Monday, April 16 (Day 01)
HONOLULU TO NARITA
Our tour commences this morning when we assemble at the check-in lobby at the airport for baggage check-in procedures. We will depart Honolulu for Narita International Airport. A meal will be served on board the flight.
Tuesday, April 17 (Day 02)
ARRIVE NARITA - YOKOHAMA (D)
We’ll arrive Narita International Airport in the early afternoon. After completing entry and customs formalities, we’ll proceed to spend two nights in Yokohama, Japan’s second largest city and the capital of Kanagawa prefecture. Dinner will be provided for you this evening at the hotel.
Accommodations at Yokohama Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers or similar
Wednesday, April 18 (Day 03)
YOKOHAMA (B)(D)
We’ll embark on a full day of sightseeing in the city, visiting some of the major attractions, including Yokohama Chukagai, Japan’s largest Chinatown. Numerous Chinese shops and restaurants can be found on the narrow and vibrant 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 and streams. Many historic buildings were transplanted here from all over Japan - including the three-story pagoda from 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. Dinner will be provided for you at a local restaurant this evening.
Accommodations at Yokohama Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers or similar
Thursday, April 19 (Day 04)
YOKOHAMA - KAMAKURA - HAKONE - LAKE KAWAGUCHI (B)(D)
We’ll travel to the city of Kamakura, renowned for the huge monumental bronze statue of Amida Buddha, the second largest Daibutsu in Japan. Seated serenely in the lotus position on the grounds of Kotoku-in Temple, this is truly a spectacular sight to see. We’ll continue on to Hakone - part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and best known for its volcanic hot springs and natural beauty. Hakone was once an important checkpoint to control traffic along the Tokaido - the highway which linked Tokyo with Kyoto during the feudal Edo Period. We’ll visit the Hakone Sekisho Shiryokan, a small museum with various related exhibits located near the checkpoint. 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, we’ll experience 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
Friday, April 20 (Day 05)
LAKE KAWAGUCHI - KOFU (B)(D)
Located lakeside of Lake Motosu, thousands of vivid variations of shibazakura (moss pink phlox flowers) in bloom at Fuji Shibazakura stretch out to create a gorgeous carpet of brilliant pink petals with an awe-inspiring view of Mt. Fuji as a backdrop. At the Fuji International Flower Garden, enjoy a breathtaking display of begonias and a beautiful variety of flowers in bloom as you stroll through the 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-ito-no-taki. Mt. Minobu, one of Yamanashi’s 100 best mountains in the Minami Alps, offers a stunning view of the Yatsugatake mountains beyond the Southern Alps, and Mt. Fuji and Suruga Bay to the south-east. Weather permitting, Mt. Minobu is also famous for its willow cherry blossoms in bloom at this time of the year. 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
Saturday, April 21 (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 the 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 Kakuenbo (a giant rock), and the beautiful Sengataki Fall. We’ll proceed to Takato Joshi Koen Park in Nagano to view thousands of Takato-kohigan-zakura, admired as the most beautiful cherry trees in Japan. The forest of cherry trees in full bloom harmonizes beautifully with the snowscape of the Chuo Alps and is designated a natural treasure by Nagano prefecture. We’ll continue on to the town of Hodaka to visit 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 to 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
Sunday, April 22 (Day 07)
NAGANO - YUDANAKA ONSEN (B)(D)
Our journey continues on to view cherry blossoms in bloom at the ruins of Kaitsu Castle at Garyu Park in the city of Suzaka. We’ll visit Zenko-ji Temple, a Buddhist temple in Nagano, famous historically for its involvement in the battles between Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen in the 16th century. A photo stop will be made at Kawanakajima Ancient Battlefield, the location where the five epic battles between them took place to secure the northern territory of Nagano. We’ll visit the Tanaka Honke Museum, the mansion of a wealthy merchant that features an earthen storehouse with everyday items used by the Tanaka family over the generations from the middle of the Edo period to the Show period. 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 natural hot springs just like its human visitors.
Accommodations at ISSA no KOMICHI BIYU no YADO or similar
Monday, April 23 (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, also known as Snow Monkeys. Enjoy the unique experience to observe wild monkeys bathing in a natural hot spring. They 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. The sulfurous, highly-acidic water has been considered among Japan’s best as a treatment for ailments that include arthritis, fatigue, and skin diseases. A bath related attraction in Kusatsu is yumomi, a traditional method of cooling down the hot spring water to bathing temperature by stirring the water with a large wooden paddle, accompanied with a song and dance performance.
Accommodations at HOTEL NAKAZAWA VILLAGE or similar
Tuesday, April 24 (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 thousands of 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 overnight in Takasaki, a city located in Gunma prefecture. The city is famous as the hometown of the popular Daruma doll - a hollow, round, traditional Japanese doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism, regarded as a symbol of perseverance and good luck.
Accommodations at TAKASAKI VIEW HOTEL or similar
Wednesday, April 25 (Day 10)
TAKASAKI - TOCHIGI - GUNMA - TOKYO (B)(D)
Japanese people love flowers, and wisteria or (fuji) are among their favorites. One of the best places to view these elegant flowers is at the Ashikaga Flower Park in Ashikaga city. Weather permitting, enjoy a stroll through the park featuring a breathtaking view of blue, white, and pink wisteria, including one large tree with its branches supported and spread out to create a huge umbrella. We’ll travel to Tatebayashi, a small and quiet town in Gunma prefecture with an event that they can be proud of - displaying 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 featuring thousands of azaleas representing over fifty varieties in-bloom around Jonuma Pond. We’ll continue on to spend the night in the exciting metropolitan city of Tokyo. Dinner will be provided for you at the hotel this evening.
Accommodations at SHINAGAWA PRINCE HOTEL or similar
Thursday, April 26 (Day 11)
TOKYO (B)
The day is free to enjoy your own activities in this exciting city. Optional activities include a shopping excursion to Ameyokocho, a lively shopping area with many indoor and outdoor vendors offering a variety of food products and various merchandise at discounted prices. Another option is to visit Sengakuji, a small temple famous for its graveyard where the ‘47 Ronin’ (also known as Akoroshi, the masterless samurai from Ako) are buried. Dinner will be on your own this evening.
Accommodations at SHINAGAWA PRINCE HOTEL or similar
Friday, April 27 (Day 12)
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 on the same day due to the crossing of the International Date Line. A light meal will be served on board the flight.