Panoramic Tour of Japan

Thank you for taking our 10 days Japan guided group tour. After your landing at the airport, our guide will help you board a comfortable airport shuttle to your hotel. Check in, take a break, and explore around as your hotel is located only a 4-minute walk to JR or metro train station! Can’t wait to satisfy yourself with some Japanese food? There are cafés, bars, and restaurants of various styles nearby for you.

Accommodation: Tokyo Dome Hotel or similar

The first highlight for today is a visit to the Imperial Palace. This 3.36-square-kilometer (1.3-square-mile) area was once the property of a shogun, the military ruler who had real power over the country. After Tokyo become capital of Japan in 1868, it became home to Japanese emperors ever since. We are to sightsee in its outer gardens for some time, before stopping by the famous Nijubashi Bridge crossing to the inner palace, for you to take photos as memories of being so up-close to Japan’s imperial residence.

Next, head for the Senso-ji Temple. It is a typical shrine-including temple complex to illustrate the fusion of indigenous Shinto beliefs into Buddhism. In the main hall, you’ll see a Buddha statue of the goddess of mercy; a short walk from the hall, you’ll see Asakusa Shrine, where deified spirits of three mortals who built the temple are honored. The temple is also famous for the Nakamise-dori Street before its gate, where you can try some unusual local snacks, such as Ningyo-yaki (a bite-sized doll-shaped cake with filling) and melon pan. Lunch is local-flavor Japanese food. Here, you can also take some great pictures of the Tokyo Skytree, the tallest tower in Japan just some blocks away.

► Additional scenic spots will be added if you come in spring or autumn. During Mar. 22 to Apr. 12, we’ll also visit Chidorigafuchi Park and Shinjuku Gyoen Garden to view the pink clouds of cherry blossoms. During Oct. 18 to Nov. 15, we’ll go to Yoyogi Park and Rikugien Garden to enjoy the beauty of red maple.

In the afternoon, transfer for about 2.5 hours to the Mt. Fuji. After checking into the hotel, boost your energy by enjoying dinner and onsen (Japanese hot spring)!

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Fujisan Garden Hotel or similar

This morning, drive to the Mt. Fuji 5th Station, the highest point that can be reached by motor vehicles and also a top-rated platform to view the Mt. Fuji. You have some free time exploring around to find angles for nice photos. Its sacred beauty just explains why it attracts a million pilgrims each year towards it. In case it’s foggy and Mt. Fuji doesn’t show up, we’ll visit the Mount Fuji World Heritage Center instead. Then we’ll head down to the Oshino Hakkai, a set of eight ponds formed by melted snow water from Mt. Fuji. You can add these ponds and some thatched houses in Oshino Village when taking photos of the volcano from here. We’ll also stop to have a stroll at the Bussharito Heiwa Park, another perfect place to view the Mt. Fuji, especially in spring and autumn - seasons bursting with cherry blossoms or fiery maple leaves.

After lunch, the guide will accompany you on a road trip to Nagoya. Upon arrival, check into the hotel first and follow your guide to the must-visit Osu Shopping Street. With time-honored traditional restaurants, kimono shops, flea market, amine & game figurine stores, etc., you are surely to find something that catches your eyes. After your guide leaves, don’t rush back! It’s wise to find your dinner here.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Keihan Nagoya or similar

Start today with a visit to the Nagoya Castle, one of the largest castles in Japan. Built in 1617, it was a defensive project to guard the Shogunate in the Edo period (1603-1868 AD). If you know the city of Nagoya exists because of the castle, you’ll understand how important it is.

After that, continue our journey for three hours to Kyoto. In the ancient capital of Japan, we must take you to visit some of the most historical sites. The tour begins in the Pure Water Temple, a World Heritage site where you can join locals to pray particularly for longevity, romantic happiness, and academic success. As its Nio-mon Gate with all its magnificence comes into our view, you know we’ve already arrived. We will first linger a while to observe the two imposing stone statues of Nio guardians, resembling lion or wolf dog and put in front of the gate to protect the Buddhist world. Upon in, on your right side stand the West Gate and Three-Storied Pagoda, with a lifelike statue of fierce dragons amid clouds welcoming you by the staircase. In both Chinese and Japanese mythologies, dragons are considered in charge of wind and rain, so they are here to prevent fire disaster. Step further and we will be right in the realm presided over by the goddess of mercy, Kannon, where Buddhas await to meet you and a suspended viewing platform offers a sweeping view of Kyoto’s cityscape. Then head north to the Ninenzaka & Sannezaka Streets, a cobbled pedestrian zone to see kimono-clad girls and visit various shops in traditional wooden buildings. A spiritual exploration is followed into the Yasaka Shrine, the residence of the Shinto storm god. The last highlight is the famous Gion geisha district west of the shrine. Speaking of the Edo-era Japan, geisha would be among the first things that occur to mind. Today, their mystery reduces, as you may glimpse them in long kimono for yourself as they head to ancient teahouses where they entertain. The tour will end at Hanamachi Street. Enjoy your free time amid the Edo-period atmosphere. Perhaps you want to pick a restaurant to fill your belly before going back to the hotel.

