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November 11 - 24, 2008 (14 Days & 12 Nights)
$100 EARLY BOOKING DISCOUNT
(deposit must be made by 05/01/2008)
Included Features:
Kansai, Okinawa (3 Nights), Naha City, Southern Okinawa, Central Okinawa, Fukuoka/Hakata, Karatsu, Hirado-Shima, Sasebo, Nagasaki, Shimabara, Amakusa Islands, Kumamoto, Sakurajima, Kagoshima, Ibusuki, Chiran, Miyazaki, Takachiho, Uchinomaki, Beppu, Yufuin, Dazaifu, Fukuoka/Hakata
TWIN RATE:
$4,215 per person |
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT:
$ 465 per person |
LAND ONLY:
$3,325 per person |
(Individual arrangements to meet group are not included)
Tuesday, November 11 (Day 01)
HONOLULU TO KANSAI TO OKINAWA
Our tour commences this morning when we assemble at the Japan Airlines lobby at the airport for baggage check-in procedures. We will depart Honolulu on Japan Airlines for Kansai International Airport. Lunch and a snack will be served on board the flight.
Wednesday, November 12 (Day 02)
KANSAI AIRPORT TO OKINAWA
After completing entry and customs formalities at the Kansai Airport, we’ll depart on a domestic flight to Okinawa. On arrival at the Naha Airport, we’ll transfer to our hotel in Naha city, the capital of Okinawa to spend the next three nights. Dinner will be on your own this evening.
Accommodations at the Sun Palace Hotel or similar
Thursday, November 13 (Day 03)
SOUTHERN OKINAWA (B)(L)(D)
We’ll travel south of Naha, the scene of some of the heaviest fighting during the closing days of the Battle of Okinawa. Wandering through the maze of corridors at the Underground Imperial Navy Headquarters, visible shrapnel damage can be seen on the walls from the grenade blasts that took the lives of many men during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. We’ll continue on to visit Himeyuri-no-to, a site where more than 200 high-school students and their teachers committed mass suicide rather than submit to the approaching American army. After lunch, we’ll visit Mabuni-no-Oka, a memorial site of the worst battle of World War II in Japan. Rows of inscribed stone tablets are scattered about the hillside and lists the name of every person who died in the Battle of Okinawa. We’ll visit Gyokusen-do, a limestone cave with an abundance of stalactites and stalagmites formations located within Okinawa World, a theme park promoting Okinawan history and culture. Dinner will be provided for you this evening.
Accommodations at Sun Palace Hotel or similar
Friday, November 14 (Day 04)
CENTRAL OKINAWA (B)
We’ll travel to central Okinawa and visit Shuri-jo, the reconstructed residence of the Okinawan royal family. The castle and main buildings demonstrate the strong Chinese influence in the Ryukyu style. Share the memory of the Okinawa of long ago at the Ryukyu Mura, a historic folk village that offers an opportunity to sample the heritage of the old Ryukyu and enjoy the Okinawan dances and songs that are presented in the main building. We’ll return to Naha city in the late afternoon to enjoy your own activities and shopping. Dinner will be on your own tonight to try some of the local cuisine of Okinawa.
Accommodations at Sun Palace Hotel or similar
Saturday, November 15 (Day 05)
OKINAWA * FUKUOKA/HAKATA (B)(D)
This morning after breakfast, we’ll transfer to the Naha Airport for our flight to Fukuoka on Kyushu Island, the third-largest and southernmost of the four major islands of Japan. On arrival at the Fukuoka International Airport, we will transfer to our hotel in Fukuoka/Hakata, the largest city in Kyushu to check in for the night. Originally two separate towns, the Nakagawa is the dividing line of the city, with the castle town of Fukuoka to the west and the commercial center of Hakata to the east. The airport area is known as Fukuoka and the train station as Hakata. Fukuoka/Hakata is also known for its Hakata ningyo (clay dolls). These dolls range widely in size, delicately painted with lifelike features and generally represent geisha, samurai warriors or Kabuki actors. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon to shop at “Tenjin”, a high-rise and underground shopping complex. Dinner will be provided for you this evening.
