Itinerary
- Day 1
Tokyo
You'll make your own way from the airport to your hotel in Tokyo. Check-in starts at 2-3 pm, but if you arrive early, leave your bags with reception and wander around the neighborhoods to get your bearings. This is a good time to rest up before the organized touring begins tomorrow.
- Accommodation
- Hostel (Shinjuku Washington Hotel ), Hostel (Shinjuku Washington Hotel - Tokyo)
Optional Activities
- Explore Tokyo's vibrant neighborhoods
- Sample Tokyo street food including yakitori, tempura, and ramen
- Day 2
Tokyo
Your full-day coach tour kicks off at 8:15 am at Meiji Shrine, situated within a 170-acre forest that honors Emperor Meiji. From there, you'll head to Tokyo Skytree for views from Floor 350, which sits 634m high. Later, you'll walk through Asakusa district and see Senso-ji Temple, where the centuries-old Nakamise Shopping Street runs alongside. The day finishes with a tour of the Imperial Palace grounds.
- Meals
- Breakfast
- Accommodation
- Hostel (Shinjuku Washington Hotel - Tokyo)
Included Activities
- Full-day coach tour of Tokyo
- Visit Meiji Shrine
- Tokyo Skytree entrance to Floor 350
- Visit Sensō-ji Temple in Asakusa district
- Explore Imperial Palace grounds
Optional Activities
- Shop at Nakamise Shopping Street for traditional snacks and souvenirs
Landmarks Meiji Shrine Tokyo Skytree Sensō-ji Temple Nakamise Shopping Street Imperial Palace 
- Day 3
Tokyo
You have the full day to explore Tokyo however you like. The city has plenty to offer, from neighborhood walks to shopping for souvenirs and trying different restaurants. Your guide can point out spots worth checking out if you want some direction.
- Meals
- Breakfast
- Accommodation
- Hostel (Shinjuku Washington Hotel - Tokyo)
Optional Activities
- Explore Tokyo's neighborhoods and attractions
- Shop for souvenirs
- Enjoy Tokyo's cuisine
- Day 4
Tokyo - Hakone - Lake Ashi - Kawaguchiko
After breakfast, your coach heads to Hakone national park with a lunch stop in Hakone-machi. You'll board a scenic boat cruise on Lake Ashi to catch views of Mount Fuji from within the Hakone caldera. Then you transfer to Lake Kawaguchiko, the second-largest of the Fuji Five Lakes, for more Mount Fuji viewing. You'll reach your hotel in time for a group dinner.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Dinner (Group dinner with fellow travellers at hotel)
- Accommodation
- Hostel (Route Inn Kawaguchiko (Onsen Hotel))
Included Activities
- Coach transfer to Hakone national park
- Boat cruise on Lake Ashi
- Transfer to Lake Kawaguchiko
- Group dinner at hotel
Optional Activities
- Lunch in Hakone-machi
Landmarks Lake Ashi Lake Kawaguchiko Mount Hakone Mount Fuji - Day 5
Kawaguchiko - Mount Fuji - Takayama
Following breakfast, your coach takes you to Mount Fuji's 5th Station, which is halfway up this sacred active volcano. If weather cooperates, you'll see views of the summit rising above the clouds. Lunch happens at a highway service stop known for quality Japanese food. Then you continue by coach toward Takayama, arriving around 3 pm.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch (At a highway service stop)
- Accommodation
- Hostel (TOKYU STAY Hida -Takayama Musubi no Yu - Gifu)
Included Activities
- Coach visit to Mount Fuji's 5th Station (weather permitting)
- Lunch at highway service stop
Landmarks Mount Fuji 5th Station - Day 6
Takayama
You have a full free day in Takayama to explore at your own pace. Your guide can suggest spots around the city if you'd like some recommendations on where to go.
