Excursion «Winter in the Japanese Alps (No flights 2023-2024)»

Day 1 (Sun): Arrival in Tokyo.
Arrival in Tokyo. Meeting by a Japanese driver at the airport. Group transfer to the hotel.
Check-in after 16:00 (early check-in on request and for an additional fee).

Optional, for an additional fee: Excursion "Evening Tokyo" by public transport 17:00-
22:00.
Attention: the excursion is not available for tourists arriving later than 13:30!

Day 2 (Mon): Excursion “Tokyo Yesterday and Today” (09:00 - 18:00).
At 09:00, meet the guide in the hotel lobby.
Type of transport: public (if the number of participants is more than 10 people - replacement with a custom one).
Inspection: the historical building of the Tokyo station, the central square of skyscrapers
Marunouchi, the external imperial garden, the Nijubashi bridge.
Lunch at a local restaurant.
Transfer to the historical district of Asakusa. Visit to the Senso-ji Buddhist Temple.
Walk around the Asakusa area. Here you can buy traditional souvenirs and
Japanese delicacies on the Nakamise-dori shopping street.
Participation in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony– the master of the ceremony conducts a
demonstration of
tea preparation, then guests are given the opportunity to try
make
real matcha tea.
Boarding from the pier in Asakusa, transfer to a modern shopping and entertainment
Odaiba district, located on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay.
Walk around Odaiba, photo stop at the Statue of Liberty and the 18-meter Gundam robot.
At 18:00 return to the hotel.

Day 3 (Tue): Free day in Tokyo
Free day in Tokyo.
 
Optional, for an additional fee: Sightseeing tour “Tokyo Traditions” by public transport

Day 4 (Wed): Excursion to Odawara and Hakone. Transfer to Osaka.
Check out from the hotel with things.
08:00 Meeting with the guide. Transfer to the Fuji-Hakone area. Things to the storage room at
Odawara station (pay on the spot yourself)
Type of transport: public (if the number of participants is more than 10 people - change to a custom one).
Visit to the mini-museum of traditional wooden mosaic boxes of Hakone Yosegi and store at the museum. Absolutely all boxes are made by hand from local wood species, the intricate patterns and
Japanese sophistication of which are known throughout Japan.
12:00 Lunch at a local restaurant (Japanese cuisine).
13:30 Visit to a natural mineral spring onsen . Hot baths inside the ryokan and in
the fresh air will allow you to experience the delights of a traditional Japanese holiday.
If you wish, instead of visiting the onsen, you can take a ride on the cable car (pay on the spot
on your own)
Attention, people with tattoos are not allowed to visit the onsen.
 Due to weather conditions, Mount Fuji may not be visible.< br>15:05 Walk along Lake Ashi on a stylized pirate ship, from which you can
enjoy the picturesque landscape.
18:07 Seeing off for the train at Odawara station.
Independent transfer to Kyoto on the Shinkansen bullet train .
Independent check-in at the hotel in Kyoto.

Day 5 (Thurs): Sightseeing tour of Kyoto (09:00 - 17:00)

09:00 Meeting with the guide.
Type of transport: chartered.
Sightseeing tour of the city of Kyoto, which was the center of Japanese civilization for
thousands of years. Here are some of Japan's most popular attractions,
many of which are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Visit to the world famous Golden Pavilion – Kinkakuji. In the garden of the pavilion
there is a pond “Mirror Lake”. The reflection of the Golden Pavilion in the waters of the pond creates a truly amazing sight.
Visit to Ryoanji Temple, famous for its garden of 15 stones. Its mysterious beauty
evokes various associations. 
Next, a visit to Nijo Castle, famous for the “nightingales”. floors. The floors in the castle are mounted in such a way that it is impossible to step on it without creating noise. The creaking sound of the floors resembles the singing of birds, which is why it got its name.
13:30 Lunch at a local restaurant (buffet).
Visit to the Kiyomizu-dera temple, the main pavilion of which stands on high wooden
stilts on the hillside. A walk along the historical street of the Higashiyama district – iconic views
of the ancient capital and the most popular view from Instagram.
17:00 Return to the hotel.

