Best Japan Tours

Arrival Note: Welcome to Japan! When your flight lands at the Narita International Airport or Haneda Airport in Tokyo, you’ll meet an English speaking assistant at arrival lobby. After a warm greeting, he/she will help you to board the shared shuttle bus and then check in at the hotel by yourself.

Activities & Dinner Suggestion:
In consideration that you may need to rest after your long flight, we won’t have any sightseeing planned for the rest of the day. You can rest in the hotel or go for dinner by yourself. Our carefully selected hotel has excellent amenities in addition to exceptional staff and housekeeping service. There are 11 restaurants in the hotel, including a stylish restaurant and baron the 39th floor with sweeping views of the city. There’s also an aquarium, and you can check it out if you’re interested.

Our guide will meet you at hotel lobby in the morning to start our visit today by public transport. In about half an hour by the JR train, we’ll reach our first destination of the day, Asakusa. Passing through the busy Nakamise Shopping Street, which connects the iconic Kaminarimon Gate to the main hall of the Senso-ji Temple, our guide will show you around this oldest temple in Tokyo, built in 628 AD and dedicated to the goddess of mercy. You will feel the most typical of Japan’s ancient Edo culture in the bustling temple. You can draw an Omikuji fortune slip like the locals do. If you get an ominous one, just tie it to a nearby railing to relieve the bad luck.

★ What makes us different: Next, our guide will lead you to take the train for about half an hour to the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo, the residence of the Emperor and Japanese Imperial Family. Instead of a simple tour of the Imperial Palace Front Gardens arranged by other travel agencies and avoiding the long queues to enter the inner garden, we have specially arranged a route off the beaten track for you to visit the iconic front square and the secluded East Gardens of the Imperial Palace. Our guide, who is well versed in Japanese history and architecture, will give you a thorough understanding of this elegant and classical Japanese building from the Showa Period. You can walk along the scenic moat and take pictures at the famous Niju-bashi Bridge. The next destination will be the nearby Ginza, Tokyo’s most famous upscale shopping, dining, and entertainment district.

Continue a food tour to Tsukiji Market. It is one of the largest aquatic markets in the world. The guide will show you around the area and we will specially offer world famous sushi with sake for you.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Sightseeing Activities: Today will be the highlight of your Japan tour, as we’ll visit the Mount Fuji, one of the largest active volcanoes in the world and a symbol of Japan. At around 8:00 in the morning, our guide will pick you up from your hotel and lead you to the Tokyo Tourist Information Center, aka Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal, from where we’ll take an express bus west to the Lake Kawaguchi, which will take 2 to 3 hours on the way. The Lake Kawaguchi, right at the foot of the Mt. Fuji, is the best place to see the iconic mountain. The guide will take you on a walk around the lake and point out some of the best places to take pictures of the Mount Fuji.

★ What makes us different: Unlike other travel agencies that offer a full walking tour or a distant travel by bus, we will specially arrange a relaxing cruise on the Lake Kawaguchi so that you can easily enjoy the Mount Fuji from different angles on the sightseeing boat. On a clear day, you can see the mountain covered in snow like a postcard landscape. In addition, we will arrange for you to take the Mount Fuji Panoramic Ropeway, which runs to the Fujimidai Station near the peak of the Mount Tenjo, where there is an observation point with magnificent panoramic views of the Mount Fuji and the Lake Kawaguchi below.

Finally, the guide will accompany you on the express bus back to Tokyo.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Morning Train Travel: This morning, we will arrange a special experience for you, a ride on the Japanese Shinkansen bullet train. We will book the train tickets for you in advance and you will get to the train station by yourself. Our tour guide will give you some advice about how to get there and how to board the fastest Nozomi train, which runs 550 km (342 mi) from Tokyo to Osaka in just 2.5 hours. On the way, you can not only enjoy the scenery, but also try the featured ekiben lunchbox at your own expense, which is the real charm of the Shinkansen train. With fresh ingredients, great taste, and artistic presentation, the ekiben will make you know the unique Japanese train culture. Upon arrival, our guide will pick you up from the train station and then take the public train to your hotel.

