Cities on this tour:
- Hokkaido: Sapporo, Noboribetsu, Otaru Canal, Sounkyo-Gorge, Ainu Village, Abashiri, Shiretoko, Uutoro, Lake Akan, Kushiro Honshu: Tokyo, Kamakura, Hakone, Mt. Fuji, Takayama (World Heritage), Kyoto, Nara, Kansai, Osaka
Includes:
- Round-trip airfare from San Francisco via Ana Airways (A star alliance member)
- First Class/Tourist Class hotel accommodation based on double occupancy.
- Meals as in the itinerary (B=Breakfast * L=Lunch * D=Dinner)
- Guided Sightseeing & Transportation as mentioned in the itinerary
Scheduled Itinerary for this Tour:
Day 1 – San Francisco/Tokyo
Depart San Francisco for a pleasant flight to Tokyo via Ana Airlines.
Day 2 – Tokyo/Sapporo Suzukino – Night Entertainment District
Arrive Tokyo in the late afternoon then immediately connecting a flight to Sapporo,the capital of Hokkaido and the 5th largest city in Japan, one with the youngest population. Dinner before transfer to Sapporo Park Hotel or similar. (D.)
Day 3 – Sapporo City Tour/Historical Village of Hokkaido/Meiji Clock tower/Odori Park (Snow Festival Site)/Sapporo Beer Brewery/ Nijo Seafood Market/Tanukikoji/Shopping Alley/Ramen Alley
After breakfast in the hotel, transfer to Historical Village of Hokkaido where you will spend the morning walk through this huge Park with all the historical buildings and museum. Return to Sapporo city for lunch, then to Sapporo Brewery where you will see how they make the famous Sapporo Beer and Beer tasting at the end of the tour. Then will walk pass the Old Government Quarters – Meiji Clock Tower – Odori Park (the Snow Festival Site and 1964 Olympic site) and the Tanukikoji Shopping Alley. After dinner you can take a leisure walk to the night entertainment district Suzukino or the underground shopping district followed by the Ramen Alley to try the famous Sapporo Ramen before returning to Sapporo Park Hotel or similar. (B.L.D.)
Day 4 – Sapporo/Otaru/Old Canal/Glass &Music Museum/Lake Toya/Showa & Usu Volcanoes, Bear Farm – Noboribetsu Onsen.
After breakfast at hotel, we proceed to Otaru which has developed and prospered as “the sea entrance of Hokkaido” over the last 100 years and it has gained the nickname “Wall Street of the North.” The glassworks shops, coffee shops, restaurants and shopping malls along the canal have been converted from stone-built or brick-built warehouses, which were used for storage in the days when commerce flourished. The canal was crowded with jostling barges. You will visit the Glassware Shops and the Music Boxes Shop and walk the Sushi Alley. Otaru’s nickname is “the town of hills” and is a popular ski resort in winter. After Lunch, you will transfer to Lake Toya-ko which is part of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park. This wide lake lies 200 to 500 meters below the outer rim of the crater. The active volcano that stands proudly near the lake with white smoke rising above it is Mt. Showa Shinzan. The beauty of this ice-free lake can therefore be admired anytime during the year. After viewing the live Volcanoes Mt showa & Mt Usu , our next stop is the Bear Farm where you will find over hundreds of bears which you can feed. Our next stop is the hot springNoboribetsu situated at the Jigoku Valley (hell valley), where yellowy gray volcanic gas seeps from the surface of the rocks filling the air with sulfur. The valley is a 450m. diameter mouth of a volcano, which produces 3,000 liters of hot water a day. Tonight enjoy and relax in the hot spring in the Noboribetsu Yumoto Onsen Hotel or similar (B.L.D.)
