Thursday, April 16 (Day 01)
HONOLULU TO NARITA
Our tour commences this morning when we assemble at the Japan Airlines lobby at the airport for check in procedures. We will depart on Japan Airlines for Narita International Airport. Lunch and a snack will be served on board the flight.
Friday, April 17 (Day 02)
ARRIVE NARITA - ITAKO - OARAI (D)
We’ll arrive Narita Airport in the afternoon and after completion of entry and customs formalities, we’ll board our chartered motor coach to begin our Tohoku Ohanami (flower viewing) tour. We’ll travel through the city of Itako and continue along the scenic Pacific Coastline to the quaint little town of Oarai in Ibaraki to spend the night. Dinner is planned for you this evening at the hotel.
Accommodations at IBAKO OARAI HOTEL or similar
Saturday, April 18 (Day 03)
OARAI - NIHONMATSU - FUKUSHIMA - AKIU ONSEN (B)(D)
Weather permitting, we should be able to see gorgeous shidare-zakura (weeping cherry blossoms) in bloom as we continue our drive through the town of Miharu - abundant for its abundant beauty of cherry trees in Fukushima prefecture. Enjoy viewing more cherry blossoms on the grounds of Kasumiga-jo in Nihonmatsu, host of the annual Chrysanthemum Festival during the autumn season. The splendor of Someiyoshino cherry trees planted all along the banks of the Shiroishi River together with the combination of the blue sky and the white snow-capped mountains of Zao puts a finishing touch to this famous cherry blossom viewing spot. More cherry blossom viewing can be enjoyed on the grounds of Funaoka-joshi Koen (Funaoka Castle Ruin Park). (weather permitting) Enjoy dinner and relax in the onsen at our fabulous hotel this evening.
Accommodations at NEW MITOYA HOTEL or similar
Sunday, April 19 (Day 04)
AKIU - MATSUSHIMA - ISHINOMAKI - OJIKA PENINSULA - MATSUSHIMA (B)(D)
This morning we’ll enjoy a session of painting your own creation on your own kokeshi doll to take home as a souvenir. We’ll proceed to Shiogama Pier to board a sightseeing ferry and enjoy a relaxing cruise on picturesque Matsushima Bay, designated as one of the three most scenic sights in Japan - Nihon Sankei. Enjoy the view of hundreds of pine-studded islets floating on the horizon. On arrival in Matsushima, we’ll visit Zuiganji Temple, one of Tohoku’s finest Zen temples with elegant painted screens, interior carvings and well known for its beautiful painted sliding doors. Enjoy a visit to Godai-do, a small wooden temple hall located on an islet on the bay and noted for its eaves of the exterior decorated by the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac. We’ll proceed to Ishinomaki to visit Hiyori-yama Koen, a park located on top of Hiyoriyama Hill in the center of the city to enjoy the view of beautiful cherry blossoms. (weather permitting) We’ll enjoy a relaxing drive along the Ojika-hanto, a scenic peninsula winding along the Pacific Ocean with its rugged coastline of bays, capes and inlets. We’ll return to the city of Matsushima to check in for the night. Enjoy dinner and relax in the grand bath at our elegant hotel this evening.
Accommodations at MATSUSHIMA CENTURY HOTEL or similar
Monday, April 20 (Day 05)
MATSUSHIMA - HANAIZUMI - ICHINOSEKI - HIRAIZUMI - KITAKAMI - HANAMAKI ONSEN (B)(D)
This morning we’ll travel to Hanaizumi, visiting the Hanaizumi Flower World, one of the largest peony gardens in the Tohoku area. Weather permitting, hundreds of large blooming peonies including various other flowers such as lotus and bush clover should be in full bloom at this time of the year. We’ll travel through Ichinoseki to Hiraizumi and enjoy a relaxing ride through the peaceful waters of Geibikei Gorge on a flat-bottomed boat accompanied by a serenading boatman. As we glide on the river through the gorge, enjoy the breathtaking scenery of spectacular rock formations and sheer cliffs. We’ll continue on to visit Chusonji Temple and its main attraction - Konjiki-do (Golden Hall) - regarded as a national treasure. The shrine inside is elaborately decorated with golden lacquer and mother of pearl with three Buddha images. We’ll make a stop in Kitakami, a city famous for the sakura that bloom in Tenshochi Park, regarded as one of the 100 best places in Japan to view cherry blossoms. Enjoy dinner and relax in the hot springs at our onsen hotel.
Accommodations at HANAMAKI SENSHUKAKU HOTEL or similar
Tuesday, April 21 (Day 06)
HANAMAKI - MORIOKA - TOWADA - ASAMUSHI ONSEN (B)(D)
We’ll drive north through Morioka, one of the most appealing old castle towns in Japan and the capital of Iwate-ken - famous for the production of nanbu tetsubin (cast ironware). As we drive by the grounds of the district courthouse, we’ll see a 400-year old Ishiwari-Zakura (stone-splitting cherry blossom tree) with a trunk so large that it actually split a boulder - an interesting sight to see. We make a visit to Towada city to view the rows of cherry trees before continuing on our journey to Towada-ko, the third deepest caldera lake in Japan located in the Towada-Hachimantai National Park. Experience mountain beauty and marvel at the frozen forests and snow corridors as we drive through the Yuki no Kaido (Snow Corridor) from scenic Lake Towada to Mt. Hakkoda. Enjoy dinner and relax in the hot springs this evening at our onsen hotel.
