Day 1 – Tokyo [No meal arrangement]

Check in after 16:00 for 2 nights at our deluxe hotel, the Keio Plaza Hotel. Take some time to settle in and perhaps go for a stroll towards nearby Shinjuku to shake off the cobwebs and take in the local atmosphere.

Accommodation: Keio Plaza Hotel or similar for 2 nights

Day 2 – Tokyo [B]

We visit some of Tokyo’s most iconic shopping destinations today with a sightseeing tour including a visit to the famous Asakusa Buddhist temple Sensoji, well known for the large red lantern at the Kaminari mon (Gate of Thunder and Lightning) and a stroll down the colourful Nakamise shopping arcade, lined with tiny stalls and thronging with enchanted shoppers and temple visitors. We will explore Kappabashi (known by locals as Kitchen Town) with its hundreds of shops supplying the restaurant trade, before heading off to Tsukiji Outer Market with its many small neighbourhood restaurants and providores and drive through the opulent Ginza district, famous for its upmarket fashion houses and department stores. We cross the Rainbow Bridge to reach the high tech entertainment hub Daiba, built on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay.

Accommodation: Keio Plaza Hotel or similar

Day 3 – Tokyo – Mt.Fuji/Lake Kawaguchi – Nagoya [B]

We check out from the hotel and travel to Mt. Fuji national park. Peaceful and majestic Mount Fuji is, believe it or not, an active stratovolcano located just 90km South West of Tokyo, with a summit elevation of 3,776.24 m. Drive through Lake Kawaguchi, one of the five lakes at the base of Mt. Fuji. On a still, clear day, you can see a perfect mirror image of Mt. Fuji reflected in the lake. If weather allows, we will visit the 5th station of Mt. Fuji. We travel on to Shiraito Falls. The waterfall is 20 meters high but stretches across 150 meters, and has been likened to a lace-like curtain of water formed as it is from hundreds of  “threads” of water springing from a solid wall of lava, offering up snowmelt from Mt. Fuji in the southwest. Catch Bullet Train to travel to Nagoya and check in for 2 nights at our 5 star hotel.

Accommodation: Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel or similar for 2 nights

Day 4 Nagoya – Kiso Valley – Nagoya [B]

We travel to the tranquil Kiso Valley with its quaint historical post towns. Kiso is surrounded by Japan’s foremost high mountains, the Ontake mountain range to the west and the Central Alps to the east. Prior to the Edo period, Kiso  prospered both as a key junction for transportation and as a production area for Japanese cypress, the main building material for shrines and temples. Deep mountain gorges and clear streams have been fostering Japanese cypress plantations for over 300 years. The Kiso valley post towns also used to offer lodging for weary travellers and merchants on the trail from Osaka to Tokyo. We
will visit Tsumago and Magome post towns. Late afternoon, we return to Nagoya.

Accommodation: Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel or similar

Day 5 Nagoya – Osaka [B]

This morning, we travel by Bullet Train to Osaka. Now the 3rd largest city in  Japan, Osaka has a long history as a mercantile centre stretching back thousands of years and is a vibrant, brash city which has become known in recent times as a culinary wonderland. We will be staying tonight in the heart of Osaka and this evening we will take an evening walk, escorted by our guide, around the coulourful and famous Dotonbori area and have the opportunity to try delicious local street foods. Dotonbori is the biggest “downtown” precinct in Osaka. Advertising displays such as a neon sculpture of a famous sweet, huge moving crab and octopus-shaped boards, moving dolls and boards shaped like animals, etc. battle for the attention of passers-by. Indulge yourself and sample some of Osaka’s amazing street foods, such as Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki.

Accommodation: Hotel Nikko Osaka or similar for 2 nights

Day 6 Osaka [B]

Day at leisure.
You may wish to take a special optional day tour visiting World Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai with your tour leader. Please check details with JANESCO at the time of booking.

Accommodation: Hotel Nikko Osaka or similar

Day 7 Osaka – Kyoto [B] Kyoto Gion Festival – Evening Session

We travel to Kyoto by local train this morning and check in at our hotel in Kyoto for 2 nights. Afternoon, enjoy strolling in the 400 year old Higashiyama district. This evening, join the locals and other visitors walking along the main streets of Kyoto to absorb the atmosphere of Gion Festival “Yoiyama” night. On Yoiyama, the night before the festival parade, the famous floats – the “Hoko” that will pass by some distance away on festival day are on display in the streets in the neighbourhood northwest of the parade route.

Accommodation: Karasuma Kyoto Hotel or similar

Day 8 Kyoto [B] Kyoto Gion Festival Parade

Enjoy the colourful parade this morning. The Gion Festival procession of floats, some of them over 16m in height from the ground to the roof, has its roots ceremonies to ward off the plagues and illnesses of a thousand years ago. After the parade has passed, we hop onto a train and head off to the mountains of the Sagano Arashiyama region, located southwest of Kyoto. Once the exclusive domain of the feudal aristocracy and famous for its seasonal beauty and bamboo groves, the area provided a tranquil respite from the city. We will stroll through the picturesque bamboo groves and visit the local Tenryuji temple and riverside. Late afternoon, we travel back to our hotel

Accommodation: Karasuma Kyoto Hotel or similar

Day 9 Kyoto – Tokyo [B]

Check out from hotel. Travel from Kyoto to Tokyo by Bullet Train. Catch  Yamanote line to Yurakucho/Ginza (2minutes). We end our trip with a stay in a 5 star hotel, checking in at The Imperial Hotel Tokyo for 1 night.

Accomodation: Imperial Hotel Tokyo or similar

Day 10 Tokyo [B]

Enjoy a relaxing breakfast at the hotel. Today is our last day in Japan, check out time from the hotel is around 12:00 noon.

-Tour Concludes –