14 Days / 13 NIghts : Tokyo - Hakone/Mt. Fuji – Takayama – Kanazawa – Hiroshima – Kyoto

On this two-week-long tour you will hop around the country visiting some of the most historically and culturally significant locations Japan has to offer. This package offers a mix of fully guided tours and self exploration in a country known for their hospitality and attention to detail.

Enjoy the contrasts of modernity, iconic landscapes of neon and soaring skyscrapers to the natural nature wonderland and its famous hot springs, outdoor pursuits, and the view of the nearby Mount Fuji.

Take Japan’s world-famous Shinkansen bullet train and Limited Express Hida Wide View for one of the most scenic train journeys in Japan, winding your way through tall mountains and stunning gorges.

Stop by famous sites such as the picturesque traditional village of Shirakawago and the Itsukushima shrine great torii, a crimson sacred gate that appears to float above water during high tide and in the evening enjoy a soke in the hot springs.

Features & Highlights:

• 14 Days / 13 Nights Accommodation with daily breakfast included (twin sharing)
• Tours and transfers as specified including entry fees
• 14-day Japan Rail Pass, ordinary class
• Sushi Making Lesson & Japanese Tea Ceremony
• Service of English-speaking guides

Tokyo (3 Nights)

Explore Tokyo with a local guide. Visit Tokyo's old town, Asakusa. Visit Sensoji, Tokyo’s oldest temple and wander down Nakamise, a shopping street that has been providing temple visitors with a variety of traditional, local snacks and tourist souvenirs for centuries. Stroll around Tsukiji Market, the world's largest fish market, where you can try some tasty samples of the impressive seafood selection. You will enjoy a sushi making experience. A Japanese sushi chef will answer all your questions about sushi and Japanese food culture and will help you to make a selection of delicious fresh sushi.

Hakone / Mt Fjui (1 Night)

Hakone is a natural nature wonderland and is famous for its hot springs, outdoor pursuits and the view of the nearby Mount Fuji. It is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and is less than 100-km from Tokyo, thereby providing a popular weekend destination for city residents keen to escape the frenzy of the capital. Beautiful Hakone has about everything a vacationer could wish for. Besides the towering mountains, lakes and views of Mount Fuji, it is also blessed with interesting historical sites.

You can tour Hakone as a day trip if you leave early enough in the morning and limit your sightseeing to a few key attractions, but adding an overnight stay, including a soak in a hot-spring tub, is definitely recommended.

Takayama - 2 Night

With its plethora of temples, shrines, festivals, rivers and bridges the mountain town of Takayama has been called a “little Kyoto”. The region is an agricultural one, and every day the freshest of vegetables and fruit are brought by local farmers to Takayama’s lively morning market. Many unique traditions have evolved here, and due to the town’s previously inaccessible location high in the Hida alpine region, a remarkable number of them have been preserved. The district called San-machi Suji, the traditional home of Takayama merchants and sake brewers, has been preserved in almost exactly the same state as 200 or 300 years ago. Here, are inns, shops and taverns which trace their history back many generations.

Kanazawa - 2 Nights

Pay a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Shirakawago village, famous for its traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses, some of which are more than 250 years old. Gassho-zukuri translates as ‘Praying Hands’, as the farmhouses' steep thatched roofs resemble the hands of Buddhist monks pressed together in prayer, and are designed to withstand the heavy snows which fall in the region.

During 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 the Nagamachi samurai district and chaya entertainment districts, have survived in good condition. Today, Kanazawa serves as the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture. The city boasts many historical attractions such as restored residences and districts, as well as modern museums. But Kanazawa's unchallenged main attraction is Kenrokuen, one of Japan's "three best landscape gardens" and by many considered the most beautiful of them all. The highlight of any visit to Kanazawa is Kenrokuen garden – its breathtaking beauty shines through in any season. We also recommend visiting Kanazawa Castle, located next to the garden. You can visit the Nagamachi Samurai District, the Nagamachi Yuzen Kan – demonstrating the centuries-old Yuzen silk painting technique – and the Nomura Samurai House – a traditional Japanese home with a tea-ceremony room, an interior courtyard garden and artifacts from the Edo period.

