Thursday, June 3 (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 Honolulu on Japan Airlines for Narita International Airport. Lunch and a snack will be served on board the flight.
Friday, June 4 (Day 02)
NARITA - TOKYO (D)
We’ll arrive Narita International Airport in the early afternoon and after completing entry and customs formalities, transfer to our hotel in Tokyo for the next two nights. Dinner will be provided for you this evening.
Accommodations at SUNSHINE CITY PRINCE HOTEL or similar
Saturday, June 5 (Day 03)
TOKYO (B)(L)
After breakfast, we will embark on a full day of sightseeing in this exciting metropolitan city. We’ll visit Sensoji - also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple, Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple built for the goddess of Kannon. Enjoy strolling through Nakamise-dori, a shopping street with many shops offering typical Japanese souvenirs and various traditional local snacks located adjacent to the temple. We’ll take a tour of the Edo-Tokyo Museum showcasing exhibits and artifacts relating to the historical heritage of Edo-Tokyo. The museum is divided into three major sections, the ‘Edo Zone’, the ‘Tokyo Zone’ and the ‘History Zone’, and at the entrance is a replica of the Nihonbashi Bridge. We’ll drive by Ginza - a world-renowned entertainment and shopping district in Japan with up-scale shops and restaurants. Enjoy shopping at Ameyokocho, a lively shopping area with many indoor and outdoor vendors offering a variety of food products and various merchandise at discounted prices. This evening, enjoy dinner on your own at one of the restaurants in the shopping mall located adjacent to the hotel.
Accommodations at SUNSHINE CITY PRINCE HOTEL or similar
Sunday, June 6 (Day 04)
TOKYO - HAKONE - FUJI FIVE LAKES - LAKE YAMANAKA (B)(D)
This morning we’ll travel to Hakone - part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and famous for its volcanic hot springs and natural beauty. Enjoy a relaxing boat cruise on scenic Lake Ashino-ko - a crater lake that lies along the caldera of Mount Hakone and known for its beautiful view of Mt. Fuji - Japan’s most sacred mountain (weather permitting). Hakone was once an important checkpoint for the ‘Old Tokaido Highway’, the road that linked the ancient capital Kyoto to Edo (now known as Tokyo) during the Edo period. We’ll continue on to the scenic region of Fuji-Go-Ko (Fuji Five Lakes), scattered around Mt. Fuji to spend the nigh. The hotel overlooks Lake Yamanaka, the largest of the Fuji Five Lakes, offering a breathtaking view of Fuji-san (weather permitting). Dinner will be provided for you this evening at the hotel.
Accommodations at HOTEL MT. FUJI or similar
Monday, June 7 (Day 05)
SHIZUOKA - NAGOYA (B)(D)
Weather permitting, we’ll drive up the slopes of Mt. Fuji to the ‘go-go-me,’ (Fifth Station) - one of the major rest stops utilized by mountain hikers to enjoy a breathtaking view of this sacred mountain and its surrounding valleys. Enjoy a spectacular display of various flowers in bloom at the Fuji International Flower Garden. We’ll continue our drive through the Pacific Coast through through Shizuoka prefecture, the largest tea-producing region in Japan and once home to the first Tokugawa Shogun Ieyasu. The scenery of Shizuoka offers a view of the Southern Japan Alps, a different view of Fuji-san, and miles of scenic coastline along Suruga Bay and the Pacific Ocean. We’ll continue on to the castle town of Nagoya - the capital of Aichi Prefecture to the spend the night. Dinner will be provided for you this evening.
Accommodations at NAGOYA CASTLE PLAZA or similar
Tuesday, June 8 (Day 06)
NAGOYA - BULLET TRAIN - KYOTO (B)(L)
Early this morning, you may want to stroll along the backstreets located near our hotel to visit the ichiba (morning market) with many indoor and outdoor vendors offering a variety of fresh and dried food products and various other merchandise. We’ll travel to Toyota City to enjoy a guided tour of a car factory of the automobile giant - Toyota Motor Corporation. Observe the fascinating process of automobile manufacturing as we watch components being assembled to new cars on a moving assembly line. We’ll return to the Nagoya Train Station to experience a ride on the shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto, the former capital of Japan. On arrival at the Kyoto Station, we’ll transfer to our hotel to check-in for two nights. The afternoon is at your leisure to explore some of the sights of this traditional city on your own. Enjoy shopping at the Kyoto Handicraft Center offering a wide selection of Japanese goods, souvenirs, handicrafts, works of art and more. Dinner will be on your own this evening. Try some Kyoto style cuisine at one of the local restaurants in the city or at the train station located near our hotel.
Accommodations at RIHGA ROYAL KYOTO or similar
Wednesday, June 9 (Day 07)
KYOTO - NARA - KYOTO (B)(D)
We’ll travel to the ancient city of Nara located at the northern end of the Yamato Plain - a fertile valley where members of the Yamato clan rose to power as the original emperors of Japan. We’ll visit the Todai-ji Temple Complex, a magnificent Buddhist temple located in Nara-koen, a park that is home for many sacred deer roaming freely about. The Daibutsu-den (Hall of the Great Buddha) is considered the largest wooden structure in the world and home to the Daibutsu, an enormous bronze statue of Buddha - perhaps the most famous sight in Nara. Within the hall is a large wooden pillar with a hole at its base and local tradition has it that those who pass through the opening will find their way to an afterlife of paradise. We’ll visit Kasuga Taisha Shrine, designated as a Unesco World Heritage Site with hundreds of stone lanterns lined along the approach-way to the shrine. In the afternoon, we’ll return to Kyoto to visit some of the highlights of this traditional city. We’ll visit Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion), a magnificent golden structure sitting at the edge of a lake providing a beautiful reflection in the calm waters, and Nijo-jo, a flatland castle built as the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu. The castle is known for its nightingale floors (floors that squeak at every move) as a safeguard against intruders. Dinner will be provided for you this evening.
