2008 AUTUMN TOKAIDO ODYSSEY

Wednesday, October 29 (Day 01)
HONOLULU TO NARITA
Our tour commences this morning when we assemble at the Japan Airlines lobby at the airport for check-in procedures. We will depart Honolulu on Japan Airlines for Narita International Airport. A meal and a snack will be served on board the flight.

Thursday, October 30 (Day 02)
ARRIVE NARITA - TOKYO (D)
We’ll arrive Narita Airport in the afternoon and after completing entry and customs formalities, we’ll transfer to our hotel in Tokyo to spend the next two nights. A dinner is planned for you at the hotel this evening.
 

Friday, October 31 (Day 03)
TOKYO (B)(L)
After breakfast, we’ll 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 various souvenir shops at “Nakamise-dori”, a shopping street with many shops offering typical Japanese souvenirs and traditional local snacks located adjacent to the temple. Enjoy a tour of the Edo-Tokyo Museum showcasing exhibits and artifacts relating to the historical heritage of Edo-Tokyo. The museum is split into three major sections, the “Edo Zone”, the “Tokyo Zone”, 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 stroll through Ameyokocho, a busy wholesale district offering 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 the hotel.
 

Saturday, November 1 (Day 04)
TOKYO - HAKONE - FUJI FIVE LAKES – LAKE YAMANAKA (B)(D)
This morning we’ll travel to Hakone - part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and famous for its volcanic hot springs and natural beauty to spend the night. 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 was once 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) Enjoy dinner and relax in the hot springs this evening at the hotel.
 

Sunday, November 2 (Day 05)
LAKE YAMANAKA - MT. FUJI - SHIZUOKA - NAGOYA (B)(D)
This morning we will drive half-way up Mt. Fuji to the “go-go-me” (Fifth Station) to enjoy a spectacular view of Japan’s highest mountain and the surrounding valleys. (weather permitting) When it’s capped with snow, the view is like a breathtaking picture-postcard. We’ll travel 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 provides a beautiful 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 continue on to the castle town of Nagoya and capital of Aichi prefecture to spend the night. The people from Nagoya are famed for their displays of wealth, outrageously lavish weddings and love of pachinko (Japanese pinball). Time permitting, browse through some of the shops in the huge underground mall located near our hotel. Dinner will be provided for you this evening.
 

Monday, November 3 (Day 06)
NAGOYA - BULLET TRAIN - KYOTO (B)(L)
This morning enjoy a stroll through the Ichiba (street market) located on the back streets of our hotel with indoor and outdoor vendors offering a variety of dried and fresh food products and various other merchandise. We’ll travel to Toyota city to enjoy a guided tour of the Toyota Car Factory. Observe the fascinating process of automobile manufacturing as we watch workers assemble components to new cars on a moving assembly line. We’ll return to the Nagoya Train Station and experience a ride on the shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto, the former capital of Japan. A delicious box lunch will be provided for you to enjoy on board the train. On arrival in Kyoto, we’ll transfer to check into the hotel for the next two nights. The afternoon is at your leisure to explore some of the sights of this traditional city on your own. As an option, you may want to browse through the Kyoto Handicraft Center - a five story facility offering a wide selection of Japanese goods, souvenirs, handicrafts, works of art and more. Dinner will be on your own this evening. Try some of the Kyoto style cuisine at one of the local restaurants in the city or at the train station located near our hotel.
 

Tuesday, November 4 (Day 07)
KYOTO - NARA - KYOTO (B)(D)
We’ll travel to the ancient city of Nara, visiting the Todai-ji Temple Complex - a magnificent Buddhist temple in Nara-koen, a park that is home for many sacred deer roaming freely about. 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 said that those who pass through the opening will find their way to an afterlife paradise. We’ll visit Kasuga Taisha Shrine, designated as a Unesco World Heritage Site and noted for the hundreds of stone lanterns that line along the approach way to the shrine. This afternoon we’ll return to the city of Kyoto visiting Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion), a magnificent golden structure sitting at the edge of a lake providing a beautiful reflection in the calm waters. Enjoy a visit to Nijo-jo, a castle built as the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu. The castle is known for its ‘nightingale’ floors (floors that sing and squeak at every move) as a safeguard against intruders. Dinner will be provided for you this evening at the hotel.
 

