Welcome to Japan! After your border and customs formalities an assistant (usually Spanish speaking, but sometimes in English) will be waiting for you. Transfer by SHUTTLE BUS to your hotel. Free time at leisure. In the afternoon you will receive information about the start of your tour.
In the morning, we will take a long tour, lasting about five hours, with our guide through this simply breathtaking city! Its frenetic activity, its avant-garde neighbourhoods coexist with peaceful areas. We will make a brief stop at Zojoji Temple to photograph the most beautiful image of the Tokyo Tower. The hundreds and hundreds of Jizos, deities carved in stone and considered guardians of children, adorn themselves with woollen hats, bibs and windmills. We will then head to the famous Shibuya crossing, said to be the busiest crossing in the world. We will go to the Meiji Temple dedicated to the spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife. We will continue our bus along the elegant Omotesando Avenue. We will drive through the most beautiful part of the Imperial Palace and gardens. We will stop to visit the famous Nijubashi Bridge. We will cross the district of Akihabara, the ‘Electric City’, the centre of Japanese Manga and Anime; we will pass the Kokugikan, the Sumo stadium, the Japanese sport. We will finish our tour in Asakusa, visiting the Sensoji Temple and the famous Nakamise Street. Lunch included at a local restaurant. Return to the hotel.
18.30 hrs.- We meet our guide at the hotel reception and take the underground (tickets included) to the Shinjuku area. Afterwards, we will take a walk to the restaurant to discover this lively nightlife area. Dinner included at a local restaurant. Return to the hotel again by underground accompanied by our guide.
We travel towards the beautiful Mount Fuji area. Beautiful scenery on our route. We first visit ARAKURAYAMA SENGEN PARK, with its beautiful pagodas, from here we get the best and most famous views of Mount Fuji. After that we continue to KAWAGUCHIKO, an idyllic town of small houses, flowers and mountains next to its beautiful lake. Upon arrival we will visit the FUJI SENGEN SHRINE, a magical place where the pilgrimage to Mount Fuji traditionally began. We will give thanks at the shrine for being able to visit this magical place. Afterwards we will take a boat trip on Kawaguchiko Lake. Afterwards we start our ascent to Mount Fuji along the road that takes us to the ‘fifth station’, where we reach the height of 2305 metres.
Note: In winter the route to Mount Fuji is often closed due to snow or other weather conditions; at these times we will reach the point where we are allowed.
Return to Kawaguchiko, you will still have time to stroll around the lake. We will stay in a Ryokan (traditional Japanese hotels), enjoy your ONSEN (public bath). Dinner included.
Note: In the planned Ryokan some rooms are Japanese style, tatami mat accommodation and some are Western style. On some occasions, accommodation may be given in western style hotel.
In the morning, following beautiful road that contours lakes we meet IYASHI NO SATO NENBA, this small village was destroyed by a cyclone in 1966, later recovered as an open-air museum-traditional mountain village. Its typical houses have been transformed into handicraft shops, restaurants and traditional museums. We then admire the SHIRAITO WATERFALLS, considered to be one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Japan, with its 20-metre waterfall. Continue to the Nagoya region, including the entrance to the TOYOTA MUSEUM, a must for car lovers. Continuation to KYOTO, arrival and accommodation.
We will spend the whole day in the city that was the capital of Japan from 794 to 1868 and was the seat of the Imperial Court. This city, during the Second World War, was the only major Japanese city that was not bombed, for this reason it preserves its rich artistic heritage; in Kyoto was signed in 1997 the protocol that seeks to limit emissions of greenhouse gases. We will include a tour of the main sights of the city. During the tour we will visit Arashiyama, we will see the Togetsukyo Bridge, which means ‘bridge that crosses the moon’, from where you can admire a wonderful panorama. We will visit Tenryuji, one of the ‘five great Zen temples of Kyoto’, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, then walk through its mystical bamboo forest. We will visit the wonderful Shinto shrine of Fushimi Inari; the Imperial Palace and the temple of Kinkakuji, ‘the golden pavilion’ with its magnificent gardens (the order of the places visited can be changed).
Afterwards, time for a stroll through GION, the lively traditional quarter popular for its Geisha. Free time at leisure.
After breakfast we leave following one of the largest lakes in Japan, a short stop at Shirahige Ginra, a small shrine by the lake. Arrival at EIHEI -JI, where we include entrance to this temple-monastery, centre of Zen Buddhism in Japan, founded in 1244, its surroundings, its architecture, its gardens, its spiritual atmosphere make it a training centre for monks, where Zazen meditation is practised and a strict daily regime is followed. After that in KATSUYAMA, we visit three points: the DINOSAUR MUSEUM located in the biggest dinosaur remains site in Japan, free time for lunch and visit the didactic museum (with more than 40 skeletons of different dinosaurs). We will also visit THE GREAT BUDA of ECHIZEN, with its large temple and its five-storey PAGODA (we will be able to climb up to see the view). Arrival in KANAZAWA in the late afternoon.
Full day in KANAZAWA, including a morning city tour, a city that rivalled Kyoto and Tokyo throughout history. During the Second World War it escaped destruction by air raids. We will visit the castle area with its ramparts, stroll through the historic Nagamachi quarter, where the samurai and their families used to reside. The area retains a historic atmosphere with the remaining residences, earthen walls, private entrance gates, narrow alleys and water channels. We will include entrance to Kenrokuen, one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan. We will finish the visit at Omicho, a lively traditional market with many places to have lunch. Afternoon at leisure.
Today, among beautiful landscapes of mountains, forests and traditional villages we will visit the region of Gokayama and Shirakawago, its villages have been declared World Heritage Sites, the name of the traditional dwellings means ‘hands in prayer’ because of their steep roofs (resembling monks' hands joined in prayer) designed to withstand the heavy snowfall of winter. Stop at AINOKURA, a charming little village and SHIRAKAWA- GO OGUIMACHI, a popular older village. Time for a stroll and lunch. After that we continue to TAKAYAMA where we include the HIDA museum/village, in a peaceful setting exhibiting more than 30 traditional houses of the region built during the Edo Period (1603-1868) and relocated from their original locations to create the museum in 1971. The buildings display tools and utensils used in daily life in the past. We then spend some time in the old part of town, with its wooden houses and traditional shops.
After breakfast we leave for HIDA FURUKAWA, strolling through the old town. Its festival has been declared an Intangible Heritage of Humanity by Unesco, with its large drums and beautifully decorated floats. We will include entrance to the museum which tells us about the festival and shows us the floats, costumes and drums used. We continue our route through the Japanese Alps, with their snowy landscapes most of the year. MATSUMOTO, arrival in this touristic city where we will visit its impressive castle known as the ‘castle of the crows’ because of its black colour and dating from the 16th century. Afterwards, free time for lunch and a stroll. Mid-afternoon departure back to TOKYO, arrival at the end of the day.
After breakfast, end of our services.
