Essence of Japan

Welcome to take our 6 days Japan group tour! We appreciate if you can offer us your flight details in advance. After claiming your luggage at Narita or Haneda Airport, be warmly greeted by your guide and then escorted to board an airport shuttle bus to your hotel. Check in at the hotel and stay overnight in Tokyo.

Accommodation: Tokyo Dome Hotel or similar

The exciting sightseeing starts after a hearty breakfast. Meet your guide and the driver at the hotel lobby, and then be escorted to visit the Imperial Palace, the residence of Japan and legacy of the Edo period (1603-1867 AD). Let’s stroll around its outer gardens and plazas to feel its magnificent air. A special photo op is also arranged before the star of this excursion - Nijubashi Bridge, which leads to the gate of the palace.

After lunch, head to the Nakamise-dori Street and the Senso-ji Temple. On the street, you can see scenes that match your impression of Japan: rows of red lanterns, girls in kimono, and various food or souvenir stands in antique buildings. The street leads to the gate of Seno-ji Temple, a Buddhist temple complex including a main hall where the goddess of mercy is worshipped. It’s the oldest temple in Tokyo, dating back to the 7th century. Here, Japan’s tallest tower Tokyo Skytree can also be viewed from afar.

Go on a 2-hour drive to Mt. Fuji. Check in at the hotel and enjoy dinner.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Fuji KawaguchikoResort Hotel or similar

► Tip: In the cherry blossom season (Mar. 22 - Apr. 12), we’ll also take you to the Chidorigafuchi Park and Shinjuku Gyoen Garden, two great spots for cherry blossom viewing. In the late autumn (Oct. 18 - Nov 15), Yoyogi Park and Rikugien Garden are added to the tour for you to appreciate seas of fiery maple leaves.

Today will mark our memorable pilgrimage to the Mt. Fuji, which mesmerizes the world not only for its graceful poise with an ever-white top, but also for its existence as a sacred being in the heart of Japanese people.

2,300 meters (7,545 feet) above the ground, the Mt. Fuji 5th Station was developed for viewing the Mt. Fuji from halfway up the mountain, and can be effortlessly reached with motor vehicles. But Mt. Fuji would play hide and seek on cloudy days, in case of which, we’ll visit Mt. Fuji World Heritage Center instead. In the center, you can find exhibitions detailing the historical changes and the panoramic seasonal beauty of Mt. Fuji. Next, go down to visit the Oshino Hakkai, a national natural scenic spot for its picturesque 1,200-year-old set of eight ponds. Let’s move on to the Bussharito Heiwa Park, a hidden gem to stroll and capture the beauty of the Mt. Fuji.

Late into the afternoon, we’ll arrive in Nagoya and check in at the hotel. We’ll visit the famous Osu Shopping District, where you’ll know what the local secondhand market is like and explore by yourself for some authentic Nagoya specialties.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Keihan Nagoya or similar

After breakfast, visit the Nagoya Castle, Edo-era fortifications built to guard the country’s ruler based in Edo, present-day Tokyo, at that time against rebellions in the west. As one of the largest historic castles in Japan, it gives off a stately air and takes you to a bygone era.

Continue our drive for about 2 hours to Kyoto. Check in at the hotel and your tour in the ancient capital of Japan begins. Start from the Pure Water Temple, a 1,200-year-old temple dedicated to Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. You can pray before the deity and stand on the terrace of the main hall to look over Japan’s unique seasonal colors around. Then, take a walk along the Ninenzaka & Sannezaka, sloping stone pedestrian streets, to find local food and souvenirs in traditional wooden buildings. To warn people of some weirdly steep parts at Sannezaka, a local saying has it that “if one trips and falls here, they will die in three years”, while another states that the curse can be broken by buying a gourd, and there is actually an old gourd shop just at the foot of the ramp. No doubt it’s without grounds, but the meaning is well. We will slow our pace while walking these parts. 

After a few dozen minutes’ walk to the north, we’ll arrive before the Yasaka Shrine, which hosts Japan’s grandest annual festival, Gion Matsuri, celebrating their victory over a terrible plague in the remote past, and thus enjoys a national fame. Nearby lies the Gion geisha district, where you’ll pass by geishas’ workplace - the original Edo-period teahouses and restaurants - and possibly geishas with their graceful gait. Today’s guided visit will end at Gion’s Hanamachi Street, the oldest geisha street in Japan. Why not take your free time to soak in all Gion has to offer, and stop by a restaurant for dinner?

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hilton Garden InnShijo Karasuma or similar

► Tip: If you set out during Mar. 22 to Apr. 12, we’ll add the Maruyama Park for you to appreciate the flowering cherry trees along it. If you come during Oct. 18 to Nov. 15, we’ll arrange the Arashiyama Area-Togetsukyo Bridge for you to savor Japan’s unique autumn colors.

Before heading to Nara, visit the most important site in Kyoto, the Fushimi Inari Shrine. It is famous for its iconic dense thousands of vermillion torri gates, called Senbon Torii. While your imagination runs wild through these majestic gates, you may also encounter many statues of fox, which are considered the messengers of Inari, the god of commerce and agriculture enshrined here.

We’ll continue our drive to the Nara Park for its roaming deer herds and historic Kasuga Taisha Shrine inside the park. When deer bow their head, you know they beg for you to feed them! The park entrance offers crackers in case you are interested. They are also sacred animals as fox for being the mount of the God of Thunder, Takemikazuchi no Mikoto, who dwells in the shrine to be visited.

Later, head to Osaka and go through its prosperous and famous Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori streets. To be precise, Shinsaibashi is a covered fashion street, while Dotonbori is primarily a food street near Shinsaibashi that makes Osaka Japan’s capital of food. If you want some souvenirs or more taste of Japanese food, seize your last chance.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Sheraton Miyako Hotel or similar

As your tour comes to an end today, please check out and get to Osaka Kansai Airport by yourself. Remember to tell your guide in advance your flight details; he or she would be happy to advise on the best means of transportation for you.

Meals: Breakfast