Nostalgic Japan

On arrival on Narita Airport, you’ll be met by your English speaking assistant and transferred to your hotel by bus. Travel time: 85 minutes

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at hotel’s restaurant.

Full day guided city tour in Tokyo (SIC)
You will meet your guide and we will take a full day tour (from 9:00 to 17:00) to explore the bustling metropolis of Tokyo, using public transport.

Visit Tokyo National Museum
Begin your exploration of the city with a visit at Tokyo National Museum. Here you will find a comprehensive collection of art works and antiquities from Japan including ancient pottery, Buddhist sculptures, samurai swords, colourful ukiyo-e (woodblock prints), gorgeous kimonos and much more.

Stroll through Ameyoko Market
Visit the open-air local market, Ameyoko Market, located beneath the Yamanote line tracks. Today, Ameyoko Market is packed with vendors selling everything from a huge range of fresh fish, seafood, spices to clothes and accessories.

Visit Asakusa Kannon Temple
Asakusa Kannon Temple is also known as Senso-ji Temple and is one of Tokyo’s most sacred and spectacular temple complex as it’s enshrines a golden image of Kannon (the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy). Visit Senso-ji Temple, admire the red Kaminari-mon (known as Thunder Gate) and the giant red lantern, spot the Five-Story Pagoda and take a stroll to Nakamise Dori, a shopping street of 200 meters where you will find traditional wares, including kimonos, fans, obi sashes, haircombs and dolls.

Take a cruise on Sumida River
Take a cruise on Sumida River to get the best sense of Tokyo’s past and present. Travel along the Sumida River, one of the city’s most famous rivers and admire the amazing views on the city of Tokyo.

Visit Hamarikyu Garden
Hamarikyu Garden is a public garden park in Tokyo and a typical example of the famous gardens of the Edo Period. Relax through this beautiful traditional Japanese Garden and enjoy a teabreak at the teahouse, admiring the view and the pond.

Visit Ginza Shooping Street
Ginza is a luxury fashion centre lined up with upscale department stores, art galleries and exclusive restaurants. Take a stroll through this high-end district, enjoy sightseeing and do some shopping as there are also affordable shops and art galleries.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at hotel’s restaurant.

Transfer hotel – train station in Tokyo (SIC)
You will be transferred from the hotel to the train station in Tokyo, for your transfer to Takayama with your guide.

Train transfer Tokyo – Nagoya – Takayama (SIC)
You will be transferred from Tokyo to Nagoya by bullet train and from Nagoya to Takayama by express train. Travel time: 300 minutes.
Note: Your main suitcase will be transferred directly from Tokyo to Kyoto. You will need to keep with you the luggage that you need for your nights in Takayama, Shirakawago and Kanazawa.

Half day guided city tour in Takayama (SIC)
After your arrival in Takayama, you will explore this beautifully preserved city, visiting several of it’s best sightseeing spot, using public transport.

Visit Takayama Yatai Kaikan
Takayama Matsuri takes place in spring and fall and it is famed for its procession of richly decorated floats (yatai). Four of Takayama Matsuri floats are exhibited at the Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan and you can appreciate it in your guided visit here.

Visit Jinya House
Takayama Jinya House is the former residence of the governor of the province. The building complex was in official use until 1969, and is now open to the public as a museum.

Visit Kusakabe Folk Museum
Kusakabe Folk Museum is the first old merchant’s house designated as a National Important Cultural Treasure, along with the adjoining Yoshijima House. This museum showcases the striking craftsmanship of traditional Takayama carpenters and includes a collection of folk art, folkcraft items and a small garden.

The small town of Shirakawa is located in the northwest of the district Ono in Gifu Prefecture. Together with Gokayama, Shirakawago is included in the list of UNESCO heritage. The village of Shirakawago is famed for famed for farmhouses with dramatically angled thatched roofs, in the gasshō-zukuri style.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at hotel’s restaurant.

Transfer hotel – bus station Takayama (SIC)
You will be transferred to the bus station in Takayama.

Transfer Takayama – Shirakawago (SIC)
You will be transferred from Takayama to Shirakawago, by local bus, with your guide. Travel time: 60 minutes.

Half day guided city tour in Shirakawago (SIC)
During this tour you can admire the remote and mountainous district of Shirakawago. First you will visit the Nagase House, a five-story gassho style house and the largest house in Shirakawago and after that, Minka en, an open air museum where you can admire a collection of historic and well preserved houses, gassho-zukuri houses, which are named for their steep thatched roofs, shaped like gassho (“praying hands”).

