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April 14 - 24, 2011 (11 Days & 9 Nights)
$100 EARLY BOOKING DISCOUNT
(deposit must be made by 10/15/2010)
Narita, Yokohama, Kamakura, Hakone, Mt. Fuji, Lake Kawaguchi, Kofu, Matsumoto, Nagano, Yudanaka Onsen, Jigokudani Monkey Park, Kusatsu Onsen, Mt. Akagi, Takasaki, Ashikaga, Gunma, Tokyo
TWIN RATE:
$ 3,885 per person |
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT:
$ 550 per person |
LAND ONLY:
$ 3,200 per person |
(Individual arrangements to meet group are not included)
Thursday, April 14 (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. A meal and a snack will be served on board the flight.
Friday, April 15 (Day 02)
ARRIVE NARITA - YOKOHAMA (D)
We’ll arrive Narita International Airport in the early afternoon and after completing entry and customs formalities, we’ll proceed to Yokohama, Japan’s second largest city and the capital city of Kanagawa prefecture to spend two nights. Dinner will be provided for you this evening at the hotel.
Accommodations at Yokohama Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers or similar
Saturday, April 16 (Day 03)
YOKOHAMA (B)(D)
We’ll embark on a full day of sightseeing, visiting some of the major highlights of the city, including Yokohama Chukagai, Japan’s largest Chinatown. A large number of Chinese stores and restaurants can be found on the narrow and colorful streets. Located in the center of Chinatown is a gaudily colored temple - Kanteibyo - dedicated to the Chinese god of good business and prosperity. Enjoy a stroll through Sankeien - a traditional Japanese-style garden featuring ponds, streams, and many historic buildings transplanted from around Japan including the three-story pagoda of Kyoto’s old Tomyo-ji Temple. Built largely on reclaimed land, Minato Mirai 21 is a seaside urban area whose name means ‘harbor of the future’. Located along the waterfront, the buildings form a distinctive skyline of Yokohama with the Landmark Tower as the most recognizable feature.
Accommodations at Yokohama Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers or similar
Sunday, April 17 (Day 04)
YOKOHAMA - KAMAKURA - HAKONE - LAKE KAWAGUCHI (B)(D)
This morning, we’ll travel to Kamakura, renowned for the monumental bronze statue of Amida Buddha, the second largest Daibutsu in Japan. Seated serenely in the lotus position with a backdrop of the wooded hills on the grounds of Kotoku-in Temple, this is truly a spectacular sight to see. We’ll travel to Hakone - part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and best known 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 breathtaking view of Mt. Fuji, Japan’s most sacred mountain. Weather permitting, we’ll enjoy a ride on the Hakone Komagatake Ropeway, an aerial lift climbing Mount Komagatake from the lakeside of Lake Ashi - offering a breathtaking view of the area. We’ll continue on to the scenic Fuji Five Lake region in Yamanashi prefecture to spend the night at a beautiful hotel overlooking Lake Kawaguchi, one of the most popular of the Fuji Five Lakes.
Accommodations at Fuji View Hotel or similar
Monday, April 18 (Day 05)
LAKE KAWAGUCHI - KOFU (B)(D)
Located lakeside of one of the Fuji Five Lakes - Lake Motosu - thousands of vivid variations of shibazakura (moss pink phlox flowers) at Fuji Shibazakura stretch out to create a gorgeous carpet of brilliant pink petals with a breathtaking view of Mt. Fuji as a backdrop. At the Fuji International Flower Garden, enjoy a beautiful display of begonias and a nice variety of other flowers in bloom as you stroll through this garden. We’ll visit Shira-ito-no-taki (White Thread Falls), a picturesque waterfall with small streams of water trickling down the rocks in a wide arch, creating a vast white cascade. The water here is from Mount Fuji, flowing down via the Kaotou River. Neighboring Otodome Falls, a thundering torrent, is an amazing contrast to Shira-it-no-taki Falls. We’ll visit Takeda Jinja, a Shinto shrine located in Kofu city that houses the kami of Takeda Shingen Ko, the renowned general of the civil war period in the 16th century. We’ll spend the night at a hotel in Kofu city, capital of Yamanashi prefecture. Dinner will be provided for you this evening.
Accommodations at KOFU FUJIYA HOTEL or similar
Tuesday, April 19 (Day 06)
KOFU - MATSUMOTO - NAGANO (B)(D)
Enjoy a visit to Mitake Shosenkyo Gorge - noted as Japan’s most beautiful gorge and is part of the Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park. Located along the Arakawa River, enjoy some spectacular scenery with its forested valley, beautiful waterfalls, and interestingly strange shaped rocks and stones - many of which are named after animals or items they resemble. The highlight of the gorge is the giant rock Kakuenbo and the beautiful Sengataki Fall. We’ll proceed to Takato Joshi Koen Park on the grounds of Takato Castle to view beautiful cherry blossoms in bloom with over 1,500 sakura trees (weather permitting). These light-pink-colored cherry blossoms called Takato-Higanzakura is known as one of the best in Japan. We’ll continue on to the town of Hodaka to see the production of wasabi at the Daio Wasabi (Japanese Horseradish) Farm, one of Japan’s largest wasabi farm. A nice selection of wasabi themed products are available in the shops, including fresh wasabi and wasabi flavored ice cream. Enjoy a visit of one of Japan’s finest historic castles - Matsumoto-jo - listed as a National Treasure of Japan in the city of Matsumoto. We’ll continue on to spend the evening in Nagano, a city known for its beautiful mountainous terrain consisting of the northern, central and southern ranges of the breathtaking Japan Alps.
Accommodations at SHINSHU MATSUSHIRO ROYAL HOTEL or similar
Wednesday, April 20 (Day 07)
NAGANO - YUDANAKA ONSEN (B)(D)
Our drive continues on to Oshu, visiting Shoboji Temple, one of the three main temples of the Soto sect of Buddhism. The main hall, residential quarters, and front gate of the temple has been designated an Important Cultural Properties by the Japanese Government.. We’ll visit Zenko-ji Temple, most famous historically for its involvement in the battles between Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen in the 16th century. Currently, this is one of the last few remaining pilgrimage sites in Japan. We’ll make a photo stop at Kawanakajima Ancient Battlefield, the location where the five epic battles between Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen took place to secure the northern territory of Nagano. We’ll proceed to spend the evening at Yudanaka Onsen, a prominent hot spring resort in northern Nagano prefecture. The area is most famous for its wild Japanese monkeys who enjoy the naturally hot waters just like the human visitors.
Accommodations at ISSA no KOMICHI BIYU no YADO or similar
Thursday, April 21 (Day 08)
YUDANAKA ONSEN - KUSATSU ONSEN (B)(D)\
This morning we’ll visit the Jigokudani Yaen Koen (Jigokudani Monkey Park), the chosen home for more than a hundred Japanese Macaques, Japan’s indigenous monkeys. The park is located in a valley named “Hell Valley” for the volcanic activities observed there and features a hot spring pool for exclusive use by the monkeys. These monkeys, commonly referred to as Snow Monkeys, descend from the steep cliffs and forest to sit in the warm waters of the onsen, then return to the forest in the evenings. We’ll drive through the snow corridor at Shibu Pass to enter Kusatsu Onsen - one of Japan’s most famous hot spring resort to spend the night. Enjoy a yumomi performance - a traditional method of cooling down hot spring water to bathing temperature by stirring the water with large wooden paddles, accompanied with the singing of a local folk song. Kusatsu is blessed with large volumes of high quality hot spring water. The sulfurous, highly-acidic water has been considered among Japan’s best as a treatment for ailments that include arthritis, fatigue and skin diseases. Enjoy dinner and relax in the hot springs this evening.
Accommodations at HOTEL NAKAZAWA VILLAGE or similar
Friday, April 22 (Day 09)
KUSATSU ONSEN - TAKASAKI (B)(D)
In the foothills of Mount Akagi lies the fantastic Gunma Flower Park, an enchanting landscape of perfectly manicured gardens. Enjoy a stroll through the inner gardens of the park, featuring flowers spread out in exciting shapes and colorful patterns centered around fountains and an intriguing Park Tower. Weather permitting, cherry blossoms should be in bloom at the spectacular Akagi Nanmen Senbon-zakura , a stretch of a thousand cherry blossom trees on the southern slopes of Mt. Akagi. Enjoy picking and eating fresh strawberries at a local orchard before we continue on to Takasaki, a city in Gunma prefecture and famous as the hometown of the popular Daruma doll - a symbol of perseverance and good luck.
Accommodations at TAKASAKI VIEW HOTEL or similar
Saturday, April 23 (Day 10)
TAKASAKI - TOCHIGI - GUNMA - TOKYO (B)(D)
Japanese people love flowers and wisteria are among one of their favorites. Wisteria are called fuji in Japanese and one of the best places to view these flowers is at the Ashikaga Flower Park in Ashikaga city. Weather permitting, enjoy a stroll through the park featuring lots of blue, white, and pink fuji, including one large tree with its branches supported to create a huge umbrella of blue wisteria flowers. We’ll travel to Tatebayashi, a small and quiet town in Gunma prefecture with an event that they can be proud of - Koi-no-bori (carp streamers). The city commemorates the celebration of Children’s Day by flowing thousands of these carp streamers along the Tsuruuda River to promote sightseeing in the city. We’ll visit Tsutsujigaoka Park, the largest azalea park in Japan with thousands of azaleas representing over fifty varieties in-bloom around Jonuma Pond. We’ll continue on to the exciting metropolitan city of Tokyo to spend our last night. Dinner will be provided for you at the hotel this evening.
Accommodations at SHINAGAWA PRINCE HOTEL or similar
Sunday, April 24 (Day 11)
TOKYO - NARITA TO HONOLULU (B)
The day is free at your leisure for independent activities until our departure to the airport. We’ll depart in the early afternoon to check in for our evening flight home to Honolulu, arriving in the morning of the same day due to the crossing of the International Date Line. A light meal will be served on board the flight.
Map of Tour Itinerary
The tour price is based on double occupancy and a minimum group size of 20 passengers. Fare adjustment may apply for groups of 20 or under. The rate is based on tariffs and exchange rates effective 8/15/10. Tour fare is subject to change according to any airfare increase, additional 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.
Land portion based on 95 Yen = $1.00 U.S.
2010 General Conditions (Japan/International)
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