Accommodations at RIHGA ROYAL KYOTO or similar
Thursday, June 10 (Day 08)
KYOTO - AWAJI ISLAND - TOKUSHIMA (B)(D)
After breakfast, we’ll travel to Kobe and visit the Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum to observe the step-by-step sake brewing process on videos. Samples of some of their products will be provided for you to enjoy at the end of the tour. We’ll continue on to cross the Akashi Kaikyo Ohashi , a bridge to Awaji-shima, the inland sea’s largest island to enjoy a performance of the Awaji Ningyo Joruri (Puppet Play) at the Awaji Puppet Theatre. The separate arts of puppet manipulation, gidayu narration and shamisen accompaniment blend together to present a dramatic performance of a tragic drama. We’ll travel on the Naruto Ohashi, a bridge crossing the Naruto Channel to Shikoku Island, arriving at the prefecture of Tokushima to spend the night. At each flow of the tide, currents rush through this narrow passage of the Naruto Channel to form uzushio (whirlpools) of various sizes and we may be able to see some as we cross over this bridge. This afternoon, enjoy a performance of the famous Awa Odori, the pride of Tokushima. Learn to dance and participate with the ‘Awanokaze’ dancers. Dinner will be provided for you tonight at the hotel.
Accommodations at AWA KANKO HOTEL or similar
Friday, June 11 (Day 09)
TOKUSHIMA - TAKAMATSU - IMABARI (B)(D)
This morning we’ll travel to the castle town of Takamatsu and enjoy a stroll through the beautiful gardens of Ritsurin-koen, a park that is the city’s major landmark and once the summer retreat for the Lords of the Matsudaira family. This scenic garden follows a classical Japanese design featuring pine trees winding around a series of ponds, bridges and rock formations, including ‘borrowed scenery’ of Mount Shuin forming a backdrop to the garden. Experience making your own fan to take home as a souvenir at the Uchiwa Minato Museum specializing in uchiwa (rounded paper fans). These fans are made with a decorated paper stretched over a thin bamboo frame. We’ll continue on to spend the night in Imabari, the second largest city in Ehime prefecture and noted for its production of towels. Dinner will be provided for you tonight at the hotel..
Accommodations at IMABARI KOKUSAI HOTEL or similar
Saturday, June 12 (Day 10)
IMABARI - SHIMA NAMI KAIDO - HIROSHIMA (B)(D)
We’ll depart Shikoku Island via the scenic Shima Nami Kaido, a set of bridges connecting the many islands of the Seto Inland Sea to Honshu Island. Our drive will take us from Imabari in Shikoku through Onomichi, arriving Hiroshima in the early afternoon where we will spend two nights. Dinner will be provided for you this evening at the hotel.
Accommodations at RIHGA ROYAL HIROSHIMA or similar
Sunday, June 13 (Day 11)
HIROSHIMA - IWAKUNI - MIYAJIMA - HIROSHIMA (B)
After breakfast, we’ll travel to Iwakuni and visit the famous Kintai-kyo (Brocade Sash Bridge), Iwakuni’s major attraction with its five linked arches forming a span across the Nishiki River. We’ll continue on to the pier at Miyajimaguchi and board a ferry to Miyajima Island, famed for its scenic Itsukushima-jinja, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a floating torii extending into the sea. The landscape, including the shrine, is one of the most photographed tourist attractions and with the island’s Misen-san as a backdrop, is noted as one of Japan’s three most beautiful sights. We’ll return to the main island by ferry, then continue on to the city of Hiroshima to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Park. Exhibits within the museum tell the story of the atomic bomb and the destruction it brought on Hiroshima and its people. The most poignant memorial in the Peace Memorial Park is the Children’s Peace Memorial, inspired by leukemia victim Sadako Sasaki. Thousands of paper cranes brought by school children, various clubs and groups are displayed there. Dinner will be on your own this evening. You may want to try the local specialty of Hiroshima ‘okonomiyaki’ at one of the local restaurants nearby the hotel.
Accommodations at RIHGA ROYAL HIROSHISMA or similar
Monday, June 14 (Day 12)
HIROSHIMA - KURASHIKI - HIMEJI CASTLE - OSAKA (B)(D)
Our journey continues on to visit the quaint little town of Kurashiki in Okayama prefecture. Enjoy strolling through the picturesque Bikan-chiku (historic city district) with many old traditional buildings, storehouses and shops located along the willow lined canal. We’ll continue on to visit Himeji-jo, one of the oldest surviving structures from medieval Japan. Considered one of Japan’s ‘three most famous castles’, Himeji-jo is also known as Shirasagi (White Egret) because of its stately white form. A portion of the castle frequently appears on the opening scene of a popular Japanese television series - Abarenbo Shogun. We’ll arrive in the industrial city of Osaka in the late afternoon. Dinner will be provided for you this evening at the hotel.
Accommodations at RAMADA HOTEL OSAKA or similar
Tuesday, June 15 (Day 13)
OSAKA - KANSAI TO HONOLULU (B)
After breakfast, the day is at your leisure for your own activities until our departure for Kansai International Airport in the late afternoon. Our evening flight to Honolulu will arrive on the same day due to the crossing of the International Dateline. Dinner will be served on board the flight.