Accommodations at Nishitetsu Grand Hotel or similar
Sunday, November 16 (Day 06)
FUKUOKA * KARATSU * HIRADO-SHIMA (B)(D)
After breakfast, we’ll travel west to Karatsu, a seaside town renowned for its earthy but elegant pottery, similar to Korean wares. Enjoy the scenic view of the two-mile long “Niji-no-Matsubara”, a grove of black pine trees extending along a white sandy beach and Kagamiyama (Mirror Mountain) with a panoramic view of Karatsu Castle perched on a hill overlooking the sea. Imari and Arita are the major pottery towns of this prefecture and we’ll make a stop at Imari Okawachiyama (Village of the Secret Kilns) - known as the home of the Nabeshima Clan who built special kilns to make fine porcelains. We’ll enjoy a brief walking tour of this area before we continue on to Arita, the birthplace of Japanese porcelain and where Ri Sanpei, a naturalized Korean potter made his historic discovery of kaolin clay. We’ll continue on to spend the night on Hirado-shima, an island connected to Kyushu by a bridge with an interesting European history involving Dutch traders. On arrival, we’ll visit the Matsuura Historical Museum, housed in the residence of the Matsuuras who ruled the island from the 11th to 19th century. Relax and enjoy dinner this evening at our onsen hotel .
Accommodations at Hotel Ranpu or similar
Monday, November 17 (Day 07)
HIRADO * SASEBO * NAGASAKI (B)(D)
This morning we’ll drive to Sasebo and board a sightseeing boat from Kashimae Pier to enjoy a scenic cruise around Kyujukyu-Shima (pine-studded islets) in the inland sea. We’ll continue on to the city of Nagasaki, passing over the Saikai Bridge where you may be able to view the swirling waters of the straits. On arrival, we’ll visit some of the well-known sites of the city including Glover Garden. The former mansion of British merchant Thomas Glover and other 19th century buildings are preserved in this spacious hillside garden overlooking Nagasaki Harbor. The story for Puccini’s opera “Madame Butterfly” was allegedly set here and the main character was based on Tsuru, Glover’s Japanese wife. We’ll visit the Heiwa-koen (Peace Park), laid out to commemorate the site of the atomic bomb explosion on August 9, 1945. In the Hypocentre Park, a black stone column marks the exact point above where the atomic bomb exploded and devasted the city. The souvenir of Nagasaki is castella, a sweet sponge cake and you can find this in almost every sweet shop and souvenir store in town. Dinner will be provided for you at the hotel this evening.
Accommodations at New Nagasaki Hotel or similar
Tuesday, November 18 (Day 08)
NAGASAKI * UNZEN * SHIMABARA * AMAKUSA ISLANDS * KUMAMOTO (B)
This morning, we’ll depart Nagasaki and continue on to Unzen, an active volcanic center located in the central section of the Shimabara Peninsula and known for its bubbling and spurting jigoku (hells). We’ll continue driving along the coast of the Ariake Sea to the Kuchinotsu Pier and board a ferry to the scenic Amakusa Islands, known for its stronghold of Christianity during Japan’s Christian Century. Still considered as one of the less-developed regions of Japan, these islands has no high mountains and rugged in interior with green forests, blue waters, and white sandy beaches. Amakusa is known for the famous Amakusa Gokyo (Five Bridges) which links its major islands with Kumamoto to the west and Nagasaki to the north. Our journey continues on to Kumamoto, a modern city that has one of Japan’s finest reconstructed castles - Kumamoto-jo. Architect Kato Kiyomasa built this castle with ingenious engineering and its size and numerous interesting exhibits make it visit-worthy. Enjoy a leisure stroll through Suizen-ji-koen, a garden that imitates the 53 stations of the old Tokaido highway (the old road that linked Tokyo and Kyoto) and featuring a miniature Mt. Fuji. Dinner will be on your own this evening to try some of the local specialties of the area.
Accommodations at Kumamoto Castle Hotel or similar
Wednesday, November 19 (Day 09)
KUMAMOTO * SAKURAJIMA * KAGOSHIMA * IBUSUKI (B)(D)
Dominating the skyline from Kagoshima is the brooding cone of Sakurajima, an active volcano with three peaks: one of which is still active. The most violent eruption occurred in 1914 when the volcano poured out tons of lava, overwhelming villages and completely filled the narrow strait that separated the volcano from the mainland - thus converting Sakurajima from an island to a peninsula. We’ll continue on to Kagoshima, the southernmost major city in Kyushu and known to the Japanese as the “Naples of the Orient”. The Shimazu clan not only dominated Kagoshima’s history but also left the city with its principal attraction, Iso-teien, a beautiful bayside garden with one of the most impressive pieces of ‘borrowed scenery’ - the fuming peak of Sakurajima as a background. Enjoy a leisure stroll through this beautiful garden. We’ll travel to the south-eastern end of the Satsuma Peninsula to Ibusuki, a hot spring resort known for its steaming black sand baths. As an option, you may want to experience being covered in warm black volcanic sand. The weight and heat of the sand feels so good and after rinsing off, you will feel unusually energized. Relax and enjoy dinner at our onsen hotel this evening.
