Japan in autumn colors

Tour start date(s):	05-11-2024
Duration:	10 days / 9 nights
Location:	Tokyo (arrival, 4 nights) - Nikko - Kamakura - Yokohama - Mount Fuji - Kyoto (3 nights) - Uji - Nara - Arashiyama - Osaka (2 nights, departure)
Price (including tax):	DBL $2800 USD, SNG $3200 / flight not included

TOUR JAPAN in Autumn Colors (10 days/9 nights)

Tour Dates:2024-10-02, 2024-11-05, 2024-10-29 (sold out), 2024-10-24 (sold out).

Group Size:22 people in a 29-seat bus.

Unique to Our Tour:

• 3-night stay in a Kyoto hotel

Tour Highlights:

• Tokyo at night - stroll down the famous Akihabara street
• Bus ride to the 5th station of Mount Fuji
• Saiko Iyashi no Sato - a village of "Minka" houses at the foot of Mount Fuji
• Experience Japanese cuisine during lunch
• Walk through a thousand torii gates at Fushimi Inari Shrine
• Tea ceremony in the ancient city of Uji
• Feed and interact with sacred deer in Nara
• See the giant Buddha in Nara
• Stroll through the bamboo forest in the suburbs of Kyoto
• Sake tasting
• Walk through the Gion geisha district in Kyoto
• Boat ride around Osaka Castle

Meals:9 breakfasts, 8 lunches during excursions

NOTE:The order of excursions may change depending on the arrival day, but the number of excursions remains unchanged.

Itinerary:

Day 1 - Tokyo

• Arrival in Tokyo airport by any flight. Meet with Japanese driver. Group transfer to the hotel by shared shuttle taxi. Self check-in at the hotel with passports.
• Each person pays the state tourist accommodation tax and submits their passport for scanning.

Day 2 - Tokyo – Kamakura – Yokohama

• Breakfast at the hotel. Meet with the guide in the hotel lobby.
• Excursion to the ancient samurai capital Kamakura and the scenic garden in Yokohama.
• Japanese cuisine lunch during the excursion in an authentic building in an old style. Menu includes Japanese soup Suimono, sashimi, fried fish, assorted appetizers Hassun, rice, pickled vegetables, Japanese tea.
• Visit the Great Buddha (Daibutsu), a 13.5 m tall and about 94-ton bronze statue of Amida Buddha created in 1252. The statue survived powerful tsunamis and earthquakes. It is hollow inside, allowing visitors to enter and climb to the head.
• Shopping in popular souvenir and craft shops.
• Visit the Shinto shrine Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, dedicated to the deity of warriors, accessed via the Bridge of Eternal Life over a lotus pond.
• Transfer to Yokohama via the majestic Bay Bridge, offering a stunning view of Tokyo Bay.
• Visit the Sankei-en garden, home to 16 architectural structures brought from various parts of Japan, including a 16th-century three-story pagoda from Kyoto. The garden blooms with different flowers in every season, including plums in winter, sakura and azalea in spring, irises in summer, and chrysanthemum and momiji (Japanese maple) in autumn.
• Return to Tokyo. Evening stroll through the neon-lit Akihabara electronics district. Night in Tokyo.

Optional Activities:

1. Tokyo Bay cruise with European cuisine dinner.
   • Time: 19:00 – 21:30
   • Transfer to the cruise by bus with a guide. Guide assists with registration. Return to the hotel independently.
   • Price: $115 per person. Payment no later than 40 days before the start of the tour.
2. National style show in the historic Asakusa district.
   • Premium class seats, with photo opportunities with the performers after the show.
   • Time: Show 20:00-21:00, registration 19:30
   • Return to the hotel independently by taxi. Guide assists with taxi.
   • Price: $115 per person. Payment no later than 40 days before the start of the tour.

Day 3 - Tokyo – Nara

• Breakfast at the hotel. Meet with the guide in the hotel lobby.
• Excursion to the medieval architectural complex Toshogu in Nikko. The bus ride takes about 3 hours with stops in rest areas.
• Japanese cuisine lunch featuring the rare Japanese ingredient Yuba. The meal includes Dobanyaki (meat cooked on a copper plate), Castella (popular Japanese sponge cake), and other traditional dishes.
• Visit the Three Buddhas Hall in the Rinnoji Temple, and the classical landscape garden Shoyoen.
• Walk through the 17th-century cedar alley to the Toshogu shrine complex. Highlights include the five-story pagoda, sacred stables with the famous carving of the three wise monkeys, the singing dragon temple Hondjido, and the main hall Honden where the deified spirits of three great shoguns are enshrined.
• Night in Tokyo.

