Tokyo – Mt. Fuji – Hakone – Kanazawa – Takayama – Shirakawa-go – Kyoto – Nara – Osaka – Hiroshima – Miyajima – Busan – Gyeongju – Seoul
This meticulously crafted itinerary showcases the best of Japan and South Korea, two neighbours that have influenced each other in so many ways since time immemorial and yet still remain so distinct from each other. One of our most popular Asia tours, this extraordinary journey presents a perfect balance between the old and new giving the visitor a well-rounded introduction to two of Asia’s most successful modern economies rising out of the ashes of war and destruction.
Important Features
- Small group size (average 15, maximum 20)
- Expert professional guides
- Quality local and Western cuisines
- Special dinner featuring geisha dancer (maiko) performance
- Excursion to the Demilitarized Zone near Seoul
- Korean BBQ farewell dinner in high-end restaurant
Meal Code: B = breakfast / L = lunch / D = dinner
Day 1/Mon: Departing Home City
The journey begins with your transpacific flight departing from a city of your choice. You’ll lose a day upon crossing the International Date Line.
Day 2/Tue: Arrival in Tokyo
Welcome to Tokyo!
Please make your way to the hotel on your own. Detailed up-to-date information on how to get to the hotel will be provided in the pre-trip update two weeks before departure. Private transfer can be arranged on request.
Day 3/Wed: Tokyo (B/L)
Tokyo, literally meaning “eastern capital” and officially named Tokyo Metropolis, is one of the most populous mega-cities in the world with a population of 14 million. Formerly known as Edo, the city has been the de facto seat of the Japanese government since 1603 when shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu chose the city for his headquarters. The shogun (general) was a hereditary commander ceremoniously appointed by the emperor but held real power over the country during the shogunate period between 1192 and 1867. Edo was renamed Tokyo after Emperor Meiji moved his seat from Kyoto in 1868 when the last shogun was forced to return power to the imperial court. The city covers an area of 2,187 square kilometres following the merger in 1943 of the city of Tokyo and Tokyo Prefecture.
Our full-day sightseeing begins at Senso-ji, the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo dating back to 628.
We then drive through ritzy Ginza shopping district to arrive at the plaza in front of the Imperial Palace (the palace itself is closed to tourists) for a stroll.
After lunch, we tour the grounds of the tranquil Meiji Jingu, a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji (1852 -1912) and his wife.
We end the day with a visit to the observation deck inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku. On a clear day, the visitor should be able to see the peak of Mount Fuji which is located about 84 km to the west.
Day 4/Thu: Tokyo – Mt. Fuji – Hakone – Tokyo (B/L)
We depart at 7:30 AM for a full-day excursion to Mt Fuji and Hakone.
Mt. Fuji, the highest mountain (3,776 metres) in Japan, is a two-hour drive from Tokyo. We stop by the Fujisan World Heritage Center to view the summit and learn about the history, formation and ecology of Mt. Fuji through exhibits and a short film. However, it is purely a matter of luck whether the summit is visible as Mt. Fuji is often shrouded in clouds. Our schedule does not include hiking the mountain – the trails are open between July and early September and it would take the average person at least six hours to hike to the summit even if one starts from the highest station at 2,305 metres above sea level.
We then proceed to Lake Ashi in Hakone for a short cruise across the lake. This is followed by a 10-minute cable car ride that transports us to the station overlooking the sulphur-spewing Owakudani Geothermal Valley. On a clear day, the cable car ride provides stunning views of Mt. Fuji and its surrounding mountain slopes.
We expect to arrive back at the hotel around 6:00 PM.
Day 5/Fri: Tokyo – Kanazawa (B)
Enjoy some downtime before boarding the express train (Hakutaka #561, 11:24/14:17) to Kanazawa.
On the shores of Sea of Japan, Kanazawa is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture. The city has a population of 463,000 and is considered a jewel of Japanese tourism that is often overlooked by foreign tourists due to its relatively remote location. Travellers coming here are richly rewarded with the well-preserved Edo-period city, where the samurai, merchants, geisha, and daimyo (lords) all left their mark. Kanazawa is also part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a City of Crafts and Folk Art.
After hotel check-in, walk around on your own and bask in the charm of this pedestrian-friendly city.
Day 6/Sat: Kanazawa (B/L)
Morning sightseeing begins at Omicho Market, Kanazawa’s largest fresh food market particularly well known for seafood.
