Upon arrival at Narita International Airport you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel where the rest of the day will be yours to spend at leisure.
Today you will take a full day private tour of the city with a local guide, travelling by public transport, as Tokyoites do, in order to help you to get a real feel for the Japan's capital. This will be a fantastic introduction to Tokyo and the chance to get a personal insight not only into the classic sights, but also into some more unusual and unique features of the city. With a guide at your disposal you are free to set the pace of the day to be as busy or relaxed as you choose. The guide can help you discover aspects of Tokyo that you would not find by yourself and can also help you get to grips with the city's excellent transport network. Your guide will come to your hotel at around 9:00 AM (or any time you choose) to meet you and your day will proceed from there. Rather than fix an itinerary in advance we like to give you the flexibility to see and do what takes your fancy. This means you will need to pay for your entrance fees on the day. We are keen to help you get the most out of today, so if you have any specific areas of interest please let us know in advance, so we can pass this on to the guide. Your day of guiding will finish at around 5:00 PM with the guide either dropping you back at your hotel or anywhere else in the city you wish to spend the evening
Optional Day Trip from Tokyo
Today you might like to make an excursion from Tokyo. The charming town of Kamakura lies just 1 hour to the west of Tokyo and can be reached by direct train from Shinjuku Station (890 yen each way). Kamakura was formally the capital of Japan for a short period in the 12th century and at that time was possibly the world's largest city with a population of over one million. Today however, it is a sleepy coastal town which attracts large numbers of day trippers to spend time exploring the beautiful shrines and temples. The most famous site if the impressive bronze daibutsu (big Buddha) which is certainly a must-see for any trip to Kamakura.
An alternative trip is to Nikko, located 2 hours to the north of Tokyo. There is one direct train from Shinjuku to Nikko a day which costs 1,890 yen each way. Nikko is not only surrounded by stunning scenery that makes up the national park, but is also home to the World Heritage site of the Tosho-gu Shrine. Nikko has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries and contains many important Buddhist and Shinto shrines and temples, but the most impressive and most famous is definitely Tosho-gu with its vivid colours and many ornate carvings. Once you have marvelled at Tosho-gu there are plenty more temples dotted throughout the surrounding forests that will keep you bewitched for a long time. Even higher up into the mountains from Nikko, it is very much worth visiting the serene Chuzenji-ko Lake and Kegon waterfalls. There are some pleasant walks around here and you may even pass some local monkeys!
If you find that after a while Tokyo's concrete and neon get you yearning for countryside, fresh air and scenery then you can do no better than a day trip out west to sacred Mount Takao (Takao-san in Japanese), part of a range of wooded mountains that form a natural boundary to Tokyo's urban sprawl and mark the start of the Chichibu-Tama National Park. After an easy train journey of just under an hour you will arrive at the base of the mountain from where numerous clearly-marked hiking trails (or a cable-car!) wind their way up to the summit. Many of the routes offer fine views back towards Tokyo and are dotted with small temples, religious statues and offerings increasing in number as the trails approach Yakuoin, an attractive temple dedicated to the 'kami' or spirits of the mountains. On a clear day you can also enjoy some great views of Mount Fuji. The hike to the summit of Takao-san can be done in 2-3 hours and is of only moderate difficulty. For those wanting a further challenge there are a number of more advanced hiking routes that head on from the summit of Mount Takao to other peaks deeper into the National Park. Again these are clearly marked and can be combined with the hike up Mount Takao to form a full day of more advanced hiking. Although popular with Japanese hikers,
The direct express train to Matsumoto leaves from Tokyo's Shinjuku Station (the world's busiest with nearly 3 million passengers a day passing through the ticket barriers). Journey time is in the region of 2 hours 30 minutes as the train takes you out through the suburbs of Tokyo before you reach the open countryside with paddy fields, rivers, lakes and of course, the steep-sided peaks of the Japanese Alps. If the weather is clear, be sure to keep an eye open for Mount Fuji from the left hand windows of the train as you travel through Tokyo's outer suburbs.