Accommodations at Ibusuki Iwasaki Hotel or similar
Thursday, November 20 (Day 10)
IBUSUKI * CHIRAN * MIYAZAKI (B)(D)
This morning, we’ll travel to Chiran, an interesting little town with a fine collection of preserved samurai houses and gardens on “samurai street”. A modern version of the samurai is commemorated in the Tokko Heiwa Kaikan (Kamikaze Peace Museum) displaying an extensive collection of aircraft, mementoes and photos of the young pilots who were selected to serve for the Special Attack Corps in World War II. Chiran was one of the major bases from which the pilots made their suicidal attack on Allied ships. We’ll continue our drive to view the scenic Nichinan Kaigan of Aoshima Island, with its stretches of devil’s washboard (eroded rock formations), white sand beaches and subtropical flora en route to the city of Miyazaki where we will spend the night. Dinner will be provided for you this evening.
Accommodations at Miyazaki Kanko Hotel or similar
Friday, November 21 (Day 11)
MIYAZAKI * NOBEOKA * TAKACHIHO * MT. ASO * UCHINOMAKI (B)(D)
We’ll continue our drive to Takachiho, a mountain resort town located midway between Nobeoka on the coast and Aso-san in the center of Kyushu and famed for its beautiful gorge and a number of interesting shrines. The town’s major attraction is Takachiho-kyo - a scenic gorge with views of beautiful waterfalls, overhanging rocks and sheer walls. A local dance, the iwato kagura is still performed at the Takachiho Shrine in the evenings. Enjoy a beautiful view of Mt. Aso as we drive on to the hot spring town of Uchinomaki to spend the night.
Accommodations at Tsukasa Villa Park or similar
Saturday, November 22 (Day 12)
UCHINOMAKI * MT. TAKASAKI * BEPPU B)(D)
We’ll continue on to Beppu, Japan’s most famous town noted for its two types of hot springs: jigoku or hells - hot springs for viewing and onsen - hot springs for bathing. Beppu is divided into eight major hot spring areas known as Beppu Hatto and contains nine major geothermal hot spots referred to as the ‘Nine Hells of Beppu’. We’ll visit one of these “hells” to see several types of natural hot spring ponds where the water bubbles forth from underground in various colors, sizes, and shapes. Mt. Takasaki Monkey National Park located at the base of Mt. Takasaki is home to thousands of wild monkeys and as they come down from the mountain to interact in the communal gathering area, you will enjoy a rare opportunity to observe these wild monkeys in their natural habitat as they move about freely. Enjoy dinner and relax in the hot springs at our hotel this evening.
Accommodations at Suginoi Hotel or similar
Sunday, November 23 (Day 13)
BEPPU * YUFUIN * DAZAIFU * FUKUOKA/HAKATA (B)
We’ll travel west to Fukuoka/Hakata, en route visiting Yufuin, a countrified hot-spring town located on a beautiful highland plateau this morning. Enjoy a visit to the Yufuin Mingei Mura (Folk Art Village), a showcase for artisans making lathe-turned toys, blown glass, handforged steel blades, etc. We’ll continue on to Dazaifu, visiting the Dazaifu Tenman-gu, a shrine dedicated to Tenjin, the deified Sugawara no Michizane - kami of scholars. He chose as his symbol - the plum blossom. Numerous flowering plums are planted around the shrine. We’ll continue on to spend the night in Fukuoka/Hakata. Dinner will be on your own this evening.
Accommodations at Nishitetsu Grand Hotel or similar
Monday, November 24 (Day 14)
FUKUOKA/HAKATA - KANSAI TO HONOLULU (B)
This morning we’ll transfer to the airport for our domestic flight to Kansai International Airport, transferring for our flight to Honolulu in the evening. We’ll arrive home in the morning on the same day due to the crossing of the International Dateline. Dinner will be served on board the flight.
The tour price is based on double occupancy and a minimum group size of 20 passengers. A fare adjustment may apply for groups of 20 or less. The rate is based on tariffs and exchange rates effective 1/15/08. Tour fare is subject to change according to any airfare increase, increase in government taxes, additional fuel surcharges and fluctuation of the rate of exchange between U.S. and foreign currency. In the event of revaluation, the land portion of the tour price may be adjusted prior to your final statement.
Terms & Conditions
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