Day 5 – Nobroibetsu/Furano/Tomida Flower Farm/Asahigawa/Sounkyo Gorge – Ryusei & Ginga Waterfalls
Breakfast at Hotel, start our journey to visit the Tomita Flower Farm at Furano, a beautiful farm famous for its flower gardens especially the famed Lavender in July. Will pass by Bie where the scenery here is gorgeous. Then proceed to Asahigawa to visit the Takasagoshuzo Sake Factory. We cannot miss the Sounkyogorge famous for waterfalls, of which the Ryusei-no-taki Falls (shooting star falls) and Ginga-no-taki Falls (Milky Way falls) are especially worth seeing. Magnificent water falls plunge directly over the cliff, giving them a sense of great power. The Obako and Kobako rock formations are said to be the most beautiful places in the gorge. Obako features wide rock faces that resemble ‘byobu’ (folding screens). Stay at Sounkaku Grand Hotel or similar (B.L.D.)
Day 6 – Sounkyu – Abashiri – Prison Museum – Iceberg Museum
Breakfast at Hotel, morning sightseeing includes the spectacular gorge and waterfall sceneries resembling the Milky Way. The giant gorge attracts millions of visitors each year with its high cliffs, plentiful hot springs, powerful waterfalls and fantastic rock formations. Sounkyu Gorge is situated at the foot of Mt. Daisetsu-zan, which is called the “roof of Hokkaido.” The giant gorge, bordered by 100-meter-high cliffs formed by the erosion of tuff, stretches for 24 kilometers and forms the center of Daisetsu-zan National Park. The hot spring area boasts of magnificent scenery and plentiful natural hot water, and attracts three million visitors a year. Our next stop is the Abashiri to visit the Iceberg Museum (Okhotsk Ryuhyo Museum) to experience the drift ice all year round. You can actually touch and feel the ice. OkhotskRyu-hyo (drift ice) Museum is a science museum adjoining the Tentozan Observatory. A permanent display of real drift ice is maintained. One room enables you to experience drift ice and another room features a three-screen super-wide-vision theater displaying the four season of Okhotsk. Drift ice also provides some surprising encounters. For instance, you might encounter a Clione limacine, also known as a sea angel. They are attached to the drift ice and when the drift ice disappears they vanish with it. This is a family of small floating sea slugs. These creatures have a transparent body about 10mm in length, and they swim gracefully as if flapping their wingsAlso a visit to the Prison Museum. Located halfway up Mt. Tento is the original Abashiri Prison building–used as a prison until 1984–that has been moved and opened as a museum. Our final stop of the day is at Sounkyo to relax in the hot spring.
Hotel: Abashiri Koso Hotel or similar (B.L.D.)
Day 7 – Abashiri/Oshinkoshinn Waterfall /Utoro/Lake Akan/Ainu Village
Breakfast at Hotel, morning travel to Shiretoko National Park. Utoro is the largest and only sizable town along the western coast of Shiretoko Peninsula. Transfer to view Oshinkoshin Waterfall-designated as one of Japan’s top 100 waterfalls, Oshinkoshin Falls (Oshinkoshin no taki) is a spectacular waterfall just next to the coastal main road. We will pass by Lake Mashu before entering Akan National Park. The Ainu people have revered this lake as the “lake of the gods” from ancient times. You can enjoy a splendid view from the 3 observatories. A special feature of this lake is that it is always covered with mist, thereby also being called “Misty Lake Mashu”. A visit to the Shiraoi Ainuzoku Village near the lake highlights our visit of the day. Ainus are the indigenous people of Japan native only in Hokkaido. Stay at Akan Kanko Hotel or similar. (B.L.D.)
Day 8 – Lake Akan (Short Cruise) – Kushiro/ Haneda – Tokyo
After breakfast in the hotel,morning boat ride to view Lake Akan -a beautiful crater lake. The boat cruises around a number of tourist sites for an hour. Then transfer toKushiro city and will try our luck on seeing the Red Head Cranes before you take afternoon flight from Kushiro airport to Haneda airport of Tokyo. Upon arrival, you will have dinner before check-in Hotel Grand Pacific Le Daiba or similar (B.L.D.)
