10 Days Japanese Voyage Tour Package

Duration: 10 Days / 9 Nights
Priced From: $3,035 pp dbl. occ.
Dates: Apr - Mar / 09

Itinerary

Day 1 Fly USA to Tokyo

Day 2 Welcome to Tokyo, Japan

Upon arrival and after clearing customs and immigration, an English speaking representative will greet and assist you to your shuttle bus transfer that services your Tokyo hotel.

From its bright billboards and crowded sidewalks, one could confuse Tokyo for New York City, but hiding in the shadows of the skyscrapers, neatly-clipped bonsai trees frame ancient wooden houses and kimono-clad women shuffle down narrow streets. Pass spring days under a pink cloud of fragrant cherry blossoms in Ueno Park, or awake early to witness the madness of a tuna auction at Tsukiji Fish Market. Sail down the Sumida River and make a grand entrance at Sensoji, Tokyo’s oldest temple, or feast your eyes on the world’s largest collection of Japanese art at the Tokyo National Museum.

Day 3 Tour - Tokyo full day city tour

Please assemble in your hotel lobby to start a half-day tour of Tokyo. Today you will visit Tokyo Tower, and enjoy panoramic views of this amazing city from the observatory platform at a height of 150m. You will also take in the Imperial Palace Plaza, Asakusa Kannon Temple with its shopping Arcade 'Nakamise', and Tasaki Pearl Gallery.

Also enjoy viewing a tea ceremony at Happoen Garden and an afternoon boat cruise along the Sumida River.

Day 4 At leisure, Tokyo

From its bright billboards and crowded sidewalks, one could confuse Tokyo for New York City, but hiding in the shadows of the skyscrapers, neatly-clipped bonsai trees frame ancient wooden houses and kimono-clad women shuffle down narrow streets. Pass spring days under a pink cloud of fragrant cherry blossoms in Ueno Park, or awake early to witness the madness of a tuna auction at Tsukiji Fish Market. Sail down the Sumida River and make a grand entrance at Sensoji, Tokyo’s oldest temple, or feast your eyes on the world’s largest collection of Japanese art at the Tokyo National Museum.

Day 5 Coach transfer from Tokyo to Hakone (Via Mount Fuji)

Depart for Hakone, en route drive halfway up to Mt Fuji and stop at 5th station. You will enjoy a western style lunch at a local restaurant. Upon arrival in Hakone, you will take a mini cruise on Lake Ashi, and take a cable car ride to Mt Komagatake. At the top of the mountain, you will have spectacular views of Mt Fuji & Hakone National Park. You will then be dropped off at your hotel in Hakone.

Hakone is a favorite weekend getaway for Tokyoites, offering everything from hot-spring resorts to magnificent views of Mount Fuji. Getting to Hakone is an experience in itself. Depart Tokyo on a high speed train, switch to a small mountain tram, and zigzag through forests and over streams. Enjoy unbelievable views as you ride a cable car and skim across Lake Ashi by boat before entering an alpine wonderland. 

After enjoying the sights of Hakone, relax in the hot spring baths.

Day 6 Tour - Bullet train from Hakone to Kyoto

Experience a ride on a ‘Shinkansen’ (Bullet train) as you journey to Kyoto. The distance is 267 miles.

With its Zen rock gardens and air of tradition, Kyoto is a city for lovers. Young couples drift down the Oi River in wooden boats glowing with red lanterns while older sweethearts stroll along the narrow streets of historic Eastern Kyoto. As home to 20% of Japan’s national treasures, Kyoto is a massive museum.

The city boasts an impressive catalog of 1,700 well-preserved Buddhist temples and 300 Shinto shrines. Kinkakuji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, is one of Kyoto’s most famous and elaborate attractions. Featuring a three-story pavilion covered in gold-leaf and crowned by a phoenix, one has to shade their eyes from its brilliance. Rivaling this luster is Nara’s Great Buddha, Daibutsu, one of the largest bronze statues in the world containing 286 pounds of pure gold.

Tour – Nara afternoon tour

This afternoon assemble in your hotel lobby to start an afternoon tour to Nara. This afternoon you will visit Todaiji Temple with its huge Image of Buddha; Sacred Deer  Park; and Kasuga Shinto Shrine famous for its hundreds of stone lanterns.

Buddhism gained a foothold in Japan after monks from the Korean kingdom of Paekche introduced the faith to the Japanese court.  It quickly won an influential following, reaching the highest circles of imperial power by the 7th century.  In 685 the Emperor Temmu ordered that every family throughout the land should establish a Buddhist Altar.  His descendent Prince Shotuku went further, decreeing that a national branch temple be built in every province.  Two years later, in 743, he ordered the construction of a grand national temple to oversee them all.  Todaiji was the result.