Day 6 (Fri): Free day
Free day.
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Optional, for an additional fee: Excursion to Osaka and Nara (09:30 - 16:30) by public transport.

Day 7 (Sat): Excursion “Historical Village of Shirakawago and “Pearl of Edo” - Takayama

07:30 Check out from the hotel with things.
08:09-10:25 Independent transfer to Kanazawa using travel cards. Meeting with the guide on
the platform next to the train.
Type of transport: chartered transport.
Transfer to Shirakawa-go, inspection of the village of traditional Japanese architecture, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The village received this status thanks to the unique
house structures called gassho-zukuri and resembling
palms folded for prayer.
Moving to the traditional town of Takayama,  there are souvenir and craft shops,
galleries , museums, cafes and even sake factories that are already a hundred years old.
Here you will visit an exhibition of festival palanquins that are carried around the city during
the Takayama festival, one of the most beautiful in Japan along with the Gion Matsuri in< br>Kyoto.
Check-in at the ryokan in Takayama. Dinner at the ryokan

Day 8 (Sun): Excursion around Kanazawa

Check out from the hotel with your belongings.
09:00 Meeting with the guide in the hotel lobby. Moving to Kanazawa
Type of transport: chartered transport (*substitution for public transport is possible)
Visit to Kenrokuen Garden – “The garden of six virtues.” You will have the opportunity to admire
one of the three most beautiful landscape gardens in Japan – a vast territory, a touch of antiquity, a peaceful flow of water and an amazing landscape. This is a true masterpiece of Japanese gardening
art. 
Next you will have lunch at a local restaurant.
Master class on making sticks coated with gold leaf – You can
keep a souvenir for yourself as a memory of the trip.
Then, a walk through the historical district of Higashichaya-machi and a visit to a tea house, where
you can drink a cup of green tea with Japanese sweets for an extra charge on the spot.
18 :00 Farewell to the train in Nagano
Independent transfer and check-in at a hotel in Nagano.

Day 9 (Mon): Excursion to the monkeys in the Jigokudani Valley.

Check out from the hotel. Things in the storage room
09:00 Meeting with the guide in the hotel lobby.
Type of transport: chartered
Visit to the famous Jigokudani Valley, where in winter Japanese macaques love to bathe in hot
baths. This spectacle invariably attracts many guests and photography enthusiasts.
Then you will visit Zenkoji Temple – the main attraction of Nagano and an important place for
pilgrimage.
16:00 Return for things and seeing off at Nagano station for the train to Tokyo.
Independent transfer by shinkansen and check-in at a hotel in Tokyo.

Day 10 (Tue): Completion of the tour.

Check out from the hotel before 10:00. Meeting with driver. Group transfer to the airport.

Cancellation without penalty is possible if the tour is canceled at least 15 days before arrival;

●       if the tour is canceled 15-7 days before arrival – fine 30% of the tour cost;

●       if the tour is canceled 7-2 days in advance – fine 50% of the tour cost;

●       if the tour is canceled 1 day before arrival or on the start day of the tour – penalty 100%.

Air travel is not included in the tour price

Attention:

• group transfer reservation is guaranteed 15 days before arrival, in case of later booking
  can be replaced with an individual transfer with an additional charge of $80/person one way
• group transfer booking is possible for departure and arrival flights from 8 am to 20:30 pm, for other
  flights an additional payment for individual transfer is required in the amount of $80/person one way
•   in case of change of flight details after confirmation of booking, a surcharge for
  re-booking in the amount of 30 USD/person will be charged
• in case of change of flight details less than 15 days before arrival, in addition to the payment for
  re-booking (30 USD/person), an additional payment for an individual transfer may be required in the amount of
  80 USD/person
• When changing flights, please note that Tokyo has two airports - Haneda and Narita, located
  60-90 minutes from each other.