Day 4 Kanazawa – Kyoto [B, L, Lounge Access]

Today we travel to Kyoto from Kanazawa by Bullet Train, Gran class & Green class. You will experience a bento lunch on the train as you whistle past mountains, farms and villages. Kyoto is the spiritual heart of Japan and is home to many UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It was the main centre for the evolution of religious and secular architecture and of garden design for almost a thousand years. We visit the south-west Sagano Arashiyama district, once the domain of the wealthy aristocracy and well known for its bamboo groves. The area provides a taste of the Kyoto countryside, and we will visit a unique private garden and a bamboo forest walkway. We stroll through local country streets, getting to browse through specialty handcraft shops including pottery, Japanese rice paper, bamboo craft and handmade clay bell shops. Check in at Hilton Kyoto for 3 nights.

Accommodation: Hilton Kyoto, Executive room with lounge access

Day 5 Kyoto [B, Dinner with Geisha accompaniment/Lounge Access]

We begin a day of exploring Kyoto this morning with a sightseeing tour of the famous Kiyomizu Temple and surrounds. Kyomizu (“pure water”) Temple is an impressive wooden structure nestled in a mountain on the east of the city and overlooking the town below. Part of the fun of visiting Kiyomizu temple is the approach to the temple along the steep and busy lanes of Kyoto’s old atmospheric Higashiyama district as you share the narrow lanes with pilgrims and local Japanese. We also visit the Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji), a beautiful Zen temple whose top two storeys are completely covered in gold leaf. Afternoon at leisure. Evening, we head back into downtown Kyoto for a traditional dinner with Maiko or Geisha accompaniment at a traditional Japanese restaurant.

Accommodation: Hilton Kyoto, Executive room with lounge access

Day 6 Kyoto [B, Lounge Access]

Today is free at leisure, so you might wish to relax or to do some optional half or full day activity. Perhaps follow your tour leader to visit Fushimi Inari, a Shinto shrine famous now for its vermilion torii gates. There we will explore the array of almost 10,000 vermilion torii gates wending their way through the hills behind Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. Your tour coordinator will help you organise your activities.

Accommodation: Hilton Kyoto, Executive room with lounge access

Day 7 Kyoto – Naoshima [B, L, D]

We travel this morning to Naoshima, a small island in The Seto Inland Sea. Naoshima is an island dedicated to art, peppered with sculptures and contemporary innovative displays and art projects. Once selected by sightseeing magazine Conde Naste as one of the “seven places in the world you should see next.”, it is home to the inspiring Chichu museum, both a museum and a work of art in its own right. After a light lunch, we visit the museum built into a hill on the southern side of the island, its unique design creating a remarkable sense of space and light. The museum houses a large mural of “Water Lilies” by Claude
Monet, and works by James Turrell and Walter De Maria. Contemporary artists long involved with Naoshima are also displayed in its permanent collections. The museum has a beautiful garden featuring plants that were cherished by Monet, allowing you to gain a deeper understanding of his works. Check in at Naoshima Ryokan Roka for 1 night, luxury deluxe suite. Enjoy a gourmet dinner at Roka.

Accommodation: Naoshima Ryokan Roka

Day 8 Naoshimia – Hagi – Nagato/Yamaguchi [B,D]

After a leisurely breakfast, we travel to another gem, a well-preserved Edo period castle town, Hagi on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Yamaguchi prefecture. The town is known for a type of pottery that bears its name, Hagi ware (Hagi yaki), prized for use in the Japanese tea ceremony and there are still active potters here who trace their potting families back 14-15 generations. Although Hagi Castle was demolished during the modernisation zeal of the Meiji Restoration in 1874, the village retains its historic feel in the layout of its streets, unchanged since the Edo Period and a district of lovingly preserved samurai residences and white-walled streets lined with orange trees. Explore some of the best-preserved traditional samurai residences remaining, including the extensive Kikuya Residence and its gorgeous rock garden in this World Heritage listed site. The beautiful “summer oranges” that hang over the walls of this castle town area are iconic symbols of Hagi. Stroll through the former Hagi samurai residential area. Pop into the Hagi yaki pottery shops or souvenir stores selling local Hagi summer orange sweets as you walk. Check in and relax at Michelin Key Onsen Ryokan Otanisanso, Otozure suite for 2 nights. Perhaps take a dip in your personal onsen bath before enjoying the open bar arrangement for Otozure suite guests at Bar Otozure. We top off the day with a formal Kaiseki banquet dinner at Unyu, tonight with Sake tasting.

