Essence of Japan Tour: An Expertly Guided Experience (15 Days Tour)

Tokyo – Tokyo’s Past, Present, and Future

After breakfast at the hotel, your day begins with an orientation meeting with our Tokyo staff. Afterward, your guide escorts you to Tsukiji Fish Market. Though this may be your first visit to this iconic market, it is likely that you have eaten the market’s fish, as 20% of the world’s daily catch passes through Tsukiji. There, watch the fishmongers practice their craft, from filleting massive tuna to wrangling octopi. Before leaving, have a fresh sushi snack.

The Ginza District is only a short ride away from Tsukiji. Arguably the most famous shopping district in the world, the Ginza is home to the flagship stores of many luxury brands. While there, see the latest in consumer electronics at the Sony Showroom. In the Nissan Showroom, see (and sit in) Nissan’s latest models, including those not sold outside of Japan.

For lunch, dine on Kushiage, a Japanese shish kabob featuring different kinds of meat and vegetables. After lunch, travel 350 meters into the air to the Tembo Deck of the Tokyo Skytree. If the weather is cooperative, gain an impressive view of Tokyo’s seemingly infinite skyline. On the clearest days, it is possible to see Mt. Fuji to the west, as well.

In the afternoon, you visit the Asakusa area, home to Senso-ji, the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo. Founded by two fishermen over 1,200 years ago, the temple is now a sprawling complex full of shops and various shrines. While here, your guide teaches you about Shinto and Buddhism, and how both religions affect modern Japanese life.

This evening dinner is on your own. Your guide is happy to provide recommendations based on your tastes.

What’s Included: breakfast, guided tour, transfer, accommodation.

Kamakura to Hakone – Immersion in the Past

Tokyo was not always Japan’s capital. During the 13th century, the coastal city of Kamakura held this honor. This morning, you leave Tokyo behind as you take an express train to Kamakura. Keeping an overnight bag with you, the majority of your luggage is sent on ahead to Takayama for your arrival the following day.

Your first stop is Hase-dera Temple. Dedicated to Kannon, the goddess of mercy, your breath is taken away as you first behold the nearly 30-foot-statue. Covered in gold leaf, it is a stunning sight to behold. Next to the Kannon is the Kannon Museum, home to a variety of artifacts from when Kamakura was the center of Japan’s government and religious life.

From Hase-dera, you walk to Kamakura’s most famous Buddha, aptly named the Kamakura Daibutsu, or Great Buddha. Dating back to the 13th-century, it has survived multiple earthquakes, tidal waves, and fires, which destroyed surrounding temples and shrines. Looking out over Kamakura and Sagami Bay, it is a near-immortal reminder of the influence of Buddhism in Japanese life.

Your last stop in Kamakura is also one of the city’s most serene: Hokoku-ji Temple. Rebuilt after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, the temple is surrounded by more than 2,000 bamboo stalks. The atmosphere is nothing less than magical as you sit in the temple, enjoying a hot cup of fragrant green tea. Look closely through the bamboo and you may notice the small caves carved into the rocky hillsides. These tombs once contained the ashes of Kamakura’s most powerful nobility.

In the afternoon, your guide takes you to Hakone by train. For centuries, Hakone has been a destination where the Japanese have come for rest and relaxation. Its naturally occurring hot springs, idyllic lakes, and Mt. Fuji views make for a splendid time. After arriving, check into your hotel, the Hakone Yumoto Hotel and Onsen. In your authentically Japanese room, expect tatami mat floors and futons. The hotel’s onsen baths make for a perfect end to your day.

Though dinner is not included on this day, we recommend that you take advantage of the hotel’s multi-course dinner which incorporates meat and fresh vegetables from the Hakone and Fuji Five Lakes Region.

What’s Included: breakfast, transfer, guided tour, accommodation.

Takayama – Exploring the Edo Period

After breakfast, your guide picks you up at your ryokan for a day of enlightenment and adventure. Your first stop is the morning market, where farmers and artisans from around the city and valley come each morning to sell their wares. It is an ideal place to buy a souvenir or a few culinary ingredients for a meal you make back home.

Only a few minutes’ walk away from the market is Takayama-jinya, the city’s government office during the Edo Period. A far cry from your local DMV, the office has the aura of a palatial mansion with its ornate art and gardens. Walking barefoot on the wooden floors, there are many places to simply stop and enjoy your surroundings.

After lunch on your own, the rest of the day is a self-guided tour of Takayama’s old town, where many of the buildings date back to the 16th-century. It is possible to tour a sake brewery, where brew masters still use traditional methods to make this fragrant, complex beverage.

You can continue your guided tour of Takayama, which includes some lesser known sights and a side trip to the nearby Hida-no-Sato open air museum. In this museum, wander through over 30 Edo Period homes, gaining a deep appreciation for the generations of men and women who walked these same floors centuries ago. 

If you gained a taste for Hida beef the night before, try one of the city’s many Hida beef restaurants for dinner. Depending on the restaurant, you can have the beef as part of a stir-fry, stew, or even as sushi. The later is particularly flavorful, akin to the finest Bluefin Tuna.

What’s Included: breakfast, guided tour, accommodation.