From the market, Kanazawa Castle is just a few minutes away on foot. The restored castle was first originally built in 1580 for Maeda Toshiie, the fourth son of a minor samurai family who entered the service of a powerful daimyo at the age of 15 and quickly rose through the ranks. The castle was reconstructed multiple times due to fire damages throughout its history. The last time a fire destroyed the castle was in 1881. The Hishi Yagura turret, Gojikken Nagaya warehouse and the Hashizume-mon Tsuzuki Yagura turret were faithfully restored in 2001 to their 1809 form using traditional construction methods. Today’s pillars are constructed from the Japanese Hinoki cypress along with the use of the massive American cypress as ceiling beams. The castle’s distinctive whitish roof tiles are made of lead.
From the castle we walk across the road to Kenroku-en Garden which used to be part of the castle. One of the Three Great Gardens of Japan (Koraku-en in Okayama and Kairaku-en in Mito being the other two), Kenroku-en was developed from the 1620s to the 1840s by the Maeda clan, the daimyo that ruled the former Kaga Domain.
The restaurant for lunch is a 5-minute walk from the garden.
After lunch we visit Nagamachi, a historical preservation zone where the residents still go about their daily lives among the remnants of a bygone age. A highlight of the neighbourhood is the restored Nomura Samurai House, whose small but supremely exquisite traditional garden delights visitors from around the world.
We wrap up the day with a quick stop at Higashi Chaya Street. Higashi and chaya respectively translate to “eastern” and “tea house”. During the Edo Period, a chaya was found in designated entertainment district where geisha entertained male patrons with dance and music.
Day 7/Sun: Kanazawa – Takayama – Shirakawa-go – Kanazawa (B/L)
We set out at 8:00 for a full-day excursion to Takayama and Shirakawa-go.
Famous for its inns, sake breweries, food festivals and local folk art, Takayama (118 km southeast of Kanazawa) is a delightful town nestled amongst the Japanese Alps. Our sightseeing takes in an open-air market, Sanno-machi Historic District, a sake shop and the historical Takayama Jin’ya – government house of the region during the Tokugawa shogunate period.
After lunch, we travel northbound in the direction of Kanazawa to visit Shirakawa-go (go in Japanese means township). Situated in a picturesque river valley, Shirakawa-go is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama. The village we visit Shirakawa-go is called Ogimachi, the largest village in the township and the main attraction of Shirakawa-go. The village’s gassho-style large houses with steeply pitched thatched roofs are said to be the only examples of their kind in Japan.
Day 8/Mon: Kanazawa – Kyoto (B/L)
This morning we ride the express train (Thunderbird #16, 09:50/12:09) to Kyoto.
After lunch, we tour the historical Nijo Castle. This is the site that witnessed the commencement and ending of the Tokugawa shogunate (1600 -1868).
We then spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the famous Kinkaku-ji (Temple of Golden Pavilion). This is a Zen Buddhist temple and one of 17 locations comprising the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto World Heritage Site.
Day 9/Tue: Kyoto (B/D)
Nicknamed “City of Ten Thousand Shrines”, Kyoto (literal translation: capital city) served as Japan’s capital for more than one thousand years before the imperial court moved to Tokyo in 1868 with the onset of the Meiji Restoration (1868 to 1912, a historical period associated with the emergence of Japan as a modernized nation). Kyoto is a scaled replica of the Chinese Tang Dynasty’s capital Chang’an, present-day Xi’an. The Tang Dynasty (618 – 907) was a golden era in Chinese history and a time when Japanese adoption of Chinese culture reached its peak. Kyoto today, with a population of 1.5 million, forms a major part of the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area.
Morning sightseeing at Arashiyama (Storm Mountain) area takes in Tenryu-ji Temple and the Bamboo Forest. Located on the western outskirts of Kyoto, Arashiyama is famous for its immense natural beauty as well as its historical and cultural prominence due to the large number of well-preserved ancient Buddhist temples.
We spend the rest of the day touring the sprawling complex of Kiyomizu-dera and the famous geisha district, Gion, nearby.
Kiyomizu-dera is a Buddhist temple and part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto UNESCO World Heritage site. Its veranda provides stunning views of the city.
Today’s traditional multi-course dinner (kaiseki) features performance by a maiko (geisha trainee).
