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Day 1:
On arrival at Narita Airport, you will be met in the arrival hall and assisted with the included shared transfer to your hotel (60 – 90 minutes). The remainder of the day is at your leisure.
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Day 2:
Take a day tour of this fascinating city with a local guide by public transportation. The day begins with a visit to Meiji Shrine, a shrine dedicated to the deified spirit of Emperor Meiji and a popular place for traditional Japanese weddings. Take a walk down Omotesando, head across town to Asakusa, visit Sensoji, Nakamise, a shopping street. End your day in Hamarikyu garden, an Edo Period Japanese garden surrounded by the Shiodome district’s futuristic skyscrapers, a great example of how Japan is the land of contrasts, where you will stop for a cup of steaming matcha and Japanese sweets in a tea house on a small island in the park’s lake.
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Day 3:
Your day is at leisure to explore Tokyo. Option: Tsukiji Market visit and Sushi Making at Local Home
The world’s largest fish market, Tsukiji Market, handles
about 2,888 tons of marine products a day worth about 2.8
billion yen (US$20million). Some 450 kinds of fish are
received – from penny-per-piece sardines to golden brown
dried sea slug caviar, a bargain at US$473 a pound. Some
of the giant tuna go for well over 1,000,000JPY each
(US$8000). Take time to wander through this enormous
market, exploring both the vegetable and fruit areas plus
the impressive seafood section.
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Day 4:
Today, leave Tokyo behind as you make the car journey to Hakone, the gateway to Mt. Fuji and surrounding national park, with your local guide. To explore the National Park, you can take advantage of the numerous forms of transport on offer, seamlessly integrated with your private car. Ride the world’s second longest cable car up Mt Owakudani, passing over sulfurous fumes, hot springs and hot rivers in this volcanic area, where you can eat an egg hard boiled in the sulfuric hot springs which makes Hakone famous.
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Day 5:
Today, you will have a private transfer from your ryokan to Odawara station. From there, you will ride Japan’s world-famous Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto. Capable of speeds of up to 185mp/h (360km/h), the Shinkansen takes two hours to reach Kyoto station. On arrival, you will be transferred by assisted taxi or private car to your hotel and you will have the rest of your day at leisure.
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Day 6:
Today, you explore the former imperial capital with a knowledgeable local guide by taxi to visit some of Kyoto’s World Heritage Sites. You will start your day with a visit to Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion) then visit Nijo Castle. Take a walk down Nishiki Market, a narrow five-block-long shopping street lined with more than one hundred shops and restaurants. Known as “Kyoto's Kitchen”, this lively retail market specializes in all things food related – fresh seafood, produce, knives and cookware – and is a great place to find seasonal foods and Kyoto specialties, such as Japanese sweets, pickles, dried seafood and sushi.
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Day 7:
Enjoy a day at leisure in Kyoto. Option: Full Day Excursion to Nara and Fushimi
For 74 years during the 8th century, Nara was Japan’s capital and many of the temples and shrines built at that time remain. Visit Todaiji Temple, the world’s largest wooden building and home to Japan’s largest Buddha. Next stop is Nara’s most celebrated shrine, Kasuga Taisha, established in 768 AD and famous for its hundreds of bronze and stone lanterns that have been donated by worshipers. Take a wander through Nara Park, called Deer park by locals, home to more than 1,000 tame deer. Upon returning from Nara, you can visit Fushimi Inari Shrine, used in the movie “Memoirs of a Geisha”. The shrine is famous for housing over 10,000 red torii gates, which form a path up the mountain behind the temple.
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Day 8:
In the morning, catch the bullet train to Hiroshima. Your guide will meet you at Hiroshima station for a tour of the city by public transportation. First, you will visit the Peace Memorial Park. The area where the park now lies was ground zero for the Atomic Bomb on 6th August 1945. From Hiroshima, a short ferry ride will take you to Miyajima Island. A small sacred island located in the Island Sea, it has been a holy place of Shintoism since the earliest times.
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Day 9:
Leave Hiroshima behind and reach Osaka by bullet train for your last day in Japan.
Your day is at leisure for final shopping and dining in this bustling, charming city.
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Day 10:
Your day is free until your shared transfer to Kansai Airport (60-90 minutes).
