Transport

Transfers throughout: Reserved Seats on Express Trains Reserved Seats on Shinkansen (bullet trains) Local buses/trains/subways/taxi’s (depending on group size) or; Private Vehicles Domestic Flight We do not include the international flights into Japan so please arrange these yourselves.

Accommodation

11 nights in Boutique & 5* Western-style hotels and 2 nights in a luxurious Japanese-style ryokan (with hot spring baths and kaiseki evening meals)

Flights

Domestic flight from Matsue to Tokyo is included. International flights are NOT included.

Meals

Breakfast daily, 2 Lunches and 5 evening meals

Guide

English speaking tour guides and Japanese Garden Experts in each place you visit - Tokyo, Kamakura, Kyoto, Naoshima, Hiroshima, & Matsue. When 6 or more are in the group you will be escorted by our English-speaking tour leader. If your group is less than 6 people, you will be doing the tour on a semi-escorted basis (Met in each area by our local assistants and guides).

Others

Cultural Experiences: Tokyo city sightseeing, Ginza Department Store, World Heritage Temples in Kyoto, bullet-train journeys, multiple award-winning Japanese Garden visits, Authentic Tea Ceremony, Adachi Museum of Art, Izumo Taisha Shrine, Naoshima Art Island, Hiroshima & Miyajima World Heritage sites, and the coastal historic area of Kamakura. Arrival & Departure Airport Transfers Baggage Courier Service when using bullet trains Entrance Fees: Included into all sights listed on itinerary Comprehensive Travel Pack Local Emergency Contact All Taxes & Accommodation Surcharges Fixed Price Policy Maximum 12 on any group No Hidden Costs!!

Not included:

Others

International Flights [Arrange own flights into and out of Tokyo’s Haneda or Narita Airports – Always check the arrival date on your flight e.g. if flying from Europe/US, you will arrive into Tokyo the following day (depending on airline you use)] Meals other than those specified in itinerary. Generally, you can expect to pay 2,500 yen plus for lunches and anything from 5,000 yen plus for your evening meals. Beverages consumed at any meal (Water served freely) Guide or Driver Gratuity – can be arranged among your group (Optional)

Insurance

Travel Insurance must be taken out separately.

Start planning your experience

Day 1 Arrive In Tokyo (2 Nights)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Arrive In Tokyo (2 Nights)

Arrive into one of Tokyo’s International Airports (Haneda or Narita). Met by transfer staff on arrival and taken to your Tokyo hotel. You will have free time in Tokyo until tour orientation that evening, where you will meet the rest of the group. Enjoy a welcome dinner at nearby restaurant in a beautiful setting.

Accommodation: Park Prince Tower Hotel (5*) or similar
Day 2 Tokyo City Sightseeing With Our Local Guide
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Tokyo City Sightseeing With Our Local Guide

Today you will travel around Tokyo like locals with our expert local guide. Begin with a visit to Hamariyku Garden and the famous Tsukiji fish market where you can explore the market and surrounds and sample some of the freshest sashimi imaginable. Continue on after lunch to one of the most popular shrines in all of Japan, Meiji Jingu. Close to Yoyogi and Harajuku, Meiji Shrine is an oasis of calm, cloistered away at the center of an evergreen forest of 120,000 trees of 365 different species. Finish up at Shibuya’s iconic ‘Scramble Crossing’, where you can watch the waves of people passing through this famous junction, or join in the throng yourself.
Day 3 Kamakura
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Kamakura

Kamakura is a haven of tranquillity, home to many secluded temples and shrines.

Engakuji is one of the leading Zen temples in Japan and the second most important of Kamakura’s five great Zen temples. Built into the slopes of Kita-Kamakura’s forested hills and surrounded by maple trees. Enjoy stunning views out over Kamakura Bay.

Sea breezes lift the air as you glance up to the tender smile of an enormous statue to the Great Buddha at Kotokuin Temple who sits in the sun since the 13th century. At 11.3 meters tall it is the second tallest bronze Buddha in Japan, complete with 1.8 meter long straw sandals.

