Japan Family Adventure

Start your first morning with a trip to the Meiji Jingu Shrine, a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shoken, the great-grandparents of the present emperor. The lovely grounds spread over 700,000 square meters covered by a forest of 120,000 trees donated by people from all over Japan. For many Japanese, the shrine is both a spiritual home and an oasis in Tokyo.

Walk the fashionable Omotesando and Aoyama Streets to soak in modern Japanese culture.

Experience being a Samurai worrier at Samurai lesson. The time of the Samurai has long passed and the once great warriors of old Japan have vanished. Yet the way of the Samurai lives on. Over one hour’s lesson, learn about the code of the Sumarai: manners and etiquette. Then practice some of the basic movements in Japanese style sword play, which culminates in a sword fight! Before leaving, don’t forget to take a few photographs in your Samurai robes.

Visit Akihabara Electric City (also called Akiba), the fashionable district known for its many electronic shops, as well as anime and manga. Explore the festive Ameyoko street with colorful vendors selling various products such as clothes, bags, cosmetics, fresh fish, dried food and spices. The name “Ameyoko” is a short form for “Ameya Yokocho” (candy store alley), as candies were traditionally sold there.

This evening is at your leisure. 

• Accommodations: Hotel New Otani 
• Meals included: B,L

In the morning visit the old site of the Tsukiji Fish Market. About 100 vendors voted to stay in the lively traditional market when the new market was transferred to a new site at the end of 2016. As the biggest wholesale seafood market in the world, more than 400 varieties of seafood from around the globe are being sold in the markets each morning.

Enjoy exploring the Mitsukoshi Depachika. In Japanese, department stores are called depato, and basements are called chika. Combine the two and you have depachika. Founded as the Echigoya dry goods store in 1673, Mitsukoshi’s Ginza branch has one of the city’s best depachika where the highest quality of culinary delights are artistically crafted and displayed

Stroll through Ginza, Tokyo’s most famous upmarket shopping, dining and entertainment district, featuring numerous department stores, boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, night clubs and cafes. 

After lunch, tour the Edo Museum to discover Japan’s rich history and culture through numerous displays of dioramas, scale models and historical items.

This evening, enjoy a welcome banquet featuring traditional Japanese cuisine.

• Accommodations: Hotel New Otani 
• Meals included: B,D

Transfer to Hakone by coach (approximately 2 hours), the famous hot spring town at the foot of the Mountain Fuji. Visit the Hakone Open Air Museum with over 100 pieces of master sculptures in the open air in addition to a special rotating Picasso exhibit. (The Museum has a collection of over 300 works by Picasso!)  Enjoy the splendor of art in nature. Lunch is at the museum cafe.

Take a leisurely walk to Hakone Gora Park and Hakone Museum of Art to enjoy beautiful Japanese garden.

Check in at the hotel by the Ashi Lake and enjoy a hot spring bath before dinner. A traditional Kaiseki dinner will be served tonight with multiple courses of small dishes served in delicate China.

• Accommodations: The Prince Hakone Lake Ashinoko
• Meals included: B,L,D

This morning, meet your guide and transfer by private coach to Mt. Fuji 5^th station (approximately 1.5 hours). Upon arrival, eat a quick picnic lunch on your own at the 5th station. Start hiking to the 7th station, about 2.5 hours hike. Return to the 5th station (approximately 1.5 hours)

**If the weather condition is not favorable, you will hike around Mt. Fuji Five Lakes area with Ice Cave, Music Forest, Oshino Hakkai, Kawaguchiko Lake, etc.

Spend a relaxing evening at the hotel. 

• Accommodations: The Prince Hakone Lake Ashinoko
• Meals included: B

This morning, meet your guide in the hotel lobby and transfer by private coach to the Odawara Station and board the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) bound for Kyoto (approximately 2 hours). Not only are these machines some of the fastest trains in the world, traveling at a maximum of 285km, but they are also the most frequent—in some cases leaving the station once every two minutes.

