2008 SPRING TOKAIDO ODYSSEY #3

Friday, April 4 (Day 01)
HONOLULU TO NARITA
Our tour commences this morning when we assemble at the Japan Airlines departure lobby at the airport for check-in procedures. We will depart Honolulu on Japan Airlines for Narita International Airport. Lunch and a snack will be served on board the flight.

Saturday, April 5 (Day 02)
NARITA - TOKYO (D)
We’ll arrive at Narita Airport in the afternoon and after completing entry and customs formalities, transfer to our hotel in Tokyo by chartered motorcoach. A dinner is planned for you this evening at the hotel.
 

Sunday, April 6 (Day 03)
TOKYO (B)(L)
After breakfast, we will embark on a full day of sightseeing in this exciting metropolitan city. We’ll visit Sensoji - also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple - Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple built for the goddess of Kannon. Enjoy strolling through the Nakamise shopping street with many shops offering typical Japanese souvenirs and various traditional local snacks located adjacent to the temple. We’ll enjoy a tour of the Edo-Tokyo Museum showcasing exhibits and artifacts relating to the historical heritage of Edo-Tokyo. The museum is divided into three major sections, the “Edo Zone”, the “Tokyo Zone” and the “History Zone” and at the entrance is a replica of the “Nihonbashi Bridge”. We’ll drive by Ginza, a world-renowned entertainment and shopping district and have fun shopping at Ameyokocho, a busy wholesale district with vendors selling a variety of food products and various merchandise at discounted prices. This evening, enjoy dinner on your own at one of the restaurants in the shopping mall adjacent to our hotel.
 

Monday, April 7 (Day 04)
TOKYO - HAKONE - FUJI FIVE LAKES - LAKE YAMANAKA (B)(D)
We’ll travel to Hakone - part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and famous for its volcanic hot springs and natural beauty. Enjoy a relaxing boat cruise on scenic Lake Ashino-ko with a breathtaking view of Mt. Fuji - Japan’s highest and most sacred mountain. (weather permitting). Hakone used to be an important checkpoint for the Old Tokaido Highway, the old road that linked the ancient capital - Kyoto to Edo (now known as Tokyo) during the Edo period. We’ll continue on to the scenic Fuji Five Lake region (Fuji-go-ko) located at the foot of Mt. Fuji in Yamanashi prefecture. We’ll spend the night at a beautiful hotel overlooking Lake Yamanaka, the largest of the Fuji Five Lakes offering a breathtaking view of the mountain. (weather permitting) Dinner will be provided for you this evening at the hotel.
 

Tuesday, April 8 (Day 05)
LAKE YAMANAKA - MT. FUJI - SHIZUOKA - NAGOYA (B)(D)
After breakfast, we’ll drive half-way up Mt. Fuji to the “go-go-me” (Fifth Station) to enjoy a breathtaking view of this sacred mountain and its surrounding valleys. (weather permitting) We’ll drive through the city of Shizuoka, the largest tea producing region in Japan and once home to the first Tokugawa Shogun Ieyasu. The scenery of Shizuoka prefecture includes a view of the Southern Japan Alps, a breathtaking view of Fuji-san and miles of scenic coastline along Suruga Bay and the Pacific Ocean. We’ll enjoy picking and eating some delicious strawberries at one of the strawberry orchards before we continue on to the castle town of Nagoya - capital of Aichi Prefecture - to spend the night. Dinner will be provided for you this evening.
 

Wednesday, April 9 (Day 06)
NAGOYA - BULLET TRAIN - KYOTO (B)(L)
Early this morning, you may want to stroll along the backstreets near our hotel to visit the Ichiba (morning market) with many indoor and outdoor vendors selling a variety of fresh and dried food products. We’ll travel to Toyota City to enjoy a guided tour of the Toyota Car Factory and observe the step-by-step process of automobile manufacturing. We’ll return to the Nagoya Train Station to board the shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto, the former capital of Japan. A delicious bento will be provided for you on board the train. On arrival at the Kyoto Station, we’ll transfer to our hotel to check in for the next two nights. The rest of the day will be at your leisure to explore some of the shops at the train station near the hotel. This evening, dinner will be on your own to try some Kyoto style cuisine at one of the restaurants in the city or at the train station.
 

Thursday, April 10 (Day 07)
KYOTO - NARA - KYOTO (B)(D)
We’ll travel to the ancient city of Nara to visit the Todai-ji Temple Complex, a magnificent Buddhist temple in Nara-koen - a park that is home for many sacred deer roaming freely about looking for handouts. The Daibutsu-den (Hall of the Great Buddha) is considered the largest wooden structure in the world and home to the Daibutsu, an enormous bronze statue of Buddha, perhaps the most famous sight in Nara. Within the hall is a large wooden pillar with a hole at its base and local tradition has it that those who pass through the opening will find their way to an afterlife of paradise. We’ll visit Kasuga Taisha Shrine, designated as a Unesco World Heritage Site with its hundreds of stone lanterns that line the approach-way to the shrine. This afternoon, we’ll return to Kyoto to visit some of the highlights of this traditional city. Enjoy a visit to Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion), a magnificent golden structure sitting on a lake providing a beautiful reflection in the calm waters. Enjoy a stroll through the magnificent gardens of Heian-jingu, a spacious garden with its large pond and Chinese-inspired bridge. Weather permitting, the cherry blossoms should be in bloom at this time of the year. Dinner will be provided for you this evening.
 