Dinner at the minshuku
Dinner will be served in a common dining room at the minshuku. You will experience a traditional Japanese dinner along with the local family and taste delicious family dishes made of local produce.

Overnight at a minshuku
Minshuku is a small traditional Japanese house. Similar to ryokan, minshuku offer Japanese style tatami rooms with futon bedding to sleep on. Private bathroom, towel and toothbrush are not available at Minshuku.

A city with a strong cultural identity, Kanazawa, rivalled in its heyday with Kyoto in its contribution to the arts. Today it’s an excellent place to explore the array of cultural attractions, to shop for traditional crafts, to try some great sea food and to stroll in the beautiful garden, Kenroku-en.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at minshuku’s common dining room.

Transfer minshuku – bus station in Shirakawago (SIC)
After the breakfast, you will be transferred from minshuku to the bus station in Shirakawago.

Transfer Shirakawago – Kanazawa (SIC)
You will be transferred with your guide to Kanazawa, by local bus. Travel time: 90 minutes.

Half day guided city tour in Kanazawa (SIC)
In this half day city tour using public transport, you will visit Kanazawa, a charming old castle town, famous for its cultural heritage and the beautiful Kanerokuen garden.

Visit Kenroku-en Gardens
Ranked as one of the top three gardens in Japan, Kenroku-en means “garden of six qualities”: spaciousness, seclusion, air of antiquity, ingenuity, flowing water and views.

Visit Shima House
Shima House is a former geisha house, which dates back in the 19th century. The building is now a museum and gives visitors a look at the life of the geisha who once entertained here.

Visit Nomura Samurai House
Nomura Samurai House is the only samurai residence opened to the public in Naga-machi. This visit here gives you an idea about samurai lifestyle and artifacts of the era when samurai were prosperous.

Visit Kaga Yuzen Traditional Industry Center
Kaga Yuzen Traditional Industry Center is a good addition to those interested in textiles and crafts. You will find out about yuzen, a traditional dying process to produce Kaga yuzen silk, popular for formal kimonos.

To truly understand Japan, the visitor must spend time in this old imperial capital, where he can find quiet temples, gorgeous gardens, colourful shrines and discover traditional Japanese culture. As a top cultural and religious center of Japan, Kyoto has over 2,000 temples and old shrines, 37 universities and colleges and 24 museums.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at hotel’s restaurant.

Transfer hotel – bus station in Kanazawa (SIC)
You will be transferred to the bus station in Kanazawa.

Transfer Kanazawa – Kyoto (SIC)
You will be transferred to Kyoto, by express train, by yourself (no English speaking guide during the transfer). Travel time: 120 minutes.

Transfer bus station – hotel in Kyoto (SIC)
Upon arrival at Kyoto Station, you will be met by an English speaking assistant for the transfer to the hotel in Kyoto.

Free afternoon
You will have the afternoon free.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at hotel’s restaurant.

Full day guided city tour in Kyoto (SIC)
You will visit the city in a full day guided tour (9:00-17:00) using public transport, exploring temples, wandering through outlying districts and you will get a sense of the city’s cultural riches.

Visit Golden Pavilion
Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji) was built in 1397 at the order of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. It is a three-storey building, of which, the two upper floors are covered with gold leaf. The Pavilion is located in a beautiful Japanese garden.

Visit Ryoanji Temple
Ryoanji is one of the symbols of Kyoto and one of Japan’s better-known sights. Ryoanji prides itself in its stone garden, which is listed as Unesco World Heritage site along with the whole complex.

Visit Kiyomizu Temple
Kiyomizu Temple is a Buddhist temple of the ancient capital of Japan and one of the largest tourist attractions in Kyoto. The temple dates back to 798, but the current buildings are much newer, dating back to 1633. The name is given by the nearby waterfall. It is said that, if you drink from this water, you will have part of health, success and long life. Kiyomizu means, in fact, pure water.

Take a stroll through Gion Area
Take a stroll through Gion’s most atmospheric lanes and discover Kyoto’s best-known geisha quarter. This area is filled with shops, restaurants and ochaya (teahouses), where geiko (Kyoto dialect for geisha) and maiko (geiko apprentices) entertain.

Breakfast
Enjoy breakfast at hotel’s restaurant.

Shared transfer hotel Kyoto – airport Osaka (SIC)
You’ll be transferred to Kansai International Airport in Osaka by airport shuttle van for your flight back home.