenever there is an Imperial Household event. Some attractions might be closed during festivals and events. The tour will visit alternate attractions and no refunds will be issued.

Today make your own way to the station & ride the Shinkansen Kyoto to Shin-Osaka, there transfer to a train to arrive in Osaka. The rest of the day is at your leisure.

Your guide will meet you at your hotel to take you on a tour of Osaka.

First visit Osaka Castle, the largest castle in Japan when first built in 1583. This impressive castle is surrounded by impressive stone walls and moats, and sits in Osaka Castle Park, covering an area of two square kilometres.

Take a walking tour of the Dotonbori, a popular shopping and entertainment district and is also known as a food destination. At night it is lit by hundreds of neon lights and mechanized signs, including the famous Glico Running Man sign and Kani Doraku crab sign. Here you will sample some of Osaka’s famous takoyaki (Octopus dumplings).

Head across town to the Shinsekai area, known among locals as being part of the “retro” area of Osaka. The old markets and buildings with a mid-1900s feel are a throwback to an age gone by. Contrast this with a visit to the amazing Abeno Harukas skyscraper at the end of the day. At 300 metres, this is the tallest building in Japan and so offers astounding views of the whole city from its observation decks, occupying the top 3 floors of the building. You will have some time here to take in the 360-degree view of Japan’s second-largest metropolis.

A shared transfer will take you from your accommodation to the departure airport.