Completed in just four years by 751, Todaiji was truly a wonder of the world.  It housed the largest wooden building the world has yet seen.  Even the 2/3 scale reconstruction, finished in the 17th century, it remains the largest wooden building on earth today.

Day 7 Tour - Kyoto full half day city tour

Please assemble in your hotel lobby to start a morning tour of Kyoto. Today you will discover the historical sites of this interesting city. The first site will be the Nijo Castle, the old residence of the Shogun, followed by the famous golden pavilions at the Kinkakuji Temple, the Higashi Honganji, and finishing at the Kyoto handicraft Center. This tour begins at 8.30am, and concludes at 12.30pm at your hotel.

Kinkakuji means the temple of the Golden Pavilion.  Constructed in Kyoto's northern hills in 1398 by Yoshimitsu, the third Ashikaga shogun, it was once part of a much larger villa complex.  When he died it became a Zen temple in accordance with his will. Sadly, the original temple burned in 1950 when a deranged Buddhist monk set it ablaze.

After lunch you will visit Heian Shrine and Kiyomizu Temple. Kiyomizu is an old temple of the Hosso sect of Buddhism, a relatively small sect that was established - according to legend - in 657 by the monk Dosho from China.  It is said that Kiyomizu-dera (Clear Water Temple) was founded in 798 by the monk Enchin through the patronage of the warrior Tamuramaro.  Legend states that Enchin dreamt of a golden stream flowing down from this mountain into the Yodogawa River.

Day 8 At leisure, Kyoto

Kyoto has about 400 Shinto shrines and 1650 Buddhist temples in its checkerboard design of street and avenues laid out more that 1,000 years ago. Some temples are admired for their architectural beauty, some are known for the art treasures and priceless statues they house and others are famed for the beautiful landscape gardens attached to them.

Day 9 Bullet Train from Kyoto to Hiroshima

Travel from Kyoto by JR Bullet Train (Shinkansen) to Hiroshima.  On arrival, begin a sightseeing tour by motor coach, of Hiroshima and Miyajima.  Visit Itsukushima Shrine with its famous 'Torii' gate in Miyajima Island, Peace Memorial Park and Atomic Bomb Museum.  Tour ends at your hotel for your overnight stay.

Easily reached in about 30 minutes from Hiroshima, Miyajima is a treasure of an island only 1 1/4 miles off the mainland in the Seto Inland Sea. No doubt you've seen pictures of its most famous landmark, a huge red torii, or shrine gate, rising out of the water. Erected in 1875 and made of camphor wood, it's one of the largest torii in Japan, measuring more than 16m (53 ft.) tall. It guards Miyajima's main attraction, Itsukushima Shrine.

As you walk around Hiroshima today, you'll find it hard to imagine that the city was the scene of such widespread horror and destruction almost 60 years ago. On the other hand, Hiroshima doesn't have the old buildings, temples, and historical structures that other cities have, yet it draws a steady flow of travelers who come to see Peace Memorial Park, the city's best-known landmark. Dedicated to peace, the city also seems committed to art - in addition to its fine art museums, you'll find statues, stone lanterns, memorials, and sculptures lining the streets.

Day 10 Bullet train from Hiroshima to Osaka (Via Kurashiki and Okayama)

Travel from Hiroshima by JR Bullet Train for Shin-Kurashiki.  On arrival, begin a half day motor coach sightseeing tour of Kurashiki, to visit Ohara Museum of Art. Enjoy a western style lunch at Kurashiki International Hotel, and then continue to Okayama.  At Okayama visit Korakuen Garden before transferring to the train station for the JR Bullet Train for Shin-Osaka. Arrive at Shin-Osaka Station and transfer to your hotel.

Okayama's claim to fame is the Korakuen Garden, considered one of Japan's three most beautiful landscaped gardens. Completed in 1700 by the Ikeda ruling clan after 14 years of work, its 11.2 hectares (28 acres) are graced with a pond, running streams, pine trees, plum and cherry trees, flowering bushes like azaleas and hydrangeas, bamboo groves, teahouses, and tea plantations.

Day 11 Fly Osaka to USA

• ShinagawaPrince Hotel
• Keio Plaza InterContinental
• Imperial Hotel

• Kowaki-en Hotel
• Fujiya Hotel
• Hyatt Regency

• New Miyako
• Hotel Granvia
• Hyatt Regency

• Granvia Hotel
• Granvia Hotel
• Granvia Hotel

• Granvia Hotel
• Swissotel Nankai
• Hotel Imperial