-Day 1 Start tour
Day 2 Konnichiwa Tokyo
Meet your tour director and check into hotel
Day 3 Tokyo landmarks
Shibuya Crossing
Details: Tokyo guided sightseeing tour
Jangling neon and tranquil temples, radical fashion choices and quietly practiced traditions. Japan's sprawling, chaotic capital combines cutting-edge technology with an age-old culture, generating a directed energy and graceful drive unique to Tokyo. See what all of the buzz is about with a local licensed guide. Start with a whiff of the miraculous at the Senso Temple, where sacred incense smoke is said to have curative powers. Built to commemorate Emperor Meiji and his empress, the Meiji Shrine is one of the most important Shinto shrines in the country. Yearly festivals bring various groups to its iris garden and Treasure House, including the "Seven-Five-Three Festival," in which young children arrive dressed in mini kimonos.
Details: Meiji Shrine visit
View the Meiji Shrine, dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. Emperor Meiji was the first emperor of modern Japan, born in 1852 and ascending to the throne in 1868 at the peak of the Meiji Restoration when the power was switched from the feudal Tokugawa government to the emperor.
Details: Akihabara Electric Town visit
Take a trip to the Akihabara district, a mecca for electronic goods and home to Japan's otaku (diehard fan) geek culture. Explore the thousands of shops dedicated to anime, manga and video games.
Details: Tempura dinner
Batter up. Tempura tempts with lightly battered and deep-fried fish, meat, and vegetables. Originally brought to Japan by Portuguese missionaries, this method of cooking is now thoroughly Japanese.
Day 4 Tokyo
Visit Tokyo Tower
Diver City Tokyo visit
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation visit
Details: Japanese school visit
Visit a Japanese school to meet local students, learn some Japanese, and see the differences between schools in Japan and schools at home. (Please note that school visits will not be possible on certain dates due to schools not being in session. Explorica will update you as early as possible.)
Day 5 Tokyo--Kanazawa
Travel to Kanazawa via Bullet train
Details: Kanazawa guided sightseeing tour
Tour Kanazawa, the capital of the Ishikawa Prefecture known for its 17th-century-style architecture, with a guide. Visit the former samurai district of the town, including a restored samurai residence, and walk through Kenrokuen Park, known as one of Japan’s three most beautiful gardens.
Day 6 Kanazawa--Kyoto
Breakfast
Travel to Kyoto by train
Arashiyama District visitTogetsu-kyo Bridge, Bamboo Grove, Tenryu-ji Temple visit
Day 7 Hiroshima
Travel to Hiroshima via Bullet train
Travel to Kyoto by bullet train
Details: Hiroshima guided excursion
Tour the extraordinary city that suffered an unimaginable destruction and incredible rebirth to become the thriving city it is today. At Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, see the Peace Memorial Museum and the Atomic Bomb Dome, the skeletal remains of a pre-blast building, for an idea of the catastrophic effects the Atomic bomb had on the city. The park, museum, and Atomic Bomb Dome act as a symbol of peace and as a memorial for those who died.
Details: Make your own Okonomiyaki dinner
Learn to make your own traditional Okonomiyaki dinner with a professional chef.
Day 8 Kyoto
Participate in a tea ceremony
Kinkaku-ji temple (Golden Pavilion) visit
Details: Kyoto guided sightseeing tour
With over 2,000 Buddhist temples and shrines still intact, Kyoto shines as one of the best preserved Imperial cities in Japan. Visit the famous Zen Buddhist Temple Kinkakuji, or Golden Temple, that gets its name from the pure leaf gold that covers the top two floors. Next, head to Inari, the main shrine of the god of business, and see the thousands of red torii, or Japanese gates, that snake their way up the hill to the inner shrine. The Sanjusangendo Temple offers visitors an unusual and unbelievable sight. Its main hall is filled with 1,000 life-size statues of soldiers of the Thousand Armed Kannon which stand to protect the main deity of the temple.
Details: Kiyomizu Temple visit
Explore the Kiyomizu Temple, known as the Pure Water Temple, which is one of the most celebrated temples of Japan. Founded in 780, it stands in the wooded hills of eastern Kyoto and offers visitors fantastic views over the city from its famous wooden terrace.
Details: Nishiki Market visit
Spend time exploring “Kyoto's Kitchen”, the city's most famous sprawling market.
Day 9 End tour
Travel to Osaka for flight home
Tour Includes:
- Round-trip airfare
- 7 overnight stays in hotels with private bathrooms
- Breakfast daily
- Dinner daily
- Full-time services of a professional tour director
- Guided sightseeing tours and city walks as per itinerary
- Visits to select attractions as per itinerary
- Tour Diary™
- Local Guide and Local Bus Driver tips; see note regarding other important tips
- Note: On arrival day only dinner is provided; on departure day, only breakfast is provided
- Note: Tour cost does not include airline-imposed baggage fees, or fees for any required passport or visa. Optional excursions, optional pre-paid Tour Director and multi-day bus driver tipping, among other individual and group customizations will be listed as separate line items in the total trip cost, if included.
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