8-Nights Cultural Japan

Japan

Goway Travel

Deluxe

Vacation Offer ID 1607271

Reference this number when contacting our travel specialist.

From $3,562

Request a Quote View Details

Overview

Goway Travel

This 9-day trip through Japan takes you from frenetic Tokyo to the serene temples and gardens of ancient Kyoto, going via some of the country’s most beautiful small cities and rural regions.

The modern-day capital, Tokyo, is an endlessly rewarding city to explore. On a one-day tour, you’ll get your bearings at Tokyo Tower, then pay your respects at the Imperial Palace Plaza before visiting Senso-ji, Tokyo’s most famous Buddhist temple. The surrounding Ueno area is Tokyo at its most attractive, with old-fashioned buildings, parks lined with cherry blossoms, and a variety of small local shops. The following day, depart Tokyo and make your way to another Japanese icon, Mount Fuji, enjoying sweeping views from the 5th station, halfway up the mountain. Fuji-san also overlooks Lake Ashi, where you’ll take an afternoon cruise, followed by a scenic ride on the Hakone Ropeway.

There’s something magical about the streets of Takayama, your next stop. Many of the shops here date back to the Edo period, and it shows. Besides the old town being a delight to wander at leisure, the city includes the Yatai Kaikan Hall, and the Kusakabe Folkcraft Museum, both of which feature on your tour. Departing the city, visit Gokayama and Shirakawa, small towns famed for their traditional gassho-zukuri houses. Finally, visit Kanazawa, an Edo Period city that showcases Japanese arts, crafts, and culture at its finest. Here, you’ll visit Tentoku-in Temple, and the Nagamachi Samurai District, along with Kenrokuen Garden, one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan.

Your final destination is Kyoto, the ancient capital containing many of Japan’s most famous and beautiful temples including Kinkaku-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, and Chion-in. Your day tour includes Kinkaku-ji, home to the famous Golden Pavilion, and Nijo Castle, former home to the Tokugawa Shogun in the early 17th century. After lunch, admire the thousand Buddha images of Rengeoin Sanjusangendo, before ending the day enjoying the view from Kiyomizu-dera. Kyoto is the highlight of many Japan tours, so don't be surprised if it becomes one of your favourite cities as well.

Transfer to Osaka’s Kansai airport for departure, or add an extra day or two to explore some more.

Vacation Inclusions

Shared arrival and departure airport transfers
3 nights in first-class accommodations in Tokyo
1 night in first-class accommodation in Hakone
1 night in first-class accommodation in Takayama
1 night in moderate accommodation in Kanazawa
2 nights in first-class accommodations in Kyoto
Shared tour of Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Hakone, Takayama, Shirakawago, Kanazawa and Kyoto (max 50 guests)
Hakone to Nagoya bullet train ticket
Nagoya to Takayama train ticket
Luggage transfer (1 piece per person) from Hakone to Kyoto
Breakfast daily (excluding day 1), 4 lunches

Featured Destinations

Takayama
Hakone Hakone The city of Hakone lies nestled in the midst of spectacular Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. About 20 million tourists from overseas as well as from all over Japan visit Hakone every year, seeking the resplendent enjoyments this famous resort area offers throughout the year. In order to both encourage and accommodate the growing number of visitors to Hakone, the latest information on the area's natural wonders is made available and exhaustive effort is made to improve accommodations, local transportation and recreational facilities. Considerable attention has been paid to the preservation of the area's scenic beauty and of its unique cultural heritage.
Kanazawa Kanazawa Kanazawa's importance grew in the 15th century, when the powerful and militant Ikko sect established its new headquarters there after being chased out of Kyoto by the monks of Mt.Hiei. During the Edo Period, Kanazawa was the seat of the Maeda clan, the second most powerful clan after the Tokugawa in terms of rice production and fief size. Accordingly, Kanazawa grew to become a town of great cultural achievements, rivaling Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo). In World War Two, Kanazawa was Japan's second largest city (after Kyoto) to escape destruction by air raids. Consequently, parts of the old castle town, such as samurai, temple and pleasure districts, have survived in pretty good condition. Kanazawa is capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, a prefecture along the Sea of Japan.	Destination Guide
Tokyo Tokyo Tokyo, Japan, presents a different view at every turn. It's one of the world's main economic centers and its most populous agglomeration. The business of Tokyo is business, but you can still find harmony and small-scale gardens on back streets. Around the corner from neon and concrete, you may find the bonsai-lined courtyard of a traditional inn. Tokyo was nearly destroyed by bombs and fires during World War II, and by earthquakes at other times, but it has always rebuilt itself. As a result, there is little left of Old Japan in the city, but there's plenty of New Japan to take its place. The streets are a confusing maze, so a map is essential. The transit system is excellent, however, and there are kobans (police boxes) throughout the metropolis, as well as a populace generally willing to answer questions. Visitors to Tokyo represent both business and leisure travelers. And despite its past reputation, Tokyo is no longer fearsomely expensive. It's relatively easy to visit Tokyo on a budget.	Destination Guide
Kyoto Kyoto If you can visit only one city in Japan, Kyoto is the one. This ancient city, 30 mi/50 km northeast of Osaka, was the capital of Japan for more than 1,000 years and still is considered the country's spiritual capital. Thousands of shrines and temples dot the city, including more than a dozen on the UNESCO World Heritage list. That list is far from all-inclusive, and many excellent places that might be the star attractions of other cities crowd the streets of Kyoto. It is a center of Japanese Zen and has several huge monastery complexes where serious students still sit in meditation. Kyoto is also the nation's capital of traditional arts. Whether your interest be in pottery, textiles, dance, the tea ceremony or any of the other innumerable arts, Kyoto has excellent galleries, museums, shops and tea houses. Japanese people from the countryside and foreign students flock there to learn under the great masters. Much of what is considered Japanese haute cuisine was developed there too, as an offshoot of the tea ceremony. Kyoto is Japan's heartland of history. With 1,300 years of tumultuous existence, the city's past intrudes upon the present day as in few other Japanese cities. In Gion, you can spot a geisha (or geiko, as they are called in Kyoto), one of the last hundred or so in Japan, slipping down a side-street to entertain rich guests with witty conversation, dance or music. A shopping arcade may suddenly fill with discordant clanging music as a shrine festival passes among the shoppers, or you may hear the long chant as Zen monks pass through the neighborhood, calling for alms. Kyoto is an understated city that might disappoint visitors at first (at first glance, it is a large city with modern buildings that might not align with one's original perception); its charm lies in small details, pocket gardens, tiny traditional restaurants and refined artwork.	Destination Guide

View Full Itinerary

Valid Date Ranges

Standard Terms & Conditions apply when purchasing this trip. Special savings cannot be combined with any other offer and the amount is subject to currency exchange rates at the time of booking. Airfares rates may increase or decrease please ask your Goway Destination Specialist at the time of booking. All prices are per person and quoted in U.S. dollars. Single supplements may apply. Blackout dates/seasonal supplements may apply. Accommodations, inclusions and itineraries are subject to change based on specific departure dates. From pricing is based on the lowest seasonal pricing for this tour, and rates may vary by date of departure. Please inquire about details of your preferred travel dates. Please inquire for a list of included and excluded exclusions. Departures: Various dates available, please inquire with your Travel Advisor.

All fares are quoted in US Dollars.