Accommodations at ASAMUSHI KAISENKAKU HOTEL or similar
Wednesday, April 22 (Day 07)
ASAMUSHI - HIROSAKI - HACHIROGATA - AKITA (B)(D)
This morning we’ll travel to Aomori and visit Nebuta No Sato, a gallery where colossal festival floats featured during the Nebuta Matsuri in the summer are displayed. These floats are colorful paper-mache ‘nebuta’ - created as a figure of a theme from history or the Kabuki Theater. Southwest of Aomori is the historical castle town of Hirosaki and on arrival, we’ll visit the ruins of Hirosaki Castle, the city’s most famous landmark. Weather permitting, enjoy a spectacular sight of the surrounding Hirosaki Park, one of Japan’s most famous cherry blossom viewing spots with over 2,000 cherry trees. We’ll continue on to the town of Hachirogata in Akita prefecture to see a beautiful display of black pine trees and avenues of cherry blossom trees planted throughout the city. Dinner will be provided for you this evening at our hotel in the city of Akita.
Accommodations at AKITA VIEW HOTEL or similar
Thursday, April 23 (Day 08)
AKITA - YUWA - KAKUNODATE - YOKOTE - TENDO (B)(D)
Our journey continues on to Kakunodate, a former castle town known for its beautifully preserved former samurai district and one of the Tohoku region’s most famous cherry blossom viewing spots. Most of the samurai houses (bukeyashiki) stand behind wooden fences and gates along a central avenue lined by tall oak and weeping cherry trees (shidare-zakura). The sight of beautiful cherry blossoms can be enjoyed in the former samurai district. (weather permitting) Among the most interesting mansions open to the public are the Ishiguro Samurai House - the former residence of Kakunodate’s highest ranked family and the Aoyagi Samurai House - which exhibits arms, antiques and other family treasures. We’ll visit one of them, offering a rare glimpse into the life of samurai and common townspeople. Kakunodate also has a traditional wooden craft called kaba-zaiku - made from the bark of wild cherry trees. Several of these intricate craft works are exhibited in the Kakunodate Museum of Traditional Crafts. We’ll continue on to spend the night in Tendo, a town noted for the manufacture of shogi (Japanese chess pieces). Relax and enjoy dinner this evening at our onsen hotel.
Accommodations at TAKINO-YU ONSEN or similar
Friday, April 24 (Day 09)
TENDO - YAMAGATA - YONEZAWA - AIZU WAKAMATSU - KORIYAMA (B)(D)
Our drive this morning takes us through Yamagata-ken to Yonezawa, a castle town once home to Uesugi Yozan. Enjoy a leisure stroll to see beautiful cherry blossoms in bloom on the grounds of Matsugasaki Koen, the former residence of the Date and Uesugi clan. The interior of the park is a well-known spot for cherry blossom viewing (ohanami). We’ll proceed to the castle town of Aizu Wakamatsu, visiting the grounds of Tsuruga-jo, an important Tokugawa stronghold in the Tohoku region. At the top of Iimoriyama Hill are the graves of samurai youths - members of the Byakkotai (White Tigers) who was ordered into battle against the Meiji government soldiers. After their defeat, they retreated to Iimoriyama Hill and committed ‘hara-kiri’ or ritual suicide as they presumed that their castle - Tsurugajo Castle - was on fire and all was lost. Dinner will be provided for you this evening at our hotel in Koriyama.
Accommodations at HOTEL HAMATSU KORIYAMA or similar
Saturday, April 25 (Day 10)
KORIYAMA - TATEBAYASHI - TOKYO (B)(D)
We’ll proceed to Sukagawa, a city located in the center of Fukushima prefecture - famous for its beautiful peony garden. Enjoy strolling through the Sukagawa Peony Garden - proclaimed a national place of scenic beauty with over 290 kinds of peonies. The statue of Princess Peony in front of the entrance is the symbol of friendship between the city of Sukagawa and Loyang City of China. We’ll continue on to the town of Tatebayashi in Gunma-ken to view some spectacular varieties of azaleas in bloom at Tsutsujiyama Park. We’ll continue on our ‘ohanami’ tour to visit Hirata Village with a spectacular view of shibazakura (pink & white moss phlox flowers) blooming on a hillside, like a pink carpet. The Japanese love flowers and wisteria are among one of their favorites. One of the best places to view wisteria is the Ashikaga Flower Park in Ashikaga City, featuring lots of blue, white, and pink wisteria as well as yellow laburnum (kingusari) that look like yellow colored wisteria. Our day ends in the metropolitan city of Tokyo where we will spend the night. Dinner will be provided for you this evening.
Accommodations at SHINAGAWA PRINCE HOTEL TOKYO or similar
Sunday, April 26 (Day 11)
TOKYO - NARITA TO HONOLULU (B)
Enjoy your last breakfast in Japan before making preparations to return home. The morning will be free to do some last minute shopping and packing or just relaxing around the hotel. In the afternoon, we will transfer to Narita International Airport for our evening flight to Honolulu, arriving on the same day due to the crossing of the International Dateline.