Day 1 Yokoso and Welcome To Japan

After arriving in Japan, you will transfer to your accommodation in Kyoto. Upon arriving at your accommodation, you will receive the custom guidebook we made for your journey. Feel free to browse through it, orienting yourself further with the great adventure that awaits you and your family. Itinerary will be tailored according to your flight schedule.

Days 2 and 3 Living Kyoto Tradition

Your days in the old capital of Kyoto will be active, filled with opportunities to try your hands at some amazing Japanese traditions. While viewing wonders such as the Golden Pavilion, the shogun general’s castle, colorful Nishiki Market, the fascinating temples of the sacred Eastern Mountains and so much more, you and your family will meet some fantastic locals and have chances to be treated to a private tea ceremony, a geisha and samurai dress up experience, a traditional archery class – the choices are yours. While tailoring your days in this birthplace of so many Japanese traditions and cultures, we will be sure to bring you to the best of Kyoto’s seventeen World Heritage Sites, taking extra care to keep everyone in the family well intrigued.

Day 4 Hiroshima, City of Peace

Leaving Kyoto you will take trains to the peaceful city of Hiroshima. This city is quite humbling with its looks into the past at the horrors of war. However, it also provides a great element of hope as you will clearly see a city revived, and natural wonders restored, a phoenix that has risen from the flames. The city itself is a great educational opportunity for all ages from its stories of war to technologically innovative comebacks. Combined with the serene island of Miyajima and its sea shrine, you and your family will personally come into contact with a great mix of history, hope, and stunning renewal.

Day 5 Boisterous Osaka – Merchants, Markets, and Comedians

Brimming with hope after an eye-opening stay in Hiroshima, you will head by train a bit northward to the colorful city of Osaka. Here you will find something for everyone while surely having interesting, chance conversations with the very outgoing locals. Osaka, once being a very active trade and merchant city, holds on to its unique culture. You will find specialized markets, including the famed and beloved electronics and anime district, and streets dedicated to highly interesting, singularly-themed goods. Osaka also boasts wonders of theatre and art, and it is here that you will get to make your own, traditionally styled woodblock print while also viewing works from masters. Not to be left out, the nighttime scenes of Osaka leave nothing to want as neon lights and shops fill the air with vibrant color, original sounds, and promises of things delicious.

Day 6 West Coast City of Gold

From Osaka and onward to the coast, today you will take trains to the wondrous city of Kanazawa. Often referred to as the Kyoto of the West Coast, it is here that you will get the chance to compare and contrast Japanese culture as it shows some interesting changes moving from what was its center to more remote climes. Kanazawa holds its own history and stories very dear. You will find a city of proud artisans and locals who claim roots in a rich society of old. It is also here where stories of the past kingdom there will take you to a temple built to protect important dignitaries, its trap doors and hidden exits promising a safe escape. Kanazawa will also hold for you the chance to make your own very portable work of art: ohashi chopsticks. Famed for gorgeous lacquer ware, your family will be sure to enjoy this memorable workshop, along with the grand city itself.

Days 7 and 8 Mountains and Countryside Villages

Today highway buses giving you panoramic views of Japan’s amazing mountain wilds will take you the feudal era town of Takayama. Before that, however, awaits a stop in the whimsical village of Shirakawago. Clear water, green fields and nature’s bounty bless this town and its people. Shirakawago, located in the deep recesses of the Japanese Alps, is home to people who come from a culture that was formed almost completely separately from those found in more traditional Japan. Long winters and roads blocked by snow and ice led to fascinating ways of life and styles of architecture, which you will get to see first hand. It is here where you can try making a delicious meal of soba buckwheat noodles using the freshest ingredients and cleanest mountain waters. Though in the country, your family will have so much to see and do – mountain trails, ancient farmhouses, games of old, and locals happy to introduce you to it all.

From Shirakawago you will continue your way to Takayama where you will stroll through streets once walked by many samurai and feudal lords. Tayakama is unique in the sense that it has preserved many of its historical quarters. You will be able to see and feel pieces of actual history while imagining the town as it was so long ago. Your family will surely be swept away into a land of medieval wonders and legends – a delight for those of any age.

Days 9 and 10 Volcanic Beauty and Art Amongst the Mountains

Bidding farewell to Takayama after sampling so many great things at the morning market, you will take a beautiful drive via private or rental car from the Japanese Alps, through the breathtaking area of Mt. Fuji, stopping at a marvelous museum dedicated to a fading and beautiful art of kimono cloth dyeing, and ultimately onward to the national park of volcanoes and art known as Hakone. Hakone is a vast park dedicated to preserving Japan’s natural wonders. The unique thing about Hakone though is that it combines the best of nature with the best of art, natural hot springs, food, and amazing rides through the skies and over crystalline blue lakes in cable cars, funiculars and the odd pirate ship. In Hakone, your family will be treated to delights for all the senses in this land of nature and experiences, and we look forward to showing you the best.

Your second day will be an action-packed one with a trip to the thrilling amusement park called Fuji Q Highland. Named such for its fantastic views of Mt. Fuji from speeding roller coasters and other attractions for the adventurous, your family will enjoy a very exciting day, topped off at the very end with soothing soaks in Hakone’s hot springs after heading back from your day of action.

Days 11 to 13 Tokyo Adventures

From mountains of nature to skyscrapers of steel, you make your way today to the multi-faceted city of Tokyo. Tokyo is the modern capital in so many ways. The headquarters for many innovative companies, the home of so many creative artists and architects, the creative play space of animators and fashionistas, Tokyo is the best place for the grand finale of your tour. Here, you and your family can choose to fill your days with fantastical fun in Tokyo Disney Land or Disney Sea. You can also let out excitement-gained adrenaline by trying your skills at easy bouts of sumo wresting or kendo. Through all this, we will of course take you through the main sights – the shrines, buildings, cultural centers, all and everything that makes the modern capital tick – keeping it all well-balanced just for you and your family.

Day 14 Farewell and Sayonara

We wish you pleasant travels as you and your family leave this land of the rising sun. We hope that you are taking with you lasting memories of the times you had here, and hope that you can return one day to discover even more! Farewell from all of us at Windows to Japan, and sayonara.