Day 4 - Tokyo – Mount Fuji

• Breakfast at the hotel. Meet with the guide in the hotel lobby.
• Excursion to Mount Fuji. The bus ride takes about 2.5 hours with stops in rest areas.
• Japanese cuisine lunch in an old samurai house. Menu includes Nabe (hot pot) local cuisine, grilled salted trout, tempura with shrimp, rice, pickles, dessert, and barley tea.
• Bus ride to the 5th station of Mount Fuji (subject to weather and road conditions). If conditions are unfavorable, visit the Eight Ponds of Fuji in Oshino and the traditional village at the foot of Mount Fuji.
• Night in Tokyo.

Optional Activity:

• Dress in national costumes (samurai and geisha).
  • Price: $25 per person. Payment no later than 40 days before the start of the tour.

Day 5 - Tokyo – Kyoto

• Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out with belongings. Meet with the guide in the hotel lobby. Load luggage onto the bus.
• Departure for a sightseeing tour of Tokyo. Highlights include the Imperial Palace grounds, the Double Bridge Nijubashi, and the historical district Asakusa with the Sensoji Temple and Nakamise-dori shopping street.
• Lunch with European cuisine during the tour.
• Transfer to the railway station. Board the Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto.
• Independent transfer. Arrival in Kyoto, meet with the guide with a sign at the train. Walk to the hotel. Check-in with passports. Night in Kyoto.

Day 6 - Kyoto

• Breakfast at the hotel. Meet with the guide in the hotel lobby.
• Excursion in Kyoto, the former imperial capital of Japan.
• Lunch with European cuisine during the excursion.
• Visit Kiyomizu Temple, known for its lover's shrine and panoramic views.
• Walk through the historical part of Kyoto and visit Nijo Castle, famous for its "nightingale floors" that chirp when walked upon.
• Visit the Fushimi Inari Shrine with its 10,000 red torii gates.
• Evening walk through the Gion geisha district. Night in Kyoto.

Optional Activity:

• Gion Corner theater show featuring geisha dances.
  • Show at 19:00. Transfer with the guide to Gion after the tour. Return to the hotel independently by taxi.
  • Price: $50 per person. Payment no later than 40 days before the start of the tour.

Day 7 - Kyoto – Arashiyama

• Breakfast at the hotel. Meet with the guide in the hotel lobby.
• Excursion to the Arashiyama district.
• Lunch with Japanese zen cuisine during the tour.
• Visit the Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji) and the Ryoanji Temple with its famous rock garden.
• Walk through the bamboo forest and along the scenic Togetsukyo Bridge. Night in Kyoto.

Day 8 - Kyoto – Nara – Uji – Osaka

• Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out with belongings. Meet with the guide in the hotel lobby. Load luggage onto the bus.
• Excursion to Nara and Uji.
• Lunch with homemade Japanese cuisine during the tour.
• Visit the Todaiji Temple in Nara with the Great Buddha and interact with the sacred deer.
• Visit the Byodoin Temple in Uji, and explore the city's green tea culture. Transfer to Osaka. Night in Osaka.

Day 9 - Osaka

• Breakfast at the hotel. Excursion in Osaka, including a visit to Osaka Castle.
• Lunch with European cuisine in the Umeda district. Free time for shopping in Umeda. Night in Osaka.

Day 10 - Osaka – Kansai or Itami Airport

• Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out with belongings. Group transfer to Osaka airports (Kansai or Itami) by shuttle taxi.

INCLUDED IN THE PRICE:

• Accommodation in 4-star hotels with breakfast buffet, 4 nights in Tokyo, 3 nights in Kyoto, 2 nights in Osaka.
• 8 lunches during excursions.
• Excursion program with Russian-speaking guides.
• Entrance tickets as per the program.
• Transfers from Narita/Haneda airport on arrival and to Kansai/Itami airport on departure by Japanese driver.
• Transportation according to the program (comfortable bus and Shinkansen bullet train).

Additional Information:

• Early arrivals receive the same transfer if booking a hotel through our company.
• Independent hotel bookings require an additional transfer fee of $70 per person.
• IMPORTANT:
  • In temples and sacred places, you often need to remove your shoes. Please wear easily removable footwear.
  • Excursions to Fuji and Nikko may experience significant temperature fluctuations; bring warm clothing.
  • Be punctual for excursions and transfers. The time stated is the departure time; the bus waits for 5 minutes only.
  • Do not stray from the group during excursions. Stragglers are not sought after by the guide.
  • Latecomers are considered no-shows and receive no refund for missed excursions or parts thereof.
  • All excursions are conducted in Russian.