Day 9 – Tokyo
After breakfast, take a full day city tour starting with Tokyo Tower for a panoramic view of the city, then to Imperial East Garden (formerly party of Imperial Palace Grounds), and Asakusa Kannon Temple with its bustling arcade of souvenir shops displaying many interesting traditional Japanese products. After lunch, continue to visit the tickly wooded Meiji Shrine, the largest of Japan’s native Shinto shrine and other points of interest in Japan. Free for leisure in the evening when you can try out different types of delicious Japanese food. (B.L.)
Day 10 – Tokyo/Kamakura/Hakone/Lake Cruise/Owakudani/Mt. Fuji /Yatsugatake
After breakfast at hotel, visit the 754-year old enormous bronze statue of the sitting Buddha. Then continue driving along the scenic Enoshima Seaside to Hakone (Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park) and enjoy the Lake Cruise before process to Owakudani (Crater), here you can have the most beautiful view of Mt. Fuji. Transfer to accommodation hotel in Yatsugatake where you can enjoy your Hot Onsen Bathand Japanese dinner before going to bed.
Hotel: Yatsugatake Royal Onsen Hotel or Similar (B.L.D.)
Day 11 – Yatsugatake/Matsumoto Castle/ShiragawagoVillage(World Heritage)/Tokayama
After breakfast transfer to Matsumoto. A city lies in the middle of Honshu, where we will visit the Matsumoto Castle. Our cultural event takes us to the World Heritage “Shiragawago Village” where you will visit over dozens of old genuine farm houses over 350 years old with a unique building technique called “Gasho Tsukuri”. The Shirakawa-go and neighboring Gokayama regions line the Shogawa River Valley in the remote mountains This village was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995. Gassho-zukurimeans “constructed like hands in prayer”, as the farmhouses’ steep thatched roofs resemble the hands of Buddhist monks pressed together in prayer. The architectural style developed over many generations and is designed to withstand the large amounts of heavy snow that falls in the region during winter. The roofs, made without nails, provided a large attic space used for cultivating silkworms. Afterwards on to Takayama, the famous old town on the mountain. Japanese Dinner at Hotel.
Hotel: Takayama Assoscia Onsen Resort or similar . (B.L.D.)
Day 12 – Takayama/Morning Market/Jinya (old government quarters)/Kyoto
After breakfast take a walking tour starting with the Morning Market which is starting in the Edo period (about 200 years ago) as markets of rice, mulberry trees, and flowers. This market place was developed by the middle of the Meiji period (about 100 years ago) when farmers’ wives began to bring vegetables, these markets came to the known as ‘Morning Markets.’ Then visit the district designated as an area of important traditional buildings by the Japanese Governmen such as the Jinya Historical Government House (National Historical Site). This was one of the mansions of Lord Kanamori of Takayama Castle. This castle is saturated with history of the Japanese governing warlords. We will stroll through the Old Residential District and other interesting places to explore this ancient traditional town.. After Lunch, our ride continues to Kyoto via Nagoya. Tonight is an opportunity to explore the enchanting old Gion of geishas and traditional wooden houses, and many good restaurants. Hotel: Kyoto Mystay Hotel or Similar. (B.L.)
Day 13 – Kyoto City tour/Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion)/Kiyomizu Temple/Heianjingu Shrine/Nara/Todaiji Temple – Deer Park – Osaka/Shinsabashi
You’ll visit Kinkkuji the Golden Pavilion (with beautifully laid out Japanese Garden), the Heanjingu Shrine (built in 1895 to commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of this ancient capital.) Kiyomizu Temple where you can see the whole Kyoto City from its wooden platform built on the cliff Shijo Kawaramachi, a busy and vibrant shopping district located in central Kyoto. Our visit also includes Nara Todaiji Temple where you will find the largest Indoor Bronze Buddha Image and walk through the Deer Park where you can feed the deers along the way. We will spend the evening in Osaka (sister city of San Jose, CA) Your last chance to shop at the famous shopping area – Shinsaibashi.
Our farewell dinner in Osaka.
Hotel: Osaka New Hankyu Hotel or Similar. (B.L.D.)
Day 14 – Osaka/San Francisco
Wrap up your memories and bid “Sayonara” to Japan and return to the United States via Ana Airlines. (B)
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