Accommodation: Otanisanso Bettei Otozure

Day 9 Nagato/ Yamaguchi [B, L, D]

After another relaxed start and perhaps another dunk in your onsen bath the morning is free at leisure. Enjoy Kawarasoba lunch, a speciality of the area, at a local restaurant. This afternoon we visit a Hagi Master Potter’s workshop for an insight into Hagi ware’s history, how it is made and why its earthy hues, rough texture and delicate glazes are so valued in the Japanese tea ceremony. Optional activity: for guests who would enjoy a more tactile exploration of Hagi ware, it is possible to make your own pottery (extra cost). For those less inclined to do so, enjoy a relaxed stroll through the narrow streets and soak up the atmosphere. The rest of the day is free at leisure. Enjoy drinks at Otozure bar. Dinner at Otozure.

Accommodation: Otanisanso Bettei Otozure

Day 10 Miyajima – Hiroshima – Nagoya [B, Concierge Lounge Access]

This morning, we travel to Miyajima Island in The Inland Sea, to enjoy sightseeing around the Sacred Goddess Miyajima Floating Shrine and the world famous Torii gate. The shrine itself is built over the water on pylons, to give the impression of floating on the water. As with many other structures in Japan it has been rebuilt after storm or fire damage many times and in fact this constant renewal is characteristic of the Japanese psyche. The image of the large bright vermilion Torii gate at high tide against the mountain behind is one of the best known in Japan. Midafternoon, we will be transferred to Hiroshima, visiting the Peace Memorial Park and the poignant Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The museum is dedicated to those who lost their lives or loved ones and has displays on life before and after the atomic bomb. We will leave Hiroshima for Nagoya by Bullet Train. Check in at Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel for 2 nights. Relax and enjoy Concierge Lounge access.

Accommodation: Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel

Day 11 Nagoya – Tsumago/Magome – Nagoya [B, Concierge Lounge Acccess]

Today we head out by train for the enchanting Kiso Valley where we will visit two historic and picturesque post towns, Magome & Tsumago. Magome is a quaint village meandering down the side of a mountain, providing beautiful views as we wander through the town. Tsumago is another small town seldom visited by group tours and where cars are banned and signs of modernity such as power lines are hidden to maintain the old-style ambiance. There were once 69 post towns along the Nakasendo trade route from Tokyo to Kyoto during samurai times and these are two of the best preserved.

Accommodation: Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel

Day 12 Nagoya – Hakone – Tokyo [B, Farewell drinks with light meal]

This morning we travel by Bullet Train to Odawara to visit The Hakone National Park. The Hakone Open-Air Museum opened in 1969 which is Japan’s first open-air museum hosting over 1,000 pieces, it includes artworks by Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, Taro Okamoto, Yasuo Mizui, Churyo Sato, Susumu Shingu, Constantin Brâncuși, Barbara Hepworth, Rokuzan Ogiwara, and Kōtarō Takamura, among others. About 120 sculptural works are on permanent display across the park. After enjoying the artworks we travel back to Tokyo and check in at Imperial Hotel Tokyo for 1 night. We gather again in the evening at the Aqua Lounge for farewell drinks and supper.

Accommodation: Imperial Hotel Tokyo

Day 13 Tokyo [B] – Tokyo Airport

Today is our last day in Japan, so you might wish to do some last-minute souvenir hunting or an optional half day activity. Your tour coordinator will help you organise your activities. After a relaxing breakfast, enjoy a Tokyo morning sightseeing of the city on a chartered coach, driving through Ginza streets
and Imperial Palace. Visit Asakusa Temple where we stroll down the colourful Nakamise shopping street, lined with tiny stalls and thronging with enchanted shoppers and temple visitors. Return to the Imperial Hotel Tokyo. 12:00 Check out of the hotel. Tour concludes here.

~ Tour Concludes here ~