Walk the wooden paths and lush grounds of Hasedera Temple home to an 11-headed wooden statue of Kannon. Make a wish at a shrine, view relics, texts, and places of prayer, then explore a cave filled with Buddhist scriptures.

Overnight in a luxurious marina hotel, located in Zushi, an area used by many of Tokyo’s elite to escape the craziness of the metropolitan city. Riviera Zushi can be described as Zen-on-the-sea. Dinner included over-looking Enoshima Island and if you’re lucky, Mt Fuji views.
Day 4 Gardens And Cultural Kyoto
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Gardens And Cultural Kyoto

Zoom into Kyoto by bullet train to discover the heart and soul of traditional Japan. In your own time start to explore one of 17 phenomenal UNESCO World Heritage sites.

At first glance, grid-like Kyoto may seem like any city with neon and concrete. Discerning eyes will soon source some treasures. Kyoto’s charm lies in these details with sacred shrines tucked in among shopping arcades, time-honoured teahouses nestling among modern businesses and mysterious geisha scuttling down backstreets among the tourists and souvenirs.

Maiko (trainee Geisha) offer their delightful company over some tea in the Gion district. In the evening explore the narrow streets of Pontocho and Gion through the eyes of a local.

Enjoy spending time at a contemporary and traditional hotel.

Accommodation: Kyoto Kanra Hotel (Boutique 4*)
Day 5 Kyoto Sightseeing With Our Local Guide
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Kyoto Sightseeing With Our Local Guide

Our local guide really brings to life the history and culture of Japan’s ancient capital, providing great insight into special the character of this unique city.

Exploring Kyoto is wonderful at all times though some seasons bring out the best of particular places.

    In April, see Toji and Haradani gardens blooms with Sakura cherry blossoms.

    In May, Shoren-in-mon-ato is filled with Azelia and blue maple. April is also a time for special access to the interior of Toji Pagoda.

    In September Japanese bush clover can be seen at Nazenji and Keage incline.

    In mid-November Autumn colours blaze at Saimyoji and Takao.

Some highlights:

    Forest Bathing (Shinrin Yoku) in the Bamboo Forest, Kyoto
Day 6 Kyoto At Leisure
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Kyoto At Leisure

Enjoy some time out to explore your Kyoto! You may chose to browse and shop around Nishiki Market, Teramachi street for lacquer ware, beautiful Japanese brushes and stationary, or some local world class Green Tea.

Self-guided day trip options (Pay locally):

1) Explore more of Kyoto’s Cultural Treasures (Kinkakuji Temple – Golden Pavilion, Kiyomizu Temple, Niji Castle, etc)

2) Himeji Castle & Koko-en Garden day trip

3) Day trip to historical Nara park

4) Day trip to Osaka city
Day 7 Train & Private Boat To Naoshima Island Via Himeji Castle
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Train & Private Boat To Naoshima Island Via Himeji Castle

Travel by private boats to experience Naoshima Island with the beautiful backdrop of natural ecology as a setting for contemporary art and architecture. Dine at Benesse House and stay overnight on the impressive Art Island. Explore the highlights and more beyond at Benesse house Museum, Lee Ufan Museum, Chichu Art Museum, and the Art House Project.

Naoshima could easily be another pretty but forgotten island in the Seto Inland Sea scraping a living from fishing. However, a unique art project has given Naoshima its deserved global reputation. Naoshima is home to a large collection of contemporary art galleries, exhibits and installations which offer a tour de force of architectural expression integrating art and the natural environment. Two of the main galleries, the Chichu Art Museum and Benesse House, were designed by the world-famous architect Tadao Ando and feature works by Claude Monet, Walter de Maria, James Turrell, Andy Warhol, Richard Long and Bruce Nauman among others. Distances between the main art sites are small and the picturesque island can be explored on foot or by bike.