Hiroshima & Miyajima - 2 Nights

Hiroshima is notorious for its destruction when the first Atomic Bomb was dropped over the city during the Second World War in August 1945. The destructive power of the bomb obliterated nearly everything within a 2km radius. From this absolute annihilation, Hiroshima emerged, phoenix-like, and become a beacon of hope and peace for the rest of mankind. Visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The area where the park now lies was ground zero for the Atomic Bomb. Stroll through the peaceful atmosphere to discover the many memorials, monuments and statues before heading into the Museum. From Hiroshima, a short ferry ride will take you to Miyajima Island. A small sacred island located in the Inland Sea. Here you will find the most photographed site in Japan - the Floating Torii Gate. Designated as one of Japan's "Three Most Beautiful Views", the shrine it belongs to dates back to the 6th century, with the present structure dating back to the 12th century. The harmoniously arranged buildings reveal great artistic and technical skill, and have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mere “commoners” were not allowed to set foot on this holy place, and even now it is forbidden to give birth or die on the island!

Kyoto / Nara - 3 Nights

This is a must-see destination in Japan. Kyoto is the nation’s former capital and was the residence of the emperor from 794 until 1868. It is Japan’s seventh largest metropolis with a population of around 1.4 million and a city of culture that offers a plethora of temples, shrines and other historically priceless structures that still survive today. Kyoto represents the “Japan of old” and beyond the high-rise skyscrapers built as a monument to progress, the real monument to Japan’s historical and cultural past can be found in the city’s narrow alleyways where tea houses abound and kimono- clad geisha hurry from elegant function to function. This is a place to go back in time to Japan’s mysterious past where echoes of the court nobility resonate at the Imperial Palace and the search for contemplation can be found in Ryoanji’s Zen rock gardens.

A celebrated site, the world-famous Fushimi Inari Shrine sees millions of visitors every year. Thousands of bright red torii gates line the mountain trail of Fushimi Inari Shrine. Walking through the truly unique vermillion gate pathway is a visually stunning experience. Visit a temple once caught fire and was reconstructed a century after it was first constructed. At 120metres, Sanjusangendo is the longest wooden structure in Japan. Inside, you will find 1001 statues of Kannon, the Buddhist saint of Mercy. Next stop is a celebrated UNESECO site, Kiyomizu-dera temple is older than Kyoto as the capital of Japan. The temple is famous for its wooden platform stage, the Kiyomizu Butai. The massive stage was constructed out of wood and joints – no nails. Kinkakuji Temple a favorite of millions of visitors each year, you will quickly see why this jewel set into the northern hills is one of the most visited sites in Japan. Visit Kitano-Temanngu a remarkable shrine to scholarship was built to appease the spirit of an angry ghost.

Tour Price Includes:

• All prevailing government taxes
• All service charges
• Accommodation as per above itinerary in twin share rooms with daily breakfast included
• Tours and transfers as specified including entry fees
• 14-day Japan Rail Pass, ordinary class
• Service of English-speaking guides as specified
• Meals as specified in itinerary (drinks are not included)

Tour Price Does Not Include:

• International and domestic airfares
• Meals other than specified as included
• Travel Insurance or expenses of a personal nature (minibar, phone call, laundry, etc.)
• Luggage handling
• Assistance with any travel documentation (e.g. visas)
• Train station to hotel transfers (and vice versa)
• Drinks or personal expenses or entrance fees for any extra sightseeing or optional activities
• Any guiding, transfer or service not expressly mentioned are not included in the tour

Starting from $5100 standard twin sharing (land only)

CALL 780.428.8484 or EMAIL info@jollytimetravel.com to book.

For more information on Japan : https://www.japan.travel/en/ca/