It’s your first time to Japan, and first impressions have the greatest impact. Allow us to introduce you to the Japan we’ve come to know well, a Japan filled with traditional festivity, gorgeous views, friendly people, and lively nights.
- Participation in local festivals (depending on tour dates)
- Tours through cityscape and countryside Japan
*Highlight availability varies season to season and is subject to change.
The following tour is an example of what we can offer your group as a short yet fulfilling tour of mainland Japan. If interested, feel free to contact us to find out what we can add to this schedule to make it special for you. We look forward to making a custom tour for you!
Day 1 Yokoso and Welcome To Japan
Overnight in Tokyo CityAfter arriving in Japan, you will transfer to your accommodation in Tokyo City. In the evening you will meet your guide and group over a tour orientation and welcome dinner. Itinerary will be tailored according to your flight schedule.
Days 2 and 3 The Metropolitan Labyrinth
Overnights in Tokyo CityThe fine food and terrific designs of Tokyo will leave you astounded as you tour the city from dawn to dusk. While most people are still groggy from a night’s sleep, you will tour the morning markets of the city as the metropolis comes alive. Visits to the trendsetting and innovative districts, and a day excursion to the palatial dedication to one of the men Japan most owes its unification to, Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Day 4 Hot Springs and Art of Hakone
Overnight in HakoneToday you will leave the major city and make your way to the mountains. Carved by centuries of volcanic activity, Hakone boasts scenic views enhanced by artistic works in the hills. Visiting the famed open air museum and other museums of renown, you can also enjoy a cruise over a caldera lake, sweeping ropeway views of Japan’s first national park, a grand look at Mt. Fuji, and have a perfect end to they day by soaking away any travel-related weariness in the natural hot spring waters in the baths of your accommodation.
Day 5 The Japanese Alps
Overnight in TakayamaLeaving the volcanic beauty of Hakone behind, you will make your way to the feudal mountain town of Takayama, first making a stop in the castle town of Matsumoto. Home of the Black Crow Castle, one of the few castles remaining in tact since the feudal era, you will tour this castle town and then take winding, beautiful roads to the town of Takayama. In Takayama, you will be taken back into time to the era when the castle of Matsumoto stood proudest, walking the same roads in Takayama that samurai and the social elite one tread.
Days 6 and 7 Nagoya
Overnights in NagoyaFrom the feudal era mountains to modern wonders, today you move from Takayama to the central city of Nagoya, nestled in an area that is known as one of the last remaining great pottery kilns of the nation, as well as the heart of post-war innovation – the Toyota Plant. In Nagoya you will explore these two different themes of creation, visiting an old pottery town, and taking a tour through the Toyota Plant, seeing in person a great example of the efficiency and precision that put Japan on the map.
Days 8 and 9 Kyoto
Overnights in KyotoLeaving Nagoya, you will dedicate the remaining days in Japan to the heart of Japanese tradition – Kyoto. Kyoto is the city of artisans, the pinnacle of Japanese of cuisine, geisha, tea houses, and all else that could possibly come to mind when one imagines Japan for the first time. It is here where, while enjoying sips of green tea and taking in the scenery, you will be introduced to the origins of Japanese culture, perhaps noting how it echoes through the places you’ve visited from the mountains to Tokyo.