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Japan Tour “Nature Tour”

This is an eleven-day Japan tour with visits to Tokyo, Nikko, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Himeji, Hakone, and Fuji Kawaguchiko. On this tour you will see the most iconic places and natural landscapes that will amaze you with their beauty and will remain in your memory for a long time!

CUSTOMIZED ITINERARY FOR YOUR DATES

Dates

  • Private tour

Duration

  • 11 days / 10 nights

Price

  • On request

Itinerary

  • Tokyo → Nikko → Kyoto → Himeji → Nara → Osaka → Hakone → Kawaguchiko → Tokyo
Reservation

Daily itinerary

1

Day 1

Arrival at the International Airport
Self-transfer to Tokyo
Check-in at the hotel, rest
Meet your tour guide at the hotel lobby
Tokyo Sightseeing by public transport: Shibuya district and Shibuya Sky observatory, walk around Ginza
Back to the hotel
Hotel accommodation: Tokyo [Read more...]

Shibuya Area

Shibuya scramble crossing is one of the busiest crossings in Tokyo. The green light comes on from four directions at once, and several hundred people (during peak hours, the number can reach 1,000) rush simultaneously in all directions, managing to dodge each other with ease built up over the years.

For its picturesque yet orderly crowds, the crossing is beloved by filmmakers, and people worldwide are familiar with it from TV series, movies, and commercial videos. The best spot to watch the hypnotic flow of people is the Starbucks coffee shop on the 2nd floor of the building on the north side of the crossing.

There is also a statue of the faithful dog Hachiko near Shibuya Station, where he used to meet his master, a professor at Tokyo University, every day. After the professor’s sudden death, the dog came to the station every day for nine years, waiting for his master to return. Hachiko became the symbol of loyalty.

Ginza District

Ginza is Tokyo’s most luxurious shopping district, home to prestigious department stores, world-famous designer boutiques, coffee shops, and traditional Japanese restaurants. People come here to learn about the latest high fashion trends and enjoy the creations of the best architects worldwide.

At the same time, Ginza is an art lover’s paradise. There are about 200 art galleries and Kabukiza Theater, which still regularly hosts Kabuki theater performances.

2

Day 2

Breakfast at the hotel
Meet your tour guide at the hotel lobby
Tokyo sightseeing by private transport: Asakusa district, Sensoji Buddhist Temple, Nakamise shopping street, TeamLab museum, Japanese garden
Back to the hotel
Hotel accommodation: Tokyo
3

Day 3

Breakfast at the hotel
Meet your tour guide at the hotel lobby
Move to Tochigi prefecture by Shinkansen bullet train
Nikko sightseeing by private transport: Kegon waterfalls, Nikko Toshogu Shrine
Transfer to shinkansen station
Move back to Tokyo by Shinkansen bullet train
Hotel accommodation: Tokyo [Read more...]

Nikko

Nikko is a city near the border of Nikko National Park, best known for Toshogu Shrine, the ornate mausoleum of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu.

The name Nikko means “sunlight. “Never say ‘magnificent’ until you have seen Nikko” is a well-known Japanese saying about Nikko’s beauty.

The complex of 103 structures is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nikko is especially famous for its beautiful nature and magnificent autumn views.

Nikko Toshogu Shrine

Toshogu Shrine is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the last of the three “Great Unifiers” of Japan and the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. The Tokugawa clan ruled Japan for more than two and a half centuries. The shrine was built in 1617 by Ieyasu’s vassal, Todo Takatora, as a mausoleum for Ieyasu. Shogun was posthumously deified with the name Tosho Daigongen (“The Great Deity of the Eastern Light”), and the shrine is dedicated to him. The shrine buildings are richly decorated with wood carvings, colorful paintings, and gilding. Toshogu is one of the most luxuriously decorated shrines in Japan. Fifteen thousand of the best artisans from all over the country gathered to build the shrine. Two million four hundred eighty-nine thousand pieces of gold leaf (enough to cover two and a half hectares) were used to decorate it.

The complex of 42 buildings is UNESCO World Heritage Site. Eight buildings are considered National Treasures of Japan, and the rest are Cultural Treasures of the country.

Kegon Falls

Kegon Falls is one of Japan’s three most beautiful waterfalls, falling from Lake Chuzenji. It was formed when the Dayagawa River’s flow was blocked by lava after the Nantai volcano’s eruption. The river falls from the 97-meter-high lava barrier in one large and 12 small streams.

The views of Kegon Falls are most famous in the fall, but it’s beautiful at any time of the year: the cliffs are covered with snow in winter, adorned with fresh greenery in spring, and in summer, the sound and mist of the water provide a pleasant coolness.

4

Day 4

Breakfast at the hotel, check-out
Self-transfer to Kyoto by Shinkansen bullet train
Meet your guide at the train platform at Kyoto Station
Kyoto sightseeing by private transport: Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka traditional streets, Fushimi Inari Shrine
Transfer to the hotel, check-in
Hotel accommodation: Kyoto [Read more...]

Kiyomizu-dera Temple (Pure Water Temple)

The Pure Water Temple, or Kiyomizu-dera, is one of Kyoto’s most famous and most visited temples and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was founded on a mountainside near a spring. Its clear water is said to bestow health, longevity, and wisdom. The temple’s main attraction is its main hall, with an open veranda built on stilts over a cliff. The structure, assembled without a single nail, towers over Kyoto, offering a beautiful view of the old capital. Cafes and stores lining the road to the temple sell Kyoto sweets, ceramics, and souvenirs for all tastes.

Fushimi Inari Shrine

Fushimi Inari Shrine is one of the most important shrines of the Old Capital and the head shrine for a network of over 32,000 subordinate shrines across the country.