Accommodation: Benesse Art-Site (Boutique, One-of-a-kind)
Day 8 From Art Island To Historical Hiroshima
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

From Art Island To Historical Hiroshima

Arrive to Hiroshima on time to explore the cities many food markets and shopping districts.

At the “City of Water” Hiroshima has abundant historical sites with impressive architecture. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is a moving tribute to the victims of the atomic bomb and a site dedicated to world peace.

Miyajima Island, located just off the coast of Hiroshima, is one of Japan’s most loved places with a charming rural atmosphere to match the beautiful surroundings. The island is perhaps best known for the red Torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine which appears to be floating in the sea.

Visit the celebrated Itsukushima Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Shukkeien Garden & Hiroshima Castle are optional & time permitting.

Accommodation: Hiroshima Sheraton Hotel (or similar 5*)
Day 9 Matsue - Arts, Gardens, Literature
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Matsue - Arts, Gardens, Literature

Matsue, located in rural Shimane, is Japan’s best kept secret. So much so, in fact, that popular cartoon character Yoshida-kun frequently quips that no one in Japan can find Shimane on a map, even though the area is known as the birthplace of Japan and the home of the gods.

En route to Matsue, you will visit Sandankyo Gorge (20 min trail through the Gorge) & Izumo Taisha Shrine (time permitting), one of the Shinto religion’s oldest and most sacred sites.

Other highlights include a delicious traditional kaiseki dinner at your ryokan.

Accommodation: Minamikan Ryokan (or similar)
Day 10 Matsue’S Award Winning Adachi Museum
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Matsue’S Award Winning Adachi Museum

On your guided day of Matsue, you will visit Yuushi-en garden on Daikonshima island, a traditional walk-through garden with carp-filled ponds, streams and waterfalls. In springtime you can expect to see the famous peonies. Then the Horikawa Sightseeing Boat offers a fascinating and unique perspective of Matsue Castle and the old-town area through its moat and canal network. Get a real sense of the atmosphere of this old castle town by walking along Shiomi Nawate street parallel to the moat. You won’t want to miss the finely preserved buke yashiki or samurai residence. There are only twelve original castle structures remaining in Japan and Matsue Castle is one of the finest examples of these Edo Period feudal strongholds, having survived for over 400 years. In the evening you will enjoy another sumptuous kaiseki dinner at your ryokan.

Accommodation: Minamikan Ryokan (or similar）
Day 11 Yuushi-En Garden And Daikonshima Island Before Flight Back To Tokyo
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Yuushi-En Garden And Daikonshima Island Before Flight Back To Tokyo

This morning you are in for a real treat. After your ryokan breakfast, you will visit Yuushi-en garden on Daikonshima island, a traditional walk-through garden with carp-filled ponds, streams and waterfalls. In springtime you can expect to see the famous peonies.

In the afternoon you will travel to the airport for an internal flight back to Tokyo.

Accommodation: Park Hotel (Artist Room) (or similar)
Day 12 Farewell Tokyo
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Farewell Tokyo

Have a final day of leisure in Tokyo now to spend in the city as you like. Of course, you can discuss options and sample day itineraries with our travel consultants before departure and our group tour leader during your trip. As Tokyo has literally something for everyone, the challenge will not be finding something to do, but rather choosing between the many great options.

Accommodation: Park Hotel (Artist Room) (or similar)

14 days tour

Gardens And Galleries Of Japan

This tour includes:

Not included:

Start planning your experience

Itinerary of your trip Gardens And Galleries Of Japan

Arrive In Tokyo (2 Nights)

Tokyo City Sightseeing With Our Local Guide

Kamakura

Gardens And Cultural Kyoto

Kyoto Sightseeing With Our Local Guide

Kyoto At Leisure

Train & Private Boat To Naoshima Island Via Himeji Castle

From Art Island To Historical Hiroshima

Matsue - Arts, Gardens, Literature

Matsue’S Award Winning Adachi Museum

Yuushi-En Garden And Daikonshima Island Before Flight Back To Tokyo

Farewell Tokyo

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