Japan Express (9 days)

Tokyo – Kyoto – Nara – Osaka

This quick introduction to Japan is intended for the time-pressed looking for a quality Japan experience. The fast-paced premium small-group tour combines Japan’s top three destinations plus Nara, an ancient city that once served as Japan’s capital in the 8th Century.

Guests wishing to extend their stay before or after the guided tour can be accommodated.

Important Features

• Small group size – 20 maximum
• Experienced professional guides
• No shopping stops
• Quality Japanese & Western cuisines
• Kaiseki dinner with dancing geisha (maiko/(舞妓) performance

Meal Code: B = breakfast / L = lunch / D = dinner

Day 1/Thu: 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/Fri: 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.

Day 3/Sat: 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 the plaza in front of the Imperial Palace. A stroll across the plaza accompanied by commentaries on the imperial family and the history of Tokyo gets the tour off to a good start.

We then proceed to Senso-ji, the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo dating back to 628.

After lunch, we drive through the ritzy Ginza shopping district on the way to 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 atop the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku. On a clear day, the visitor could see the peak of Mount Fuji which is located about 84 km to the west. The building complex completed in 1990 at a cost of US$1 billion consists of three main structures each taking up a city block. The architect of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is Kenzo Tange (1913 – 2005), who in 1987 became the first Japanese to win the Pritzker Prize for Architecture.

Day 4/Sun: Tokyo (B)
Free day to explore on your own.

We recommend Ginza and Akihabara shopping districts, which even non-shoppers would find exciting. Also recommended are the top-rated Tokyo National Museum and The National Museum of Western Art – both located at Ueno Park, one of Tokyo’s most popular locations for cherry blossom every spring.

Day 5/Mon: Tokyo – Kyoto (B/L)
This morning we ride the Shinkansen bullet train (Nozomi #217, 09:21/11:32) to Kyoto.

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.

Our first stop after lunch is 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.

We then proceed to the Arashiyama (Storm Mountain) area where our sightseeing 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.

Day 6/Tue: Kyoto (B/D)
Today’s walking tour begins at the magnificent Nijo Castle. Construction of the castle began in 1601 under the order of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, but was not completed until 1626 during the reign of Iemitsu, the third Tokugawa shogun and grandson of Ieyasu. The Tokugawa shogunate was headquartered in Edo, present-day Tokyo, and Nijo Castle was the shogun’s residence in Kyoto where the imperial court was located. Nijo Castle is also the site that witnessed the ending of the Tokugawa shogunate. In late 1867, the last shogun, Yoshinobu, announced in the castle his decision to return his power back to the emperor. This was a watershed moment that helped usher in the Meiji Restoration, which, in turn, led to Japan’s industrialization and fundamentally transformed the Japanese society. 

We then proceed to Kyoto Imperial Palace. Rich in tradition, Kyoto Imperial Palace preserves the look and ambiance of the palace as it had been in the time of Japan’s ancient imperial dynasties. The current Palace was rebuilt in 1855 and comprises several buildings that reflect the architectural styles of various periods. If Kyoto Imperial Palace is closed due to court functions, bad weather or any other reason, Higashi Hongan-ji, a Buddhist temple established by shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1602, will be used as substitute. 

Afterwards, we return to the hotel to freshen up before heading out for dinner, a traditional kaiseki banquet accompanied by the private performance of a dancing geisha known as maiko in Japanese.

Day 7/Wed: Kyoto (B)
Today is set aside for you to explore on your own.

Our recommendations include Kiyomizu-dera (Buddhist temple), Fushimi Inari Shrine (good for hiking), Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion Temple), Kyoto National Museum, and Gion – the famous geisha entertainment district.

Day 8/Thu: Kyoto – Nara – Osaka (B/L)
We depart for Nara at 07:45. The 45 km 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 the 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.

Day 9/Fri: Osaka – Return Home (B)
The tour ends this morning. Transfer to the airport on your own by airport limousine bus or airport express train. Detailed advice will be provided in the finalized itinerary.

Hotel List

Dates & Prices
Discount Available

* Land Only price does not include international air. Contact us for a fare quote.

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 from Canada, the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, you do not need a visa to enter Japan as long as your stay is within 90 days.

Immunization
No certificate of any inoculation is required. We recommend vaccination against hepatitis A and suggest that you check out the latest advice provided by Health Canada and the US CDC.

Travel Health
Japan is a very clean country, 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 in Japan 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 Japanese 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)

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. 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 for premium quotes when your balance due date is near.