Mt. Koya to Osaka – Big City Life

This morning, you rise with the monks to attend morning prayer services. Afterward, eat with the monks before venturing to the Okuno-in temple, the final resting place of Kobo Dashi. According to the beliefs held by many of the monks, Kobo Dashi is not dead, but meditating so deeply that he has transcended life and death. The temple is a fitting memorial to the man who gave life to Shingon Buddhism.

After lunch at Mt. Koya, your guide joins you for the three-hour train ride to Osaka. Known internationally as ‘Japan’s kitchen,’ Osaka is a sprawling city of millions centered around the bustling Dotonbori District. In the afternoon and evening, take a self-guided tour of this bustling area. You feel as if you are in Times Square as you walk under the bright neon advertisements.

Your guide is happy to show you some of the best sights in downtown Osaka. Besides the Dotonbori District, you see the some of the city’s best Shinto Shrines and Buddhist Temples. In the evening, you dine at a popular kaiten, or conveyer belt sushi restaurant. Watch plates of delectable sushi rotate at eye level. You may ‘eat yourself to ruin,’ as the Osaka saying goes, but don’t worry. It’s an Osaka tradition not to be missed.

Your hotel this evening is western-style. If you do not elect for an extra tour, dinner this evening is on your own.

What’s Included: breakfast, transfer, accommodation.

Miyajima – Stunning Vistas and Comfort Food

Today is a free day to explore Miyajima’s many natural wonders. For a little exercise, a 10-minute walk up a gentle hill reveals the Mt. Misen ropeway. The ropeway takes you to Mt. Misen’s summit, offering panoramic views of the Seto Inland Sea, Hiroshima, and Miyajima’s mountainous terrain. From the summit is only a short walk to Reikado Hall. Here, Kobo Dashi received religious training before venturing to Mt. Koya. The same eternal flame he tended in the 9th century still burns here, and was the source of fire for Hiroshima’s “Flame of Peace.”

Back down the mountain, you discover the smell of sweet pastry. It is Momiji Manju, a local delicacy stuffed with different savory fillings. Sample one (or all of them) as you walk among the different confectionary shops. Just steps away are oyster restaurants. Oysters are Miyajima’s seafood specialty. From the shore, the oyster beds stretch out as far as the eye can see. Raw or barbecued, they pair excellently with local beer.

Dinner this evening is again provided at your ryokan.

What’s Included: breakfast, dinner, accommodation

Kyoto – Temples and Tea

After breakfast, your guide picks you up at your hotel for a day of exploration. Your first stop is Ryoan-ji temple. Constructed over 500 years ago, the temple’s main attraction is its signature rock garden. Its design maintained daily by monks, the 15 large stones that make up the garden have a unique feature. No matter which way you look at them, you can only see 14 at one time. This curiosity represents a key tenant of Buddhism. Though the garden itself may be complete, our ability as human beings to perceive is limited. We cannot see (or comprehend) the entirety of existence.

Kinkaku-ji is a short bus or taxi ride away from Ryoan-ji. One of the most spectacular temples in Japan, Kinaku-ji’s gold-leaf exterior is nothing less than perfection. In the temple’s moat, a second temple forms in the rippling waters.

After a noodle lunch, you head to a Kyoto home to learn about the tea ceremony. When the tea ceremony was first developed over 400 years ago, it was a way to bring order to a chaotic and unpredictable world. Practiced by samurai in order to train their minds, the ceremony’s dozens of steps take months, if not years, to perfect. At the end of the ceremony, enjoy your tea along with a variety of Japanese sweets.

Your final stop is Nijo Castle. Though the shogun lived in Tokyo, then called Edo, he used Nijo Castle as his residence when he traveled to Kyoto. Impressive to visitors today as it was to those hundreds of years ago, the castle radiates authority and power from all sides. Touring the inner rooms, your guide points out secret passages and chambers where the shogun’s bodyguards would hide, ready in case anyone should try to bring harm to their master.

What’s Included: breakfast, guided tour, accommodation

Kyoto – A Self-Guided Adventure

There are no planned activities this morning or afternoon. For an extra fee, it is possible to take a half-day trip to Nara, Japan first capital. Though only Japan’s capital for 84 years, the Nara Period (710-794) was defined by Japan’s embrace of Buddhism. Entering Nara Park, you are greeted by sacred deer. Freely living amongst people for over 1,200 years, they are quite tame and are known to bow to visitors in order to receive a treat.

Continuing through the park, you see the outline of Todai-ji in the distance. Todai-ji is the largest Buddhist temple in Japan, and one of the largest wooden structures in the world. Within is a greater sight, a 49-foot high bronze Buddha that has been overlooking Nara Park since 753. The scent of incense is heavy in the air as you stand at the base of this magnificent structure.

Afterward, explore the temple grounds along with the recently opened museum displaying artifacts and art from the Nara Period. There is also time to visit the Nara National Museum, which features one of the largest collections of calligraphy in Japan.

No matter how you choose to spend you last day in Japan, the country has one more surprise for you. Returning to the Gion District, sit down to a kaiseki dinner held in your honor. As you eat, you witness a geiko performance, a perfect complement to your meal.

What’s Included: breakfast, dinner, accommodation.