14-Day Japan Wellness Tour

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14 days 13 nights

Price On Request

Upon arrival, you will be met at the airport by your tour guide who will escort you to your ryokan in Nikko. Tonight, enjoy a refreshing bath in an onsen hot spring and a dinner of traditional kaiseki cuisine.

Dinner

Kinugawa Onsen Hotel or similar class

Today, hike the marshlands of the Senjogahara Plateau, which stretches between Yumoto Onsen and Lake Chuzenji. In the spring and summer this region is verdant and lush, but autumn is the season most hikers love to see, when the fields burn to reddish tones, and the larch trees shine with golden leaves. Lake Chuzenji is similarly lovely in every season, though the fall foliage is especially stunning. From there, we go to admire the Kegon Waterfall - a spectacular waterfall pouring out from Lake Chuzenji down into a beautiful gorge covered in green trees that also change color in the fall.

Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Kinugawa Onsen Hotel or similar class

After breakfast, begin touring the UNESCO Heritage spots of Nikko with a trip to Rinnoji Temple, Nikko's foremost temple, containing three Buddhist statues that represent the three mountain deities of Nikko. We proceed from there to Toshogu Shrine - the palatial mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, where you can see carvings of the Three Wise Monkeys among the opulent decorations. Then proceed to Tamozawa Imperial Villa, in which the prestigious Tokugawa family once resided, later becoming a summer vacation house for the Imperial Family. The villa contains elements of both Edo period and early Meiji period architecture. After, we travel to Kusatsu Onsen and enjoy a relaxing evening at Hotel KurBio - a local wellness resort.

Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Hotel KurBio or similar class

Start off the day with a Morning Yoga Practice at the hotel, led by a professional yoga trainer. Then enjoy a local Nordic-style nature walk through the nearby phytoncide drifting forest. Phytoncides are organic compounds exuded by trees that are believed to be beneficial to the human body, and are often used in the practice of forest bathing and aromatherapy.

Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Hotel KurBio or similar class

After breakfast, we travel from Kusatsu Onsen to Tokyo, where we will first visit the Edo Tokyo Museum, which displays with both models and life-size displays what life was like for the common citizen during the Edo period. Next, travel to Asakusa Sensoji Temple, in Tokyo’s Asakusa district. Enter by way of the Kaminarimon “Thunder Gate”, underneath an enormous red paper lantern. Don’t forget to look up to see the dragon sculpture under the lantern! Walk through the Nakamise District – a street lined with shops selling traditional goods of all kinds, before approaching Sensoji Temple. Take some time to explore Tokyo’s oldest temple and shrine complex.

Breakfast

Tokyo Bay Shiomi Prince Hotel or similar class

After breakfast, we begin with a tour of Tsukiji Outer Market. This shopping street is filled with shops and restaurants where you can sample fresh produce and shop for other food-related goods. Next, learn how to create your own sushi with a professional sushi chef. Whatever you make, you will get to eat for lunch! Note: For the Sushi Making Experience, if you are a vegetarian, on a gluten-free diet, have a seafood allergy, or don't eat raw fish, please contact us for other ingredient options.

From there we will go to the Imperial Palace and see the beautiful East Garden. The grounds contain the ruins of Old Edo Castle, as well as a stately Japanese landscape garden. Enjoy the tranquil atmosphere of the Meiji Shrine, dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. This pristine nature spot is densely forested with over 350 types of trees, and is a place of calm amid turbulent Tokyo. While at the Nezu Museum, you can enjoy a collection of pre-modern Japanese and East Asian art that Nezu Kaichiro put together. After bombing in World War II destroyed some of the collection, Nezu Kaichiro’s son continued to add to it to ensure that his father’s collection remained impressive.

Breakfast / Lunch

Tokyo Bay Shiomi Prince Hotel or similar class

Today, if the weather is in our favor, we will travel to Mt. Fuji’s 5th station, the most popular and convenient spot to enjoy views of the iconic mountain. Next, we will visit Lake Kawaguchi, the most popular of the Fuji Five Lakes with the best views of the sacred mountain and autumn leaves during fall. Then, we will tour the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum and view the Tsujigahana silk dyed artworks of Itchiku Kubota, which includes dramatic scenes of Mount Fuji, his “Oceans” and “Universe” collections, and a continuous series of dyed kimono from his unfinished masterpiece “Symphony of Light.” After, we make our way to the hotel in Hakone for a relaxing evening.

Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Hakone Yumoto Onsen Tenseien or similar class

In the morning, discover breathtaking Hakone beginning with a cruise of Lake Ashi, where you can appreciate Hakone’s verdant natural scenery. From there, we travel to Owakudani, where you will have the chance to see roiling hot springs and sulfurous fumes along the trails of an active volcanic zone. Then enjoy a hike on the Hakone portion of the Old Tokaido Highway. The Eastern Sea Road (Tokaido) was, in its day, one of the greatest of the five walking routes connecting Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo), and you will be able to experience the Hakone portion, which still remains intact.

Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Hakone Yumoto Onsen Tenseien or similar class

In the morning, transfer to Odawara Station and travel to Nagoya by bullet train. Then transfer from Nagoya to Ise Shima. Upon arrival, you will have free leisure time to look around the idyllic Ise-shima area for the rest of the afternoon.

Breakfast / Dinner

Nemunosato Hotel & Resort or similar class

Rise to a Morning Yoga Practice in the pristine beauty of the Ise Shima area. After your yoga session, you are free to leisurely explore the Ise Shima area in the afternoon.

Breakfast / Dinner

Nemunosato Hotel & Resort or similar class

Today, begin with a tour of Ise Jingu Shrine. Ise Jingu enshrines the Shinto sun goddess, Amaterasu, and is considered the chief shrine of the Shinto religion. The chief buildings are Geku and Naiku, which, according to Shinto traditions symbolizing life, death, and rebirth, are rebuilt every 20 years. Oharaimachi has long been the traditional approach to Ise Jingu, and you will find it full of various shops and restaurants in old-fashioned buildings. After, we travel to Mikimoto Pearl Island, which contains a museum about the history of Japanese pearl cultivation and its founder, Mikimoto Kokichi. The facility also hosts daily shows featuring the Ama (literally "Sea Women"), who demonstrate their skill in pearl diving.

Breakfast / Lunch

Kyoto Tokyu Hotel or similar class

In the morning, we view one of Kyoto’s most coveted sights – the elegant Golden Pavilion. The temple’s shimmering golden walls can be seen reflected in the Mirror Pond below, but don’t miss the dainty phoenix ornament sitting on the roof! Then enjoy a tasty vegetarian lunch of Shojin Ryori, or "monks' food", which represents to Buddhist ideals of personal discipline and non-violence. Shojin Ryori involves mainly mountain plants and fresh seasonal vegetables, which means that vegans can also enjoy it! We then head to Arashiyama to visit Tenryuji Temple, a fascinating Zen Buddhist Temple with a gorgeous traditional Japanese landscape garden that has survived in its original state for centuries. Then proceed on a path through the nearby Bamboo Grove, where towering stalks create an almost otherworldly feeling of awe as you walk the pathway through the center. After, we travel to Nijo Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site from Japan’s feudal era, and elegant former residence of the Tokugawa shogun. The stately buildings and interior are well preserved – a prominent example of Edo-era castle palace architecture.

Breakfast / Lunch

Kyoto Tokyu Hotel or similar class

Today, we travel to Fushimi Inari Shrine – a shrine to Inari, the Shinto deity of agriculture and prosperity. This shrine is famed for its hundreds of bright vermillion “torii” gates that form a long pathway around the shrine’s forest landscape; a scene that was made world- famous by the film “Memoirs of a Geisha”. Try to spot as many statues of the fox – Inari’s sacred messengers – as you can while you explore the shrine grounds. We continue from there to Kiyomizu Temple, also known as the Temple of Pure Water, a celebrated landmark famed for its iconic three-story pagoda and large wooden stage which offers dramatic views of the city, bordered by gorgeous cherry and maple trees. A trio of streams pouring from the base of the main hall are each believed to offer a different blessing – finding fortune in love, living a long life, and having success at school. Then, we will travel to Kodaiji Temple, which is a lavish temple built in the memory of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Here, we can experience the time-honored Green Tea Ceremony, a ritual once afforded only to nobility. We can also learn Zen meditation, or “zazen”: a discipline practiced by Zen Buddhist monks to gain clarity of mind and insight into the nature of existence. We will end our day in the Gion Geisha District, a heritage district where stone-paved streets are lined with exclusive ochaya (teahouses). While admiring the old-fashioned buildings, the fortunate visitor may spot Geisha or Maiko (Geisha apprentices) walking between these establishments.

Breakfast / Dinner

Kyoto Tokyu Hotel or similar class

After breakfast, you are free for leisure until it is time to transfer to Osaka Kansai Airport for your departure. Thank you for traveling with AJT.

Breakfast