Japan: Cherry Blossom Edition

Welcome to Japan! Welcome to Tokyo! An English-speaking assistant will be waiting for you upon your arrival at the airport, holding a sign with your name on it. This representative will introduce you to your driver for a transfer back to your hotel. Meet your driver for an enjoyable airport transfer with a private vehicle.

Spend a half day discovering Tokyo’s fascinating sites that juxtapose traditional temples and gardens with futuristic skyscrapers. With the help of your local guide, set out on the city’s comprehensive and user-friendly public transport system. Head to Asakusa, the city’s old town area. Soak up the atmosphere of traditional Tokyo of yesteryear, exploring Tokyo’s oldest and most popular temple, Sensoji Temple, also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple. Sensoji backs onto Nakamise, a shopping street that has provided temple visitors with a variety of traditional, local snacks and souvenirs for centuries. Hop on the subway for a journey across the city to the Meiji Shrine, a shrine dedicated to the deified spirit of Emperor Meiji and a popular place for traditional Japanese weddings. Japan’s feudal era came to an end during the Meiji period, and the country found itself modernizing and westernizing during this time.

Begin in Shibuya, Tokyo's main center for youth fashion and culture. Its streets are the birthplace of many of Japan's fashion and entertainment trends and the area is also home to the famous five-way "scramble crossing". The Shibuya Crossing is rumored to be the busiest intersection in the world. Next, travel to Harajuku and Takeshita-Dori (Cat Street). This famous street is lined with quirky fashion boutiques, cafes, and restaurants for your enjoyment. Harajuku caters to every imaginable style and is the epicenter of Japanese “kawaii”, the culture of cuteness. Continue to Akihabara, also known as Electric Town, an area that was originally famous for its many electronics shops. Akihabara is renowned as the center of Japan’s otaku culture, a culture of diehard fans in anime and manga fandom. Many shops and establishments devoted to anime and manga are now dispersed among the electronic stores in the district.

Leave behind the hustle and bustle of Tokyo in favor of a day in Hakone, the gateway to Japan’s tallest mountain Mt. Fuji and the surrounding national park. Your local guide will meet you at your hotel this morning and accompany you on your private drive from Tokyo. Spend the day exploring Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, making use of your private vehicle as well as Hakone’s experiential forms of transport. Ride the world’s second longest cable car up Mt. Owakudani, passing over sulfurous fumes, hot springs and hot rivers in this active volcanic area. Sample Hakone’s famous local treat, the black eggs of Owakudani. The eggs are hard boiled in Hakone’s well known sulfuric hot springs, and local legend has it that eating one of these eggs will add seven years to your life. Board a majestic pirate ship and sail across Lake Ashinoko, a lake formed by a volcanic eruption 3000 years ago.

Meet your driver for a train station transfer with a private vehicle. Relax on the scenic train from Hakone's Odawara station to Kyoto. The train ride is approximately 2 hours. Meet your guide for a train station transfer with a private vehicle. The Philosopher's Path is a pleasant stone path through the northern part of Kyoto's Higashiyama district. The path follows a canal which is lined by hundreds of cherry trees. Approximately two kilometers long, the path begins around Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion) and ends in the neighborhood of Nanzenji. The path gets its name due to Nishida Kitaro, one of Japan's most famous philosophers, who was said to practice meditation while walking this route on his daily commute to Kyoto University. There are many small temples and shrines to stop off along the walk. At the end of the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel.

Stroll along the sprawling stalks of the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, a serene and mystical forest that makes you feel like you’re walking in another world. Afterwards, you’ll visit Nonomiya Shrine where in ancient times, single imperial princesses stayed for a year or more to purify themselves prior to taking up their duties as royalty. Next, you’ll visit Tenryuji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site ranked among Kyoto's five great Zen temples, and the largest and most impressive temple in Arashiyama. Enjoy traditional Buddhist cuisine during a vegetarian "shojin-ryori" lunch while overlooking the beautifully landscaped gardens. Dine at a historical Kyoto restaurant, whose chef is the son of a Geisha. Enjoy a private multi-course traditional Japanese dinner, with the added chance to have a peak into the exclusive entertainments of the Kyoto “Flower and Willow World.” You will see an authentic maiko perform dances to live music by a senior geisha shamisen player.

Begin your day by transferring from your hotel to Fushimi by taxi with your local guide. Fushimi is technically a part of Kyoto, and it is an area rich in history and charm. Upon arrival, visit Fushimi Inari Shrine, which was used in the movie “Memoirs of a Geisha”. It is home to over 10,000 red tori gates, which form a path up the mountain behind the temple. After visiting the shrine, take a look around the Gekkeikan Sake Museum. During a tour of the museum you will learn about the traditional brewing process and sample a small cup of sake if you wish. To enjoy even more of this Japanese favorite, visit a local café where your guide will order you a sake tasting set. There are a variety of sets to suit many tastes and you will be able to pick whichever appeals to you most. At the end of the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel.

Enjoy a transfer with a private driver from Kyoto to Osaka Kansai International Airport.