The journey from Matsumoto to Takayama is by express bus and will see you travelling high into the Japan Alps before making the long descent into Takayama. The journey is truly spectacular: The bus winds its way up the valley and along the river past huge dams and through seemingly endless tunnels whilst the dramatic peaks of the Alps rise skywards on either side. You will feel the temperature drop and your ears pop as the bus climbs to an altitude of almost 1500 metres before beginning the journey down. Every season paints a different picture; the icy landscapes of winter, the snow capped peaks of spring, the lush greens of summer and the blazing reds and oranges of autumn. Each provides a uniquely beautiful backdrop to this journey across the Alps.
Today you will have the opportunity to head deeper into rural Japan and take a cycling tour through the rice fields and rural farming villages of Hida. Your English speaking guide will take you on a 3.5 hour ride with the beautiful Hida Mountain Range as a back drop. As well as the rural scenery, the tour also visits a natural spring, a local temple, Minka (traditional wood farmhouses) and an orchard. In total you will be cycling a distance of 22km and you will get a real insight into country way of life, hopefully meeting a few residents of Hida along the way.
This is a group service so there may be other people on your tour but the maximum group size per guide is just 8 people. Bike hire and services of your guide are included in the price. There are a few steady inclines on this tour but there are short-cuts available!
Today we head via Nagoya to Kyoto
For today we have scheduled in a full day tour of the city by public transport with a private guide. Your guide will come to your accommodation at around 9:00 AM and take you on a tour that will encompass some of the more famous sights but also some lesser known places of interest. With a knowledgeable local by your side you will be set for a great day in this amazing city and are sure to discover things that you might otherwise miss. Please let us know in advance if there are any sights you particularly wish to see, or areas of interest you have, as we can pass this information on to the guide for you. Your day of guiding will finish at around 5:00 PM either back at your accommodation or anywhere else in the city you wish to spend the evening.
On these days you could use your rail pass to take day trips to Hiroshima, Nara, Himeji or Osaka
Today you will travel to Hakone National Park in the foothills of Mount Fuji. You will take the Shinkansen from Kyoto to Odawara Station, the gateway to the national park. Journey time is 2 hours 10 minutes.
Upon arrival at Hotel you will start using your 2 Day Hakone Freepass. The pass is valid for two days from today and entitles you to unlimited use of 6 different forms of transport in the Hakone region. These include the mountain buses and railway, one of the longest cable cars in Japan and a funicular railway as well as a pirate ship which cruises across Lake Ashi! These all criss-cross the region making it easy to explore and enjoy the surroundings as well as some of the many top quality art museums. The pass also gives you small discounts at many attractions in the area so be sure to show your pass when purchasing tickets. And of course, if you are lucky with the weather, you will be rewarded with stunning views of Mount Fuji.
Exploring the Hakone region is a lot of fun, with a great mix of scenery, culture and history. The classic circular sightseeing loop will take you around the major points of interest, including some great viewpoints for Mount Fuji (weather permitting!), the boat cruise on Lake Ashi, and the Hakone checkpoint, highlighting the region's important historical role. There are many excellent museums in Hakone, so you might like to step off the classic circular loop to visit some of these. The other major attraction is of course the hot-spring baths, so you may like to do as the Japanese do, and spend some (or all!) of the day soaking in the famous waters of Hakone.
Hakone
Today we head back to Tokyo for another 2 nights of the bright lights of Shinjuku.
Now it's time for something uniquely Japanese - Sumo is Japan’s national sport and a national obsession. To become a wrestler requires years of strict training at a heya, or stable as it is known in English. This is where the wrestlers eat, sleep and train. There are 47 stables in Tokyo today and a wrestler will stay with the same stable throughout his career. A fantastic way to learn more about the world of sumo is to watch the asageiko morning training session at one of the stables.
You will be met at your hotel around 7.45am this morning by an English speaking guide in order to join a group of up to 10 people to visit a stable and watch a training session. The guide will explain all about the sport and the strict etiquette for spectators watching the sumo wrestlers train so you'll avoid any faux pas! You will be able to see about 90 minutes of training. The tour includes transport by subway from your hotel and drop off at a subway station near the stable. Please note that flash photography is not allowed and you will need to be able to sit reasonably still for the full amount of time! No smoking, eating or drinking is allowed.
This morning you will be transferred from your hotel back to the airport for your flight home.