- Meals
- Breakfast
- Accommodation
- Hostel (TOKYU STAY Hida -Takayama Musubi no Yu - Gifu)
Optional Activities
- Explore Takayama
- Day 7
Takayama - Shirakawa-gō - Kanazawa
Before leaving Takayama, you'll tour Kamisannomachi Street in the Old Town to see well-preserved Edo-period houses, shops, quaint cafes, and sake breweries. Then you travel to Shirakawa-go Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with over 100 distinctive Gassho-style thatched-roof houses set in mountain scenery. After lunch here, your coach continues on to Kanazawa, arriving around 5 pm. Once you arrive, there's a brief tour of Higashi Chaya District, a preserved historical area.
- Meals
- Breakfast
- Accommodation
- Hostel (Kanazawa Manten Hotel Ekimae)
Included Activities
- Tour Kamisannomachi Street in Takayama's Old Town
- Visit Shirakawa-gō Village
- Tour Higashi Chaya District in Kanazawa
Optional Activities
- Explore sake breweries in Takayama's Old Town
- Visit cafés in Takayama's Old Town
- Lunch in Shirakawa-gō Village
Landmarks Kamisannomachi Street Shirakawa-gō Village Higashi Chaya District - Day 8
Kanazawa - Kyoto
After breakfast, you'll visit Kenrokuen Garden, one of Japan's top gardens that took 200 years to develop and features nearly 9000 trees and 200 plant species. Next comes Nomura Samurai House, the historic home of the Nomura Samurai clan with beautiful architecture, gardens, and intricate painted screen doors showing how samurai lived from the 16th to 19th centuries. Following lunch, your coach heads to Kyoto. The rest of the day is yours to explore on your own.
- Meals
- Breakfast
- Accommodation
- Hostel (Hotel Keihan Kyoto Grande)
Included Activities
- Visit Kenrokuen Garden
- Visit Nomura Samurai House
Optional Activities
- Lunch (time for break)
Landmarks Kenrokuen Garden Nomura Samurai House - Day 9
Kyoto
You have a full free day in Kyoto, Japan's former capital. The city offers plenty of classical Buddhist temples, beautiful gardens, imperial palaces, Shinto shrines, and traditional wooden houses to check out. You might spot geisha in the Gion district if you're interested in that.
- Meals
- Breakfast
- Accommodation
- Hostel (Hotel Keihan Kyoto Grande)
Optional Activities
- Explore Buddhist temples
- Visit gardens and imperial palaces
- See traditional wooden houses
- Explore Gion district for geisha
Landmarks Gion District - Day 10
Kyoto - Nara - Kyoto
After breakfast, you'll drive past Heian-jingu shrine on the way to Kinkaku-ji Temple, the famous Golden Pavilion and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its floors are covered entirely in pure gold and sit within a beautiful Zen garden, combining three distinct architectural styles: Shinden, Samurai, and Zen. You'll travel to nearby Nara for lunch at your own pace, then wander through Nara Park where over 1200 tame sika deer roam freely. From there you visit Todai-ji (Great Eastern Temple) with its Great Buddha Hall, one of the world's largest wooden structures, housing a 15m-tall bronze Buddha statue. You return to Kyoto for a leisurely evening.
- Meals
- Breakfast
- Accommodation
- Hostel (Hotel Keihan Kyoto Grande)
Included Activities
- Drive-by view of Heian-jingū Shrine
- Visit Kinkaku-ji Temple (Golden Pavilion)
- Wander through Nara Park
- Visit Tōdai-ji (Great Eastern Temple)
Optional Activities
- Lunch at leisure in Nara
Landmarks Heian-jingū Kinkaku-ji Temple Nara Park Tōdai-ji - Day 11
Kyoto - Osaka
After breakfast, you'll head to Arashiyama, known for its thick bamboo forest officially designated as a Place of Scenic Beauty by the Japanese government. There's time for lunch in the Arashiyama area. Next, you explore Fushimi Inari Shrine, famous for thousands of vermilion torii gates that form trails behind its main temples. These paths lead into the forest of sacred Mount Inari (233m). This shrine is the most important of thousands dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Later, you transfer to Osaka and check into your hotel.