► During Mar. 22 to Apr. 12, as it’s the cherry blossom season, the Maruyama Park will be added to today’s tour for you to view cherry trees bursting with blossoms; during Oct. 18 to Nov. 15, the Togetsukyo Bridge in Arashiyama will be added for appreciating maple leaves.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hilton Garden Inn Shijo Karasuma or similar

The finale of our Kyoto tour unfolds as we visit the Fushimi Inari Shrine. In the holy compound, each of its visitors can be awestruck by its iconic red Senbon Torii, literally “one thousand torri gates”. It actually contains ten thousand torri gates densely packed over pathways, stretching from the foot of Mt. Inari all the way to the woods on it.

Then drive for about 30 minutes to the Nara Park. Visit the Kasuga Taisha Shrine in the east of the park and play with deer. Enjoy the relaxing and sacred air here. Even the deer you meet are thought to be messengers of god - the thunder god worshipped in the Kasuga Taisha Shrine.

The trip extends to Osaka in the afternoon, the second largest city in Japan. Have fun at its iconic Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori areas, fashion-food streets which have brought fame to Osaka for 400 years. Your guide will give you an essential tour and then leaves to let you explore by yourself. You can find something to eat at Dotonbori before getting back to hotel.

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

We’ll leave Osaka for Kurashiki today, but since the Okayama Korakuen Garden - one the three most famous gardens in Japan - is on our way, we’ll make a stop for you to witness its unique charm. As the resting place for Okayama’s feudal lord over two centuries ago, it has everything that reflects the aesthetic of a typical Japanese-style garden: tea houses, cherry trees, carp-filled ponds, quaint bridges, etc.

Continue our drive to Kurashiki, the Edo-period trading center for rice and sugar. First, the guide will take you to the Ohashi House, which housed the Ohashi family, the most important merchant family at that time. You’ll feel how the merchants lived their life through its tatami floor, antique furniture, and gardens. Next, explore the nearby Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter. Time seems frozen here since the Edo era, with old white-walled warehouses and a canal in between still intact. It’s also a paradise for denim lovers. You can find almost all denim goods here, like denim bags, fans, clothes, even denim-colored food and drinks! During your free time, why not try some blue foods?

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Royal Park Hotel Kurashiki or similar

A two-hour drive will take us to Hiroshima. Visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum first, to witness the belongings left by souls vaporized by the atomic bomb and the nature of nuclear weapons through reference materials. Nearby is the Atomic Bomb Dome, the only building that survived the direct hit. To view the countless documents and the skeletal remains of the building would remind us of the importance of peace.

Have lunch before taking a ferry trip to the Miyajima Island and its Itsukushima Shrine, a World Heritage site and Japan’s only shrine located off a coast. The Shinto shrine and its giant red torri gate seem to float as tide rises, which brings fame to it. It’s not only dream-like, but also dream-inspired, as lore has it that it was built because a dream telling its founder the shrine would bring him power to rule Japan.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Rihga Royal Hotel Hiroshima or similar

A long scenic drive for about 3 hours will take you to Himeji for the Himeji Castle, another World Heritage site that we must list in our itinerary. Never savaged by war or other natural disasters, it is one of the most original castle in Japan. Its timeless elegance from those white walls is also a topic of all visitors. Out of the castle, enjoy a stroll around the Koko-en Garden next to it. In this typical Japanese-style garden, nine separate gardens are waiting for you to appreciate their different sceneries.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Monterey Himeji or similar

As a port city, Kobe is among the earliest to assimilate foreign cultures. Since Chinese merchants started to trade and settle here in the late 1800s, Kobe’s Chinatown, one of the top three Chinatowns in Japan, came into being. It’s interesting to wander around and see how Chinese cultures blend into Japanese cultures.

Then transfer to Osaka. Check in at the hotel and enjoy the free rest of the day shopping and dining. In a city as colorful as Osaka, you can never finish exploring. You may ask your guide for recommendations of where to go. If you ever wonder what it is like to watch Japan’s traditional Kabuki drama, the Shochikuza Theatre might interest you. And it’s just perfect to finish your afternoon with a dinner in the popular food and entertainment area of Dotonbori, where the theatre is situated.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Sheraton Miyako Hotel Osaka or similar

We have to bid farewell to you this morning. Please check out from the hotel and get to the Osaka Airport by yourself. The most cost-effective ways are by airport shuttle bus or JR train. The guide will be at your service to advise you on the appropriate mode of transportation based on your flight information. We are happy to help if you need us to book the train or air tickets to Tokyo.

Meals: Breakfast