Japan culture tour
| country: | Japan |
| departures: | 2008: 12 Oct, 5 Nov 2009: 25 Mar, 8 Apr, 13 May, 3 Jun, 15 Jul, 19 Aug, 13 Oct, 27 Nov |
| price: | From £1850 (14 days) excluding flights. We can help arrange flights from the UK. |
the amazing things you'll be doing
A superb introduction to the history and beauty of Japan. Imperial Kyoto and Nara - Obuse woodblock print museum - snow monkeys of Yudanaka hot spring - traditional merchants houses of Takayama - natural hot sand baths - accommodation in traditional ryokan - ultra-modern Tokyo.
In feudal times people travelling from Kyoto to Tokyo would use the Nakasendo - the road through the central mountains - one of a network of ancient highways. We will visit one of the best preserved sections, where the lovely villages of Tsumago and Magome have been immaculately restored.
In the Hida region, we will visit the castle town of Takayama, isolated by a barrage of mountains, and stay in a traditional ryokan.
There will be three days in Kyoto to explore the imperial city, and at Mount Koya there will be an overnight stay at a Buddhist temple with delicious vegetarian cuisine served by the monks.
With a maximum group size of 12, the trip is both more personal and memorable. Our tours draw upon our combined years' of experience travelling the length of the country. Each tour is lead by a qualified Japanese-speaking tour leader.
In feudal times people travelling from Kyoto to Tokyo would use the Nakasendo - the road through the central mountains - one of a network of ancient highways. We will visit one of the best preserved sections, where the lovely villages of Tsumago and Magome have been immaculately restored.
In the Hida region, we will visit the castle town of Takayama, isolated by a barrage of mountains, and stay in a traditional ryokan.
There will be three days in Kyoto to explore the imperial city, and at Mount Koya there will be an overnight stay at a Buddhist temple with delicious vegetarian cuisine served by the monks.
With a maximum group size of 12, the trip is both more personal and memorable. Our tours draw upon our combined years' of experience travelling the length of the country. Each tour is lead by a qualified Japanese-speaking tour leader.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Meet in Tokyo. Meet at Narita International Airport and transfer by train to Tokyo. Leisurely walk around central Tokyo . In the evening there will be a welcome dinner at a city restaurant. Overnight at city centre hotel. |
| Day 2: | Tokyo. Visit Asakusa, the old residential shitamachi neighbourhood around Yanaka, and take a cruise on a boat along the Sumida River to the Hamarikyu gardens. |
| Day 3: | Obuse & Yudanaka Onsen. Transfer to Obuse in Nagano Prefecture north-west of Tokyo. Visit the Hokusai-kan, woodblock print museum and Masuichi-Ichimura Saké Brewery. By road to Yudanaka Onsen, a hot spring village famous for its 'snow monkeys'. Overnight in traditional Japanese minshuku (travellers' inn). |
| Day 4: | Narai. Travel to the Kiso valley and the small town of Narai, an atmospheric example of a post-town on the ancient Nakasendo trail between Kyoto and Tokyo. Our accommodation will be an edo-period house converted into a minshuku (family-run travellers' inn). |
| Day 5: | Magome. Continue to Tsumago, another of the post-towns on the former Nakasendo trail. Visit the folk museum, with exhibits on the old Nakasendo trail and the village. Travel by local bus to Magome, in time to check in to our minshuku, a lovely family-run inn with an antique irori (sunken Japanese hearth) and a bath made of hinoki (Japanese cypress) wood. |
| Day 6-7: | Takayama. Transfer to Takayama in Gifu Prefecture. Explore the San-machi area with its rows of old merchant's houses, some open as museums. In the evening we will try the local Hida beef, and perhaps some locally-brewed saké. |
| Day 8-10: | Kyoto. We will leave the mountains today, travelling bus to Takayama, and then by train to Kyoto. We will spend two days exploring Kyoto and its many temples, including a walk through Gion, the traditional geisha quarters. |
| Day 11: | Nara. The ancient city of Nara , which preceded Kyoto as Japan's capital from 710 to 784, is one hour south of Kyoto by train. We will visit the old merchant district of Nara-machi with its narrow streets, shops, cafes and restaurants. Next we will visit Todai-ji temple, with its bronze statue of Buddha , said to be the largest wooden structure in the world. |
| Day 12: | Mount Koya. Transfer to Mount Koya, overnight at Buddhist temple. |
| Day 13: | Transfer to Tokyo. Return to Tokyo by shinkansen (bullet train). |
| Day 14: | Tour ends: Your tour leader will help you transfer to Tokyo's Narita Airport for your flight home. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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This tour is part of a new trend in rural tourism in Japan, supporting small, family-run inns and guesthouses, in small towns and villages that often have few work opportunities. Going against the traditional form of tourism in Japan, large concrete resort hotels catering to large groups, our tours go to destinations off the main tourist trail for foreigners in Japan, encouraging local people to conserve older, traditionally-constructed buildings and take pride in their traditions. We use public transport throughout this trip to lessen the environmental impact.
 The town of Obuse is a good example of an enlightened policy towards conservation and responsible tourism, where walking between the various restored buildings is encouraged and the local sake brewery is the first in Japan to reintroduce the traditional method of barrel-brewed sake. The presence of a Japanese-speaking foreign tour leader makes a big difference in cultural interaction, and lessens the possibility of minor cultural gaffes by foreigners that might otherwise create some nervousness on the part of the locals about hosting foreign guests. We also make a donation for each customer to the Nature Conservation Society of Japan and the Japan National Trust, organisations which help protect the nature and also architectural heritage of Japan. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |