Japan Spring Cherry Blossom

Your guide will greet you at the airport and escorted you to your hotel in Tokyo.  Overnight is in Tokyo.

Hotel: Mitsui Garden Hotel Kiyobashi

Visit the Ryogoku District where the Sumo wrestlers practice, go up the Skytree for a view of greater Tokyo, tour Kappabashi, Japan’s kitchen town, and walk nearby to then to Asakusa for the Senso-Ji Temple, the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo.  Also, stop to see the Asakusa Shrine, and explore the Nakamise-Dori.  A welcome lunch of Japanese cuisine is included on this day.

You visit the Yanaka neighborhood stopping at the Yanaka Ginza, and the Yanaka Cemetery with cherry blossoms. Lunch is at the Deaf-owned ramen shop. In the afternoon you see Shinjuku with the Tokyo Metropolitan building, Harajuku with the Meiji Shrine, and Shibuya with the Hachiko statue and the famous crosswalk. Overnight is in Tokyo. 

Hotel: Mitsui Garden Hotel Kiyobashi

Optional Activity: Deaf social at an Izakaya.  Reservations required. 

Travel to Kamakura Japan’s first political capital. There you see the Hokokuji Temple with the bamboo grove, the Kotoku-in with the Great Buddha, and the Hase-Dera with Japan’s largest wooden statue of Kannon. In the late afternoon, you check-in a traditional ryokan with a Japanese dinner and natural hot spring onsen. Overnight Hakone Yumoto.

Hotel: Yoshiike Ryokan

Embark on a circular tour of the Hakone route. Hakone is famous for its natural beauty and views of nearby Mount Fuji. You travel the region on five different means of transport passing over the Owakudani volcano, sailing on a boat across Lake Asahi, and going on a short leisure walk on the ancient Cedar Avenue. Overnight is in Nagano.

Hotel: Hotel JAL City Nagano

You travel by bus to Jigokudani and walk through a natural forest to the site where the Japanese Macaques (aka snow monkeys) gather and bathe in natural hot springs water. After lunch, you tour the old hot-spring resort with old Japanese inns, ryokans, and bathhouses. In the late afternoon, you travel on the train back to Nagano. Overnight is in Nagano

Hotel: Hotel JAL City Nagano

In the morning you visit the Zennoji Temple with the dark underground passage and walk through Nakamise street with galleries and shops. Then you take the train to Matsumoto for a lunch break and a tour of Matsumoto Castle. By late afternoon you ride a charter bus over the Hida mountains to Takayama, an old preserved town.  Overnight is in Takayama 

Hotel: EPH Takayama

In the morning you stroll through a farmer’s market, see old wealthy merchant’s homes and tour the Takayama-Jinya, the last existing government office by the Shogunate. In the afternoon you have free time on your own to explore the old Sannomachi district or book to dress-up in a Kimono.  Overnight in Takayama

Hotel: EPH Takayama

Optional Activity: Grab a rare chance to dress in a kimono (female, male, and children) and be able to experience other traditional Japanese cultural art forms to truly give you an authentic Japanese experience.  Booking appointments are required, prices vary depending on the type of kimono and accessories. 

Optional Dinner: Hida beef dinner. It’s a local specialty. The main differences of Hida beef from other wagyu can be found in its muscle and marbling. Hida beef is considered by many to be the ideal wagyu and a close cousin to Kobe Beef.  Booking is required, the restaurant menu has a variety of Hida beef options and prices. 

You go on a day trip through the Hida mountains to a remote landlocked village, Shirakawa-go. The village is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is famous for the many Gassho-zukuri homes. Some of the houses are 300 years old. You explore the village, enter one of the homes. A farm-style lunch is included on this tour.  Overnight is in Takayama

Hotel: EPH Takayama

Special Lunch: In Shirakawa-go, you’ll find a traditional local mountainous dish made from homemade miso, mountain vegetables, mushrooms, and meat grilled atop a large hoba leaf.  The sweet-smelling grilled miso is paired with white rice, creating a wonderfully rich dish. The hoba leaf itself is used as a dish. 

You travel to Hiroshima, the city where the first atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945. You arrive in the afternoon and visit the Peace Memorial Park with the Hiroshima Memorial museum. Your guide will take you to other landmarks and buildings with testaments of the bombing. In the evening have free time around the Hiroshima castle.  Overnight is in Hiroshima. 

Hotel: Nest Hotel Hiroshima Station/Ekime

Optional Dinner: local specialty, Okonomiyaki.  Hiroshima okonomiyaki is a savory pancake packed full of vegetables, seafood, meat, and noodles underneath.  There are vegetarian options.  If you want to experience this special dish booking is required.

You take a local train to a seaport and board on a ferry for the sacred Miyajima Island. At the pier, some deer will greet you. The deer were worshipped as messengers of the Gods on the island. You go on a leisure walk, passing the giant iconic vermilion tori gate to the Itsukushima Jinja (shrine). The Japanese say the tori gate and the shrine float on water.  Overnight is in Kyoto. 

Hotel: Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto-Shijo

Optional Lunch: Oysters are a specialty dish of Miyajima Island, in Hiroshima prefecture. The shellfish are cooked in various ways typical of Japanese cuisine that will delight foodies from all over the world. Booking is required with a fee.

Start your day at the famous Kinkakuji, also known as the Golden Pavilion, and at Nannajn Temple a UNESCO site with cherry blossom trees. In the afternoon you visit Arashiyama with the Togetsukyo Bridge. There are many different walking paths that lead you to many interesting temples, gardens, tea houses, and the massive bamboo grove. Overnight is in Kyoto.

Hotel: Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Shijo

After breakfast, you travel to Fushimi Inari for the thousands of vermilion tori gates that straddle a network of trails to the top of Mt. Inari (233m). In the afternoon you visit the Kiyomizudera and the Higashiyama district with galleries, specialty shops, and the Yasaka pagoda and shrine. You stop at the Gion where the Geisha live, work and play. The evening is a Sayonara dinner.  Overnight is in Kyoto. 

Hotel: Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Shijo

Time to say sayonara, and be escorted from your hotel to the Shinkansen for your departure at either Narita or Haneda Airport.