Friday, April 11 (Day 08)
KYOTO - AWAJI ISLAND - TOKUSHIMA (B)(D)
After breakfast, we’ll travel to Kobe and visit the Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum with exhibits and videos explaining the traditional sake brewing process. Samples of some of their delicious products will be provided for you to enjoy. We’ll continue on to cross the Akashi Kaikyo Ohashi, a bridge to Awaji Island - the inland sea’s largest island. Enjoy a performance of the Awaji Ningyo Joruri (Puppet Play) at the Awaji Puppet Theatre. The separate arts of puppet manipulation, gidayu narration and shamisen accompaniment blend together to present a dramatic performance of a tragic drama. We’ll travel on to cross the Naruto Ohashi, a bridge crossing the Naruto Channel. At each flow of the tide, currents rush through this narrow passage to form uzushio (whirlpools) of various sizes and we may be able to see some as we cross over this bridge. We’ll arrive at the prefecture of Tokushima on Shikoku Island in the afternoon and enjoy a performance of the famous Awa Odori, the pride of Tokushima at the Awa Odori Kaikan. Learn to dance and participate with the special “Awanokaze” dancers. Dinner will be provided for you this evening at the hotel.
 

Saturday, April 12 (Day 09)
TOKUSHIMA - TAKAMATSU - MATSUYAMA - DOGO ONSEN (B)(D)
This morning we’ll continue on to the castle town of Takamatsu and enjoy a stroll through the beautiful gardens of Ritsurin-koen, a park that is the city’s major landmark and once the summer retreat for the Lords of the Matsudaira family. This scenic garden follows a classical Japanese design featuring pine trees winding around a series of ponds, bridges and rock formations against the breathtaking evergreen backdrop of Mount Shiun. We’ll travel to Matsuyama, Shikoku’s largest city and capital of Ehime Prefecture to spend the night in Dogo, famous for its hot springs. We’ll spend the night at a ryokan located on the outskirts of Matsuyama. Dogo is noted for its magnificent old public baths and home to Dogo Onsen Honkan, the oldest wooden hot spring bath house in Japan. Enjoy dinner and relax in the hot springs at our ryokan this evening.
 

Sunday, April 13 (Day 10)
MATSUYAMA - SHIMA NAMI KAIDO - HIROSHIMA (B)(D)
Matsuyama is also noted for its deep-blue textiles called iyo-kasuri (indigo dyeing) and this morning we’ll visit the Iyo Kasuri Kaikan to see the process of producing this special fabric. We’ll also have the opportunity to browse through the shop to see some of their beautiful products available for purchase. We’ll depart Shikoku Island via the Shima Nami Kaido, a set of bridges connecting the many islands of the Seto Inland Sea to Honshu. Our drive will take us from Imabari in Shikoku through Onomichi, arriving in the city of Hiroshima in the early afternoon to spend the next two nights. Dinner will be provided for you this evening.
 

Monday, April 14 (Day 11)
HIROSHIMA - IWAKUNI - MIYAJIMA - HIROSHIMA (B)
This morning we’ll drive to Iwakuni and visit the famous Kintai-kyo (Brocade Sash Bridge), Iwakuni’s major attraction with its five linked arches forming a span across the river. We continue on to the pier for a short ferry ride to Miyajima Island and visit scenic Itsukushima-jinja, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a floating torii gate extending into the sea. The landscape, including the shrine is one of the most photographed tourist attraction and with the island’s Misen-san as a backdrop, is classified as one of Japan’s three most beautiful sights. This afternoon, we’ll return to the city of Hiroshima to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Park. Exhibits within the museum tells the story of the atomic bomb and the destruction it brought on Hiroshima and its people. The most poignant memorial in the Peace Memorial Park is the Children’s Peace Memorial, inspired by leukemia victim Sadako Sasaki and you will see thousands of paper cranes displayed there. Dinner will be on your own this evening. Try some delicious okonomiyaki, the specialty of Hiroshima at one of the local restaurants.
 

Tuesday, April 15 (Day 12)
HIROSHIMA - KURASHIKI - HIMEJI CASTLE - OSAKA (B)(D)
This morning, we’ll depart Hiroshima and continue our journey to the quaint little town of Kurashiki in Okayama Prefecture. Enjoy strolling through the picturesque Bikan-chiku (historic city district) with many old traditional buildings, storehouses and shops located along the willow lined canal. We’ll continue on to visit Himeji-jo, a castle located in Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture and one of the oldest surviving structures from medieval Japan. Considered one of Japan’s “Three Famous Castles”, Himeji-jo is also known as Shirasagi (White Egret) because of its brilliant white exterior. The castle frequently appears on Japanese television - “Abarenbo Shogun” and a scene of the castle was also used to film “The Last Samurai” starring Tom Cruise. We’ll arrive in the industrial city of Osaka in the late afternoon to check in for the night. Dinner will be provided for you at the hotel.
 

Wednesday, April 16 (Day 13)
OSAKA - KANSAI TO HONOLULU (B)
The day is free for your own activities in this exciting city at your leisure until our departure from the hotel in the afternoon to the Kansai International Airport. Our evening flight will arrive Honolulu in the morning on the same day due to the crossing of the International Dateline. A late dinner will be served on board the flight.

The tour price is based on double occupancy and a minimum group size of 20 passengers. Fare adjustment may apply for groups of 20 or under. The rate is based on tariffs and exchange rates effective 5/01/07 Tour fare is subject to change according to any airfare increase and fluctuation of the rate of exchange between U.S. and foreign currency. In the event of revaluation, the land portion of the tour price may be adjusted prior to your final statement.