Japan Explorer

One of the world’s most cutting-edge capitals, Tokyo is a city of contrasts. Famous for its cutting-edge modernity, neon-lit landscape and towering skyscrapers, it is also home to sprawling parklands, peaceful shrines and temples, and lovingly tended gardens. Despite its love affair with manga pop culture, fashion, high-tech trends and conspicuous consumption, below the surface is a city embedded in ancient heritage. Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples stand close to skyscrapers as a reminder of a more contemplative time and at the heart of the hyperactive centre lies the serene Imperial Palace – home of the ruling emperor – providing a tangible link to the city’s ancient past. Behind the shopping, entertainment and commercial emporia are the quaint wooden houses, private gardens with meticulously clipped bonsai trees, and the calming Hamarikyu Gardens. The city’s reputation as a costly metropolis is ill conceived and visitors can take advantage of the inexpensive izakaya bars and neighborhood cafes that serve delicious noodles and rice dishes.
 
On arrival at Narita Airport, you will be met in the arrival hall by your driver who will assist you with the included shared transfer to your hotel (60 – 90 minutes).
 
The remainder of the day is at your leisure.

Explore the very best of new and old Tokyo on this exciting shared full-day bus tour. Start the day with a visit to the regal Imperial Palace and Nijubashi Bridge, taking a short stroll around the area. Next you’ll head to Tsukiji Outer Market for a glimpse into the daily culinary lives of Tokyo citizens. Enjoy the striking Sensoji-Temple in Asakusa with the shop-lined Nakamise Shopping Street running up to its front gate. After lunch, a cruise up the Sumidagawa River will take you to the new Toyosu Market, the new wholesale area after it was moved from Tsukiji. Your day ends with a visit to the astonishing teamLab Borderless, otherwise known as the Mori Digital Art Museum, where art is not just something to enjoy with your eyes but with all your senses.
 
Notes:  The Mori Digital Art Museum is an extremely popular attraction and long waits of an hour or more to enter are not unusual. It is highly advised to bring appropriate clothing or accessories for the heat or cold, depending on the season.  The Mori Digital Art Museum is closed on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month, so on these days you will be taken to teamLab Planets, a smaller but similar attraction run by the same company.  As the schedule of Sumida River Cruise will be altered during cherry blossom season (expected period: mid-March – early April) and congestion is expected, the Sumida River Cruise ride may be switched to cherry blossom viewing at Sumida Park.

Hakone is a natural wonderland and is famous for its hot springs, outdoor pursuits and the view of the nearby Mount Fuji. It is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and is less than 100-km from Tokyo, providing a popular weekend destination for city residents keen to escape the frenzy of the capital. Besides the towering mountains, lakes and views of Mount Fuji, it is also blessed with charming historical sites. Beautiful Hakone has just about everything a vacationer could wish for.
 
A full-day shared motorcoach tour. Leaving from Tokyo, it includes a stop at the Fuji Visitor Center, a trip up to Mt. Fuji's 5th station at an elevation of 2,300 meters, a cruise on the pristine Lake Ashi, and a ride on the Komagatake Ropeway which boasts great views of the surrounding Hakone National Park.

This is a must-see destination in Japan. Kyoto is the nation’s former capital and was the residence of the emperor from 794 until 1868. It is Japan’s seventh largest metropolis with a population of 1.4 million and a city of culture that offers a plethora of temples, shrines and other historically priceless structures that still survive today. With 2,000 religious buildings, including 1,600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines, as well as palaces, gardens and associated architecture, it is one of the best-preserved cities in Japan and has been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status. Kyoto represents the “Japan of old” and beyond the high-rise skyscrapers built as a monument to progress, the real monument to Japan’s historical and cultural past can be found in the city’s narrow alleyways where tea houses thrive and kimono-clad geisha hurry from elegant function to function. Go back in time to Japan’s mysterious past where echoes of the court nobility resonate at the Imperial Palace and the search for contemplation can be found in Ryoanji’s Zen rock gardens.
 
Today you will ride Japan’s world-famous Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto. Capable of speeds of up to 185mph (360km/h), the Shinkansen takes 2.5 hours to reach Kyoto.
 
Your afternoon is free.

Experience Kyoto, Japan's capital from 794-1868. Visit Nijo Castle, the residence of the Tokugawa era shoguns, and the gold-leaf covered Golden Pavilion, housing sacred relics of Buddha and surrounded by exquisite gardens renowned for their beauty. Walk through the Kyoto Imperial Palace and watch traditional Japanese artisans work their craft at the Kyoto Handicraft Center. Visit Heian Jingu Shrine – a partial replica of the Imperial Palace. Walk through Sanjusangendo Temple, Japan's longest wooden structure, famous for its 1,001 human-sized Kannon statues, and browse through the specialty shops leading up to Kiyomizudera Temple for a sweeping view of the city.

Your day is free to explore Kyoto on your own.
 
Option: (Subject to an additional supplement cost)
Nara Afternoon Tour Head to Nara with an English-speaking guide on this sightseeing bus tour and visit two World Heritage Sites, Todai-ji Temple and Kasuga Taisha Shrine. Get to see wild deer up close – a rarity in Japan and elsewhere in the world – while walking through Nara Park before returning to Kyoto.

Your day is at leisure until your shared transfer to Kansai International Airport or Osaka International Airport.