Jade Tours - Tour Package


10 Days Memoirs of Japan Tokyo • Hakone • Kyoto • Nara • Mt. Koya • Osaka


Day 1 Home City > Tokyo Depart home aboard your flight to Tokyo, one of Asia's most exhilarating cities. Day 2 Tokyo Upon arrival at Narita Airport, You will be met by our representative who will assist you to transfer to the Airport Limousine Bus to the Keio Plaza Hotel for 3 nights. Day 3 Tokyo [B] Meet your guide in the hotel lobby for a full day private tour of Tokyo. Start with a pleasant walk in Yanaka near Ueno, a hilly area that survived the bombing of WWII and is considered as the core of Shitamachi Tokyo (the old "downtown"). You will find here the essential coziness of the old style of Japanese urban living. Visit Asakura Choso Museum which really isn't a museum in the ordinary sense, but the studio and house of Fumio Asakura, one of Japan's best known sculptors of the early 20th Century. One of the highlights of your visit is the garden designed by the sculptor, around which the whole house was built. You will also be amazed at Asakura's private collection including ancient ceramics, his extensive art library, and old silk kimono etc. Continue to Ueno Park, home to Tokyo Cultural Hall, Ueno Zoo, Tokyo National Museum and numerous shrines, cultural and historical points of interest. Besides spending some quality time at Tokyo National Museum, the largest museum in Japan with over 88,500 collections associated with the fine arts and history of Japan and neighboring countries. You'll want to be sure to visit a few key attractions inside the Tokyo's largest park. In the afternoon, tour the Ameyoko Market, Asakusa Kannon Temple and enjoy a Sumida River Cruise. A tea break at Hamarikyu Garden and the exciting neon-lit shopping mecca, Ginza. Day 4 Tokyo [B] Full day is free for further exploration of this fascinating metropolis city on your own or join an optional tour to Kamakura or Nikko. Day 5 Tokyo > Mt. Fuji > Hakone > Kyoto [B] Meet your guide in the hotel lobby this morning and travel together on Odakyu Express "Romancecar" to Hakone. Your baggage will be transferred directly to your hotel in Kyoto. Enjoy panoramic vistas of Mt.Fuji with its perfect, snow-capped conical shape, indeed the symbol and the pride of Japan. You will visit the Owakudani Valley, the Hakone Botanical Garden of Wetlands and the Hakone Open Air Garden & Museum. In addition to the plethora of outdoor sculpture, inside the gardens is a special museum that is filled with a number of Picasso's work. Lunch on your own at a restaurant named "Hatsuhana Soba", known as the most famous Japanese Noodle restaurant. After lunch, visit the Hakone's handicrafts center where you can get the historical products of Hakone such as Bamboo box as a good souvenir followed by a visit to the Hakone checkpoint. The final leg of today's adventure includes a cruise on Lake Ashinoko. Later this afternoon, your guide will transfer you to Odawara Station and assist you to board a Shinkansen train heading for Kyoto. On arrival check in on your own at Hotel Granvia Kyoto which is directly connected to Japan Rail Kyoto Station. Day 6 Kyoto [B] Your guide will meet you at the hotel and escort you on a full day private tour of Kyoto. A Cable train ride to Mt. Arishiyama, Kyoto's western outskirts where you visit the romantic "Moon Crossing Bridge" (Togetsukyo), famous for its views of cherry blossoms and autumn colors, the Zyojakoin Temple and the Tenryuji Temple, the main temple of the Rinzai school, one of the two main sects of Zen Buddhism in Japan. In the afternoon visit the Heian Shrine and Yasaka Shrine. Take a tea break at Kodaiji Temple before a walk around Gion Area where you are likely to see traditionally dressed geisha and maikos (apprentice geisha) making their way to work. Shopping at Shijo Kawaramachi before visit the Kiyomizu Temple, one of the best known sights of the city. Day 7 Kyoto > Nara > Kyoto [B] Morning is free for further exploration of this imperial capital of Japan. This afternoon, you are picked up from the nearby hotel for a coach tour to Nara where you visit the world's largest wooden building, Todaiji Temple and its Great Buddha; the Deer Park and the Kasuga Shrine, the most famous and beautiful Shinto shrine in Nara, featuring some 3,000 antique stone and bronze lanterns. Day 8 Kyoto > Mt. Koya [B/D] With your overnight bag, you will travel today with your guide together by train and funicular to Mt. Koya, the world headquarters of the Shingon school of Esoteric Buddhism. After you checking into your shukudo (Buddhist temple lodging), tour this UNESCO World Heritage site, featuring a university dedicated to religious studies and over 100 temples. The highlights includes visit to Oku-no-In, the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi, maybe the most influential religious person in Japan, the Kongobuji, the headquarters of the Shingon sect and the Konpon Daito pagoda that according to Shingon doctrine, it represents the central point of a mandala covering not only Mt. Koya but all of Japan. Your Shojin-Ryori dinner (traditional Buddhist vegetarian meal - no meat, fish, onions or garlic) will be served by the monks from the temple. Overnight stay in a Japanese-style Room at Fukuchi-in, an unforgettable experience. Day 9 Mt. Koya > Osaka [B] We will attend Buddhist prayer services very early in the morning before a temple breakfast served again by the monks. Travel with your guide by funicular and train to Osaka, tour Osaka Castle and visit Shinsaibashi shopping area before saying good bye to your guide at Swissôtel Nankai, Osaka which is located above the Namba Railway Station and subway where you can be conveniently connected with direct train to Kansai International Airport. Day 10 Osaka > Home [B] Namba is the most vibrant part of Osaka. Within walking distance from your hotel, you can reach Japan Folk Art Museum, Namba Yasaka Shine or Shikabukiza Theater, enjoy the morning by exploring Osaka on your own. Travel by train with the ticket given to you by your guide to Kansai Airport for your departure flight home. Legend: B - Breakfast D - Dinner