Day 10/Wed: Kyoto – Nara – Osaka – Kyoto (B/L)
We depart for Nara at 08:00. The 45km drive to the magnificent Todai-ji temple takes about an hour. This ancient Buddhist temple is well-known not only for its splendid architecture and the huge bronze statue of the Buddha in the main hall but also for the 1,200 wild deer roaming freely on the grounds of the temple.
Nara is the capital city of Nara Prefecture and a former capital of Japan (710 – 794). With a population of roughly 370,000 and an area of 280 square kilometres, the city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture. Eight temples, shrines and ruins together with Kasugayama Primeval Forest collectively form “The Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara” – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Afterwards we continue on to Osaka, where we visit the historic Osaka Castle and Osaka’s legendary shopping and entertainment district known as Dotonbori. Situated at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, Osaka is Japan’s third most populous city (after Tokyo and Yokohama) and plays a significant role in Japanese economy. Osaka was once known as the “nation’s kitchen” because of its function as Japan’s rice trading centre during the Edo period.
We should be back at the hotel in Kyoto around 5:00 PM.
Day 11/Thu: Kyoto – Hiroshima (B)
Enjoy some well-deserved downtime this morning. Our rail journey to Hiroshima takes 1 hour 41 minutes (Nozomi #21, 11:46/13:27). Be sure to pack some snacks for lunch on the train.
After dropping off luggage at the hotel, we go on a leisurely outing to Miyajima Island. Officially known as Itsukushima, Miyajima is a small island (30 square kilometres, population 1,760) in Hiroshima Bay known for its forests and ancient temples. The seaside Itsukushima Shinto Shrine on the island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the “floating” torii gate in front of the shrine is the main reason for most visitors to come here.
The modes of transportation for the outing include local commuter train, ferry and taxi.
Day 12/Fri: Hiroshima – Busan (B/D)
Hiroshima, literally meaning ‘broad island’, is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture and the largest city in the Chugoku region with a population of 1.2 million. Hiroshima is best known as the first city in history to be targeted by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on the city (and later on Nagasaki) at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, near the end of World War II. The highlight in Hiroshima, understandably but sadly, is the Peace Memorial Park which includes the Peace Memorial Museum, and the Atomic Bomb Dome that once served as the industrial promotion hall of the local prefect.
Morning sightseeing at the Peace Memorial Park complex includes 2 hours in the indoor museum onsite.
We check out of the hotel at 11:00 and travel by bullet train to Fukuoka or Osaka for late afternoon flight to Busan.
Meet the local guide on arrival and enjoy a seafood dinner at a family-run restaurant not far from the hotel.
Day 13/Sat: Busan (B/L)
Busan, sometimes spelled as Pusan, is the largest port and second largest city in South Korea with a current population around 3.5 million. The city is known for its beaches, mountains and temples.
Today’s sightseeing begins with a visit to the United Nations Memorial Cemetery. Established in January 1951, the 35-acre burial ground contains 2,300 graves of fallen soldiers who fought on the side of the United Nations during the Korean War (Jun 25, 1950 – Jul 27, 1953). The majority of the interred soldiers were from the Commonwealth of Nations including the United Kingdom (886), Canada (378), Australia (281), New Zealand (34) and South Africa (11). A South Korean guard of honour carries out flag ceremonies daily.
We then proceed to Jagalchi fish market, the largest seafood market in South Korea. Today’s schedule ends with a leisurely walk at Haeundae Beach.
Day 14/Sun: Busan – Gyeongju – Seoul (B/L)
Following breakfast we drive 100 kilometres northeast to Gyeongju. The city was the capital of the 1,000-year-long Silla dynasty and is known for its extensive historical remains.
Our sightseeing in Gyeongju begins at the 8th-century Bulguksa, a magnificent Buddhist temple complex featuring stone pagodas, a series of wooden buildings on raised stone terraces, and a large bronze Buddha. A masterpiece of the golden age of Buddhist art in the Silla kingdom, the temple is classified as Historic and Scenic Site No. 1 by the South Korean government and is also listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
The Gyeongju National Museum is next on our schedule. The museum houses a large collection of relics from the Silla era giving the visitor a deep insight into the ancient kingdom.
The afternoon train journey to Seoul takes just over 2 hours (KTX #40, 15:07/17:14, 300 km).
Capital of South Korea, Seoul is a huge metropolis where modern skyscrapers, high-tech subways and pop culture meet Buddhist temples, palaces and street markets.