Upon arrival, meet your Kyoto guide who will walk with you to Porta street where you can find a variety of restaurants to choose from for lunch. After lunch, transfer by private coach to visit the exquisite Kodaiji Temple and enjoy traditional tea ceremony in the temple.

Matcha tea is created from the finest tea leaves of nearby Uji. Attending a simple tea ceremony (the elaborate one lasts for hours) is a good way to experience the essence of the Japanese way of life: focus on the moment; attention to each movement; appreciation of the color and taste of the powered tea; admiration of the texture of the tea bowl (an expensive art piece passed on in the families for generations).

Walk the lively Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka traditional alleys with boutiques shops and tea houses on the hillside.

This evening is at your leisure. You may explore the lively restaurants and bars in Ponto-cho Street along the Kamo Gawa River. Few streets in Asia rival this narrow pedestrian-only walkway for atmosphere. The place comes alive by night with colorful lanterns, traditional wooden exteriors, and delicate entryways disappearing into the doorways of fine dining and bars 

• Accommodations: Hyatt Regency Kyoto 
• Meals included: B

In the morning, tour Kinkakuji Temple, the Golden Pavilion. This exquisite pavilion surrounded by a beautiful pond was once burnt down by a monk so obsessed with its beauty that he wanted to prevent others from viewing its golden form.

Tour the famous Nishiki Market followed by Japanese cooking class with local cooking class instructors. With over 100 shops and restaurants, this five-block shopping street is known as “Kyoto’s Kitchen”. Buy local ingredients with which you cook your own lunch with the instructors.

Explore the expansive Nijo Castle built for the first shogun in 1603 in the heart of the city. In 1939, the Imperial Family donated it to the city of Kyoto. The famous movie “the Last Samurai” was shot here.

If time permits, wander Gion, the beautiful Geisha district, in the heart of Kyoto. The area is dotted with old style Japanese Machiya houses. If you are lucky you may spot a Geishas or Maikos (apprentice geishas) with elaborate makeup and hair, walkinf swiftly in gorgeous kimono outfits to the evening appointments.

Return to Kyoto in early evening and have dinner on your own.

• Accommodations: Hyatt Regency Kyoto 
• Meals included: B,L

Take a short coach ride to Nara, the ancient capital laid out after China’s Changan (now known as Xi’an). In 710 AD the first Japanese capital was founded here and lasted for 74 years. During this short but significant era, Japan witnessed the birth of nation’s arts, crafts, and literature. Nara imported everything from religion to art and architecture from China. It was during the Nara period that the first historical account, first mythological chronicle, and first poetry anthology were written. Buddhism flourished together with temples, shrines, pagodas and palaces. Much has remained intact surrounded by the gardens and spacious parks where deer roam freely among the grounds.

Todaiji Temple is the largest wooden structure in the world, even at two thirds of its original size. This UNESCO World Heritage Site houses Japan’s second largest bronze Buddha. The temple structure, an exact copy after a grand temple in China’s ancient capital Changan, is a celebrated architectural feat.

Kasuga Taisha Shrine is a striking Shinto shrine of vermilion-colored pillars and astounding 3000 stone and bronze lanterns. It contains a botanical garden, Shin-en, famous for its wisteria and 300 varieties of native Japanese plants.

On the way back to Kyoto, stop at the Fushimi Inari Shrine, one of Kyoto’s oldest (founded in 711 AD) and most revered Shinto shrines. Fushimi Inari serves as the headquarters for all the 40,000 shrines dedicated to Inari across Japan. Originally the god of rice, Inari now governs the modern equivalent: success and prosperity in business. The Shrine draws thousands of businessmen and tradespeople seeking blessings for their enterprises, especially at the first prayers of the New Year. Fushimi Inari is noted for its remarkable sight of some 10,000 small torii (shrine gates) that arch over a long path up the hill behind the shrine.

This evening, enjoy a farewell dinner at Sodoh Higashiyama with an enchanting Japanese garden. The restaurant is famous for Japanese and Italian fusion cuisine.

• Accommodations: Hyatt Regency Kyoto
• Meals included: B,L,D

Make your own way to Itami airport, Kansai International airport or to your next destination. 

• Meals included: B