Pure Japan

Experience the way locals eat and drink in Tokyo. With your host and any other small group members, head to 3 very different but authentic izakaya (Japanese-style gastro pubs). First visit Ebisu, known for Izakaya and named after its famous beer “Yebisu”. Try a variety of food and drinks that local Japanese people eat on a daily basis, including yakitori grilled chicken skewers, draft beer, sashimi, Japanese cocktails, fried noodles, plum wine and more! After eating and drinking to your heart’s content, finish the tour with Japanese sweets. From salty foods and refreshing drinks to pleasantly sweet desserts, you’re sure to find yourself full and satisfied after this tour!

Your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel in the morning and head off to Kawagoe, famous for its old storehouse merchant buildings. Strolling through the warehouse district will make you feel as if you have travelled back in time and are walking down the streets of old Edo (the former name of Tokyo), which is why Kawagoe is also known as “Little Edo.”

Take the vintage loop bus to Kitain Temple. Founded in 830, it is one of the most important temples of the Tendaishu school of Buddhism in Eastern Japan. When the temple burnt down in 1638, the shogun ordered several buildings of the Edo Castle to be moved to Kitain, to help with the rebuilding of the temple. Because the Edo Castle was destroyed afterwards, the palace buildings at Kitain temple are the only surviving buildings of the former Edo Castle. Another highlight are the 500 Statues of Rakan. Actually, there are 540 of these statues, representing the disciples of the Buddha, each with its own facial expression.

Next, head to Honmaru Goten, built in 1848, it is the only surviving building of the former Kawagoe Castle. Kawagoe’s crucial role as a trade city and a strategic point of defence north of the capital, made this castle very important. The spacious tatami rooms of Honmaru Goten were used to receive feudal lords, when they came to visit. Imagine how it must have been more than 150 years ago when samurai met in these rooms to control the fate of the country.

Then, visit Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine, also known as a matchmaking shrine. People who seek love come here to pray. Enter through the 15 metres tall orange torii gate, walk through the tunnel of ema, wooden plates with the wishes of worshippers written on them, listen to the relaxing wind chimes in summer and discover the ancient trees on the grounds of the shrine, some of which are older than 600 years.

After visiting Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine, make a short walk to the warehouse district. Kawagoe used to be an important commercial town, supplying various goods to Edo and many of the merchant warehouses survive to this day. The beautiful chimes of the bell tower are designated as one of the “100 Best Sound Sceneries in Japan.” Kashiya Yokocho is a little stone-paved shopping street lined with stores that sell traditional Japanese sweets. Here you can discover all kinds of traditional Japanese sweets, like cakes made of red bean paste and sweet potatoes, rice crackers and karinto (sugar coated, deep fried cookies), but also modern candies and ice-cream.

Leave the frenzy of the city behind and take the Odakyu Limited Express train from Shinjuku into the mountainous Hakone National Park. Spend the day exploring the park with your included Hakone Transport Pass and drift on a pirate ship across the three thousand year-old Lake Ashi or catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji as you ride the ropeway above the boiling valley of Owakudani. 

Finally, return to your traditional ryokan inn, for a relaxing soak in your onsen, or hot spring bath. Get transported to the Edo period by sliding screen doors and tatami mats before tucking into your traditional Japanese dinner.

Enjoy the rest day on your own leisure!

You are free to explore Hakone National Park independently today, using the mountain railway, cable cars, ropeways, ships across Lake Ashi and local buses. The Hakone Free Pass is valid on all except a few of the buses, for which drivers can advise you when you board. If dinner is arranged at your accommodation this evening, please make sure you get back in good time.

Make your own way to Odawara Station using your Hakone Free Pass.

Take one last soak in the onsen before continuing your journey to the ancient capital of Kyoto. Travel by Shinkansen at speeds of up to 300km/hr and covering the 430km distance to Kyoto in approximately 2 hours from Odawara station. This refined city is home to an array of World Heritage Sites, spectacular gardens and beautiful vistas.

On arrival in Kyoto, the rest of your day is free. An easy trip to make is Fushimi Inari Shrine, only two stops and 5 minutes from Kyoto Station on the JR Nara Line. Fushimi Inari Shrine, which was used in the movie Memoirs of a Geisha, is home to over 10,000 red tori gates. They form a path up the mountain behind the temple making a spectacular place for photos.

Explore the Gion district of Kyoto in the most local way you can; in a traditional Kimono! 

Choose from a beautiful selection of over 200 Kimonos and Yukatas, before being styled and fitted by the experts. Observe how different you feel in Japan’s most exquisite dress and encounter appreciative and inquisitive locals as you stroll the streets of Gion. This area has retained a very traditional style, so it is the perfect place to try out wearing a Kimono for the first time. The pictures you take on this tour will be unlike any other from your trip and the memory of Gion district will be unforgettable.

*Note: From the middle of June to the beginning of September, summer Yukatas are provided instead of Kimonos. Kimono/Yukata Rental is for a full day and items must be returned by 7.30pm*

Your guide will meet you to take you to visit two beautiful and iconic UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Ginkakuji and Kiyomizudera.

Begin with Ginkakuji, also known as the Silver Pavilion, a Zen temple with a beautiful moss garden and a unique dry sand garden. Then, take a walk on the Philosopher’s Path, a pleasant stone path through the northern part of Kyoto’s Higashiyama district, which follows a canal lined by hundreds of cherry trees.

Next make a stop at Yasaka Shrine where you will have your own lunch break. Founded over 1350 years ago, the shrine connects the Geisha District of Gion with the beautiful Higashiyama Temple District. Walk through Higashiyama to partake in a Japanese Tea Ceremony called Sao or Cha-no-yu which has more than 400 years of history. The tea ceremony is conducted in the decorated rooms of a traditional house. You will then have some free time to explore Ninenzaka which is a preserved area with restored shop houses where you can imagine what Kyoto looked like before modernity descended.

Next you will visit Kodaiji Temple. Established in 1606 and belonging to the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, the lavish main buildings and richly decorated interiors are surrounded by beautiful Zen gardens. You will also see two tea houses set amidst the gardens and a small bamboo grove. Finally, move on to Kiyomizudera, to admire the temple’s panoramic views of Kyoto from the 13 metres high veranda

Enjoy a full day of leisure to further explore Kyoto, with over 2000 temples and shrines there is always more to see and adventure.

Today is a free day and there are no services organised

Travel by Limited Express Train from Kyoto to Kashikojima which takes about 3 hours to cover 195km

Upon arriving at the station, you will be transferred by complimentary shuttle to your hotel and enjoy the rest of your stay in Ise-Shima

You’re free to explore Ise-Shima on your own, to see the sights and sounds of this intriguing area!

This morning, you will be transferred by complimentary shuttle from your hotel to Kashikojima Station. Travel by Limited Express Train from Kashikojima to Nagoya, then by Shinkansen to Tokyo.

The journey will take you 4h 15 min

Meet our representative at the lobby of your hotel, pick-up time will be confirmed beforehand. Enjoy a convenient, hassle-free private transfer in a comfortable air-conditioned vehicle to Haneda International Airport.