Afternoon Sightseeing: In the afternoon, the local guide will lead you to the 450-year-old Osaka Castle, which is one of the three great castles in Japan and plays an important role in the history of Japanese samurai. We’ll take a look at the Main Tower of the castle from the outside and stroll through the beautiful Osaka Castle Park that surrounds it. Next, let’s head to the Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street located between the Shinsaibashi metro station and the Ebisu Bridge in Dotonbori. This is Osaka’s prestigious business district, lined with shops ranging from high fashion to traditional crafts, as well as many cafes and restaurants. Our guide will find the best place for you to try Takoyaki, Osakan Kushikatsu with beer or sake. Treat yourself with authentic local food.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Sightseeing Activities: After breakfast, follow our guide from the hotel at around 9:00 for a one-hour train ride to Kyoto, a rewarding destination as the old imperial capital of Japan for over a thousand years and the spiritual home of the Japanese people. It retains a large number of ancient temples and shrines, and was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1994. Upon arrival, the guide will first show you around the Fushimi Inari Taisha, a shrine honoring the great kami of rice and agriculture, who blesses the prosperity of commerce and crops. Its most striking feature is a path up the mountain lined with thousands of vermilion traditional torii gates, known as Senbon Torii, one of the representative sights of Kyoto.

Next, we’ll visit the Kinkaku-ji, a tranquil temple best known for its gold-leaf-covered facade reflected in the pond in front. After that, the guide will lead you to the ancient Kiyomizu-dera Temple, one of the famous places for appreciating cherry blossoms in spring and maple leaves in autumn. From the temple’s veranda, there is a beautiful view of the Mount Otowa. Step out of the temple and follow the guide to wander through the Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka, which are distinctive walking ramps lined with traditional wooden houses and shops selling a variety of Japanese snacks, groceries and souvenirs. Finally, we will walk to the Yashaka Shrine for a brief visit. Completing a day immersed in ancient Japanese imperial culture, our guide will accompany you on the train back to your hotel in Osaka for the night.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Sightseeing Activities: Our guide will pick you up from your hotel at 9:00 and lead you to Nara by train, which takes about 1 hour. Nara has asurprisingly long history. It was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784 AD and retains many ancient Buddhist buildings and artifacts. Upon arrival, we will first visit the Nara Park, which is a perfect blend of nature and history. Surrounded by precious historical heritage sites, such as the Todai-ji Temple,Kofuku-ji Temple, and Kasuga-taisha, the vast green spaces in the park areoften are frequented by roaming deer. You can feed the tame deer with crackers, which will be a lot of fun! Next, we will focus on our visit to the appearance of Todai-ji, a Nara landmark and a World Heritage site.

Special Arrangement: Later, the guide will take you to a secluded spot nearby, the Isuien Garden, an exquisite place just west of Todai-ji’ssouth gate that few people know about. This Japanese garden, with a front yard of Edo style and a back yard of Meiji style, is so quiet and cozy that it will surprise you!

Finally, we’ll take a look around the Higashimuki Shopping Street, where you can buy some souvenirs if you like, as it’s your penultimate day in Japan. After that, we’ll get back to Osaka.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Departure Note: Based on your flight departure time, the shared airport shuttle bus will pick you up at the entrance of the hotel. Then you will get to Osaka’s Kansai International Airport, from where you could catch your flight home or to the next destination. An English speaking assistant will help you with the check in procedure. We hope you enjoy this trip!

Meals Included: Breakfast

► If your flight is in the late afternoon, you can visit the Osaka Museum of History in the morning; Or, if your flight is at night, you might consider a day trip to the Universal Studios.

► If you want to extend your trip to more destinations in Japan, or other Asian and African countries, please feel free to contact our travel consultants to customize an itinerary for you.