Wednesday, November 5 (Day 08)
KYOTO - KOBE - AWAJI ISLAND - TOKUSHIMA (B)(D)
We’ll travel to the city of Kobe, visiting the Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum to observe the step-by-step sake making process on various videos and at the end of the tour, we’ll enjoy some samples of their products. We’ll continue on the Akashi Kaikyo Ohashi to Awaji Island, the inland sea’s largest island to 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 Shikoku Island, crossing the Naruto Channel on the Naruto Ohashi. At each flow of the tide, currents rush through this narrow passage of the Naruto-kaikyo to create uzushio (whirlpools) of various sizes and weather permitting, we may be able to see some as we cross over the bridge. We’ll arrive Tokushima on Shikoku Island and check into our hotel for the night. After dinner, enjoy a performance of the famous Awa Odori, the pride of Tokushima at the Awa Odori Kaikan. Learn to dance and participate with the “Awanokaze” dancers accompanied by the sounds of shamisen (three stringed guitars), taiko (drums) and fue (flutes).
 

Thursday, November 6 (Day 09)
TOKUSHIMA - TAKAMATSU - IMABARI (B)(D)
After breakfast, we’ll depart Tokushima and continue on to the castle town of Takamatsu to enjoy a stroll through the beautiful gardens of Ritsurin Park, 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 with a ‘borrowed scenery’ of Mount Shuin forming a backdrop to the garden. We’ll continue our drive to spend the night in Imabari, an industrial port city in Ehime prefecture. Dinner will be provided for you this evening.
 

Friday, November 7 (Day 10)
IMABARI - MATSUYAMA - SHIMA NAMI KAIDO - HIROSHIMA (B)(D)
Shikoku’s largest city, Matsuyama, is noted for its deep-blue textiles called iyo-kasuri (indigo dyeing) and this morning we’ll visit the Iyo Kasuri Kaikan to observe the process of producing this special (splash pattern) cotton fabric. We’ll have some time to browse through the shop to see some of their intricate merchandise 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 Hiroshima in the early afternoon where we will spend the next two nights. Dinner will be provided for you this evening.
 

Saturday, November 8 (Day 11)
HIROSHIMA - IWAKUNI - MIYAJIMA - HIROSHIMA (B)
After breakfast, we’ll travel to Iwakuni and visit “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 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, it 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. You may want to try okonomiyaki, the specialty of Hiroshima at one of the local restaurants.
 

Sunday, November 9 (Day 12)
HIROSHIMA - KURASHIKI - HIMEJI CASTLE - OSAKA (B)(D)
We’ll depart Hiroshima and continue our journey to visit 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. Our drive continues on to visit “Himeji-jo”, a castle located in Hyogo prefecture and one of the oldest surviving structures from medieval Japan. Considered one of Japan’s most magnificent castles, Himeji-jo is also known as Shirasagi (White Egret) because of its brilliant white exterior and frequently appears on the opening scene of “Abarenbo Shogun”. We’ll continue on to spend the evening in the industrial city of Osaka, arriving in the late afternoon. Dinner will be provided for you at the hotel.
 

Monday, November 10 (Day 13)
OSAKA - KANSAI TO HONOLULU (B)
You will have some free time at your leisure for your own activities or do some last minute shopping before we depart in the late afternoon for our evening flight home to Honolulu. We’ll arrive in the morning of the same day due to the crossing of the International Dateline. A meal 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 12/31/07. Tour fare is subject to change according to any airfare and government tax increase, additional fuel surcharges 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.