The god Inari, to whom the shrine is dedicated, is considered the patron saint of rice farming and artisans, merchants, and business people in general. According to tradition, a generous offering can earn the god’s favor. In Fushimi Inari Shrine, the best gift is considered to be a temple gate-torii. The popularity of the god Inari can be judged by the fact that the entire shrine area is densely packed with thousands of red gates of various sizes, forming red corridors leading from the main altar to the top of the mountain.

5

Day 5

Breakfast at the hotel
Meet your tour guide at the hotel lobby
Kyoto sightseeing by private transport: Golden Pavilion, Zen Rock Garden, Arashiyama bamboo grove, Iwatayama monkey park
Back to the hotel
Hotel accommodation: Kyoto [Read more...]

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)

Kinkaku-ji Temple, often called the Golden Temple, is one of Japan’s most famous temples and Kyoto’s main attractions. Built at the end of the 14th century, this complex, with its three-story pavilion covered with gold leaf, captivated the minds of its contemporaries. The famous Japanese writer Yukio Mishima captured its fate and glory in the novel “The Golden Temple.” Today Kinkaku-ji Temple is a must-see on any traveler’s itinerary in Japan. In addition to the famous pavilion, the UNESCO World Heritage Site also features a traditional walking garden, small waterfalls, and a tea house, representing the culture of the samurai era.

Zen Rock Garden

Zen Rock Garden, or dry garden, with its hidden meanings and allegories, is a beautiful place for contemplation and meditation. Each garden element has meaning, and no randomly placed pieces exist. A dry garden is an orderly system subject to well-established aesthetic rules. Sea waves spread before the viewers, the mountain peaks rise above the clouds, and animals freeze in different poses. This microcosm of Zen Buddhist aesthetics is created using stones of various shapes. The distinctive symbolism of rock gardens is a unique manifestation of the multifaceted Japanese culture.

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

Sagano-Arasiyama Bamboo Grove is one of Kyoto’s most popular and most photographed places. Everything here breathes with admiration for nature and love for detail. The path through the bamboo grove is carefully fenced off and cleared of dry leaves and branches. It’s an alley where you want to stroll, listening to the sounds of bamboo and the endless song of the wind. Bamboo doesn’t sleep; bamboo rustles and ceaselessly strives upwards. It’s a very hardy, fantastic plant!

6

Day 6

Breakfast at the hotel
Meet your guide at the hotel lobby
Move to Himeji by Shinkansen bullet train
Himeji sightseeing: White Heron Castle Himeji-jo, Kokoen Garden
Move back to Kyoto by Shinkansen bullet train
Hotel accommodation: Kyoto [Read more...]

Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle is one of Japan’s 12 historically preserved castles and is considered the most beautiful. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The castle was built in the early 17th century and was second in size and beauty only to the lost Edo Castle, the residence of the Tokugawa shoguns. Unscathed by wars, fires, and natural disasters for 400 years, the castle is often featured in movies about the samurai era. Fans of classic Japanese cinema remember it for Akira Kurosawa’s “Ran.” The impregnable castle holds secrets of Japanese military strategy and keeps stories of gods and ghosts. The name “White Heron Castle” reflects the beauty of its walls.

Kokoen Garden

Kokoen Garden was created near Himeji Castle relatively recently, in 1992, for the city’s 100th anniversary. There are nine landscaped gardens of different styles in a small area of the complex, where you can enjoy the seasonal flowers and learn a lot about Japanese landscape art.

7

Day 7

Breakfast at the hotel, check-out
Meet your guide at the hotel lobby
Move to Nara by private transport
Nara sightseeing by private transport: Todaiji Temple, Kasuga Shrine, Deer park
Transfer to Osaka by private transport
Check-in at the hotel, rest
Hotel accommodation: Osaka [Read more...]

Todai-ji Temple

Todai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex whose main building is one of the largest wooden structures in the world. Built in the mid-8th century by order of the emperor with donations from all over the country, the temple features the biggest bronze statue of Buddha in Japan. Almost all the bronze produced in Japan at the time was used to cast the colossal sculpture. The complex also has several unique wooden structures, including the giant Nandaimon Gate with the famous Nio guard figures, the Bell Tower, and Nigatsu-do Hall. The entire complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Kasuga Shrine

Kasuga Taisha is one of Japan’s most ancient Shinto shrines, founded in the mid-8th century to protect the capital, Nara. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it is famous for its kasuga-zukuri architectural style, the thousands of stone and bronze lanterns decorating its grounds, and the pristine ancient forest where sacred deer, considered messengers of the deities, roam free.

8

Day 8

Breakfast at the hotel
Visit Universal Studios Japan park in Osaka
Hotel accommodation: Osaka
9

Day 9

Breakfast at the hotel, check-out
Self-transfer to Odawara (Hakone) by Shinkansen bullet train
Meet your guide at the train platform at Odawara Station
Hakone sightseeing by private transport: volcanic valley Owakudani, the Hakone Open-Air Museum
Transfer to the national-style ryokan hotel
Dinner at the hotel, rest in the hot springs
Hotel accommodation: Kawaguchiko
10

Day 10

Breakfast at the hotel, check-out
Meet your tour guide at the hotel lobby
Fuji-Kawaguchiko area sightseeing: Lake Kawaguchiko, Chureito pagoda, Shiraito waterfall
Transfer to the Shinkansen station
Move to Tokyo by Shinkansen bullet train
Check-in at the hotel
Hotel accommodation: Tokyo
11

Day 11

Breakfast at the hotel, check-out
Self-transfer to the airport
Departure