Day 15/Mon: Seoul – DMZ – Seoul (B/L)
We spend the morning visiting the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), with more than half of the designated time spent on driving there and back.
The DMZ divides North Korea and South Korea and is one of the last remnants of the Cold War. The DMZ runs across the Korean Peninsula and roughly follows the 38th parallel north (popular name given to latitude 38° N) on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and the east end lying north of it. With over a million soldiers on watch each day, this stretch of land measuring 250 kilometres (160 miles) long and about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) wide is the most fortified border in the world.
Our afternoon sightseeing includes Gyeongbokgung Palace and Bukchon Hanok Village (traditional residential area on top of a hill inside the city).
Day 16/Tue: Seoul (B/D)
Morning sightseeing takes in the War Memorial of Korea and the National Museum.
Free afternoon to explore on your own.
Day 17/Wed: Seoul – Home City (B)
Your memorable Japan and South Korea tour ends this morning. Transfer to Incheon International Airport, 50km west of Seoul, on your own. Taxi costs between 70,000 and 100,000 Korean won (US$56 to US$80) including expressway toll charge, but most travellers prefer the Airport Railroad Express which costs 9,500 won (US$7.50) one way per person.
| City | Nights | Hotel | Category |
| Tokyo | 3 | Tokyo Dome Hotel | 4 stars/first class |
| Kanazawa | 3 | ANA Crowne Plaza Kanazawa | 4 stars/first class |
| Kyoto | 3 | ANA Crowne Plaza Kyoto | 4 stars/first class |
| Hiroshima | 1 | ANA Crowne Plaza Hiroshima | 4 stars/first class |
| Busan | 2 | Lotte Hotel Busan | 5 stars/luxury |
| Seoul | 3 | Lotte Hotel Seoul | 5 stars/luxury |
Dates & Prices
Prices are per person based on double occupancy. See Terms & Conditions for cancellation penalty.
| Depart (Mon) |
Return (Wed) |
Land Tour* CA$/US$ |
Single Supplement** CA$/US$ |
| 2024 | |||
| 01-Apr | 17-Apr | $12,285/$9,100 | $3835/$2850 |
| 06-May | 22-May | $12,285/$9,100 | $3835/$2850 |
| For departures beyond May 2024, please refer to the 19-day Best of South Korea & Japan. | |||
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What the tour price includes:
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What the tour price excludes:
See Terms & Conditions for more information. |
Passport & Visa
Your passport needs to have at least one blank visa page and six months validity at the end of the tour.
If you are a tourist from Canada, the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, you do not need a visa to enter Japan and South Korea as long as your stay is within 90 days.
Vaccination
Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 may be required. We will update you on this around your balance due date.
No certificate of any other inoculation is required. If necessary, check with your family doctor or a travel medicine clinic to determine what precautions you should take. We recommend vaccination against hepatitis A and suggest that you check out advice provided by the Health Canada and the US CDC.
Travel Health
Japan and South Korea are very clean countries, where tap water is potable. Some may prefer to boil tap water to get rid of the possible smell of chlorine. Always carry a roll of toilet paper and a bottle of hand sanitizer. In general, public toilets do not provide paper towels for hand drying; many of them have no electric hand dryers either. You should carry a small towel as many locals do when going out. Footwear is often forbidden when you go indoors at temples, historical sites and traditional restaurants; please bring proper socks to keep your feet comfortable.
Local Currency & Credit Card
Japan: yen (JPY)
South Korea: won (KRW)
Withdrawing cash from local ATMs after arrival remains our recommended method of currency exchange. Keep your inventory of local currency low. Your tour fare already covers all the expensive items. You only need some cash for incidentals and meals not included in the tour price. Credit cards are widely accepted across Japan and South Korea. For transactions over $50, you are advised to use a credit card.
Travel Insurance – When to Buy
Your deposit will be kept as credit if you cancel for any reason. The transferrable credit has no expiration date. Therefore, it may be unnecessary to spend $30 to $50 on cancellation insurance just to protect the deposit.
However, purchase of trip cancellation & emergency medical insurance is strongly advised when your balance is due. If you don’t have proper coverage, the loss can be devastating in case of cancellation before or after commencement of the booked trip or in case of a serious medical emergency during the trip. Please ask us premium quotes when your balance due date is near.