- Meals
- Breakfast
- Accommodation
- Hostel (Osaka Garden Palace)
Included Activities
- Visit Arashiyama bamboo forest
- Visit Fushimi Inari Shrine
Optional Activities
- Lunch in Arashiyama area
Landmarks Arashiyama Fushimi Inari Shrine Mount Inari - Day 12
Osaka - Himeji - Hiroshima
After breakfast, you depart Osaka to visit Himeji, known as the 'White Heron Castle,' the largest surviving example of a traditional Japanese castle with 83 buildings. The white roof resembles a heron in flight. This UNESCO World Heritage site is Japan's most visited castle and offers great views of the surrounding Himeji city. Time for lunch around the castle area. You then transfer to Hiroshima.
- Meals
- Breakfast
- Accommodation
- Hostel (Hiroshima Grand Intelligent Hotel)
Included Activities
- Visit Himeji Castle
Optional Activities
- Lunch around Himeji Castle
Landmarks Himeji Castle - Day 13
Hiroshima - Miyajima - Hiroshima
After breakfast, you'll meet your guide in the hotel lobby to visit the Atomic Bomb Dome (Genbaku Dome), a UNESCO World Heritage shell of a building left standing after the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima. The structure carries mixed local significance as both a reminder of war and tribute to those lost. You visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to see exhibits and view the cenotaph flame, which burns until the last nuclear weapon is destroyed. Following lunch, you board a ferry to Miyajima Island, known for forests and ancient temples. You'll see the famous 'floating' torii that partially submerges at high tide, marking the entrance to Itsukushima Shrine, built in the 12th century. You explore the Museum of History and Folklore in a 19th-century merchant's home and walk Omotesando Shopping Street for lunch and souvenirs before ferrying back to Hiroshima. Your evening is free.
- Meals
- Breakfast
- Accommodation
- Hostel (Hiroshima Grand Intelligent Hotel)
Included Activities
- Visit Atomic Bomb Dome (Hiroshima Peace Memorial)
- Visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
- Ferry to Miyajima Island
- Visit Itsukushima Shrine
- Visit Miyajima Museum of History and Folklore
- Walk Omotesando Shopping Street
Optional Activities
- Lunch on Miyajima Island
Landmarks Atomic Bomb Dome Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Miyajima Island Itsukushima Shrine Miyajima Museum of History and Folklore Omotesando Shopping Street - Day 14
Hiroshima - Osaka
After breakfast, you depart Hiroshima aboard the Japanese bullet train (Shinkansen) headed to Shin-Osaka Station. Once you arrive in Osaka, your full-day coach tour passes Osaka Castle, which played a major role in Japan's unification during the 16th-century Azuchi-Momoyama period. You'll head to the Dotonbori area, one of Japan's typical busy downtowns and hugely popular with tourists. Walking through this street that runs parallel to the Dotonbori canal, you'll find shopping, street food, bars, and entertainment. At night, hundreds of colorful neon lights and mechanized signs light up the area, including the iconic Glico Man sign and the Kani Doraku crab sign.
- Meals
- Breakfast
- Accommodation
- Hostel (Osaka Garden Palace)
Included Activities
- Bullet train from Hiroshima to Shin-Osaka Station
- Full-day coach tour of Osaka
- Pass Osaka Castle
- Walk through Dōtonbori area
Landmarks Osaka Castle Dōtonbori - Day 15
Osaka
You have a full free day in Osaka to do what you like. Your guide can suggest great spots to see and places to eat. This evening, you'll join your fellow travelers for a group dinner at a local restaurant.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Dinner (Group dinner at a local restaurant with fellow travellers)
- Accommodation
- Hostel (Osaka Garden Palace)
Included Activities
- Group dinner at local restaurant
Optional Activities
- Explore Osaka
- Shop in Osaka
- Experience Osaka cuisine
- Day 16
Osaka
This is your final day in Japan. At the appropriate time, make your own way to the airport for your flight home or head out on any independent travel you have planned.
- Accommodation
- Hostel (Osaka Garden Palace)
