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 by BULLET TRAIN to KYOTO. We will leave early in the morning and, in just over two hours, our train will cover the almost 500 km that separate the two cities. We will have the whole day in the city that was the capital of Japan from the year 794 to 1868, where the Imperial Court was located. 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 the emissions of greenhouse gases. We will include a tour of the main sights of the city. 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. Afterwards we will have some time to stroll through GION, the traditional lively 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 tour 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.
