Tokaido Highway Self Guided

You will be welcomed at Tokyo’s Narita Airport by a Samurai Tours representative who will help you with your rail pass exchange, obtain your limousine bus ticket into Tokyo, and assist with boarding the bus to your hotel in Tokyo. No meals included.

Travel: 1 1/2 Hours

After breakfast the licensed, English-speaking guide will meet you in the lobby of your accommodations. The guided tour will start with traveling to Tokyo Tower. The Tokyo Tower is a communications and observation tower in the center of Tokyo. At 332.9 meters (1,092 ft) it is the second tallest structure in Japan. The structure is an Eiffel Tower-inspired lattice tower, with a main observatory at 150 meters that is reached via elevator or a 600-step staircase. Thanks to the tower’s central location, the observatory offers an interesting view of the city despite being only at a relatively moderate height. We will then travel to the famous Ginza district, the most expensive real estate in the world. Ginza is recognized by many as one of the most luxurious shopping districts in the world, attracting visitors and regulars alike from across the globe. Before continuing we will stop for a delicious lunch of Kushiage (fried meat and vegetables on bamboo skewers). Next, we will travel to the nearby Asakusa area. Here we will tour the Nakamise-dori, Senso-ji Buddhist Temple, and the Asakusa Shrine where you will learn about Buddhist and Shinto Japanese religious practices. The guide will either escort you back to your hotel, or give you directions for how to travel back on your own if you would like to stay in Asakusa longer. Breakfast at the hotel and lunch at a local restaurant included.

Travel: 1 Hour

Today is free to explore Tokyo on your own. Go shopping for that perfect souvenir, visit the Meiji Shrine dedicated to the Japanese emperor of the 19th century, or wander through the trendy Shibuya or Harajuku districts where you will more than likely see interesting and far-out fashions. Breakfast is included.

Travel: N/A

Before checking out you will transfer your main luggage Kyoto, and will be traveling to Hakone and Kyoto with an overnight bag only. You will make a stop in Hakone Yumoto today on your way to Kyoto. The Tokaido Highway ran through the Hakone area during the Edo period giving travelers a beautiful view of nearby Mt. Fuji (weather permitting). You can stop at Owakudani which offers magnificent views of Mount Fuji in what is still an active volcanic region. We also recommend exploring the thermally-heated pools and mud pots while enjoying the famous “black eggs” which have been hard-boiled in the thermally-heated mineral waters (it is said that eating one of these eggs will add seven years to your life). After enjoying all that Hakone has to offer, you will travel by local train and Shinkansen to Kyoto. Breakfast at the hotel included.

Travel: 3 Hours

After breakfast, we recommend starting the day at the Nijo Castle. Built in 1603, it was the Kyoto home of Tokugawa Ieayasu, the first Tokugawa Shogun. The ostentatious style of construction was intended as a demonstration of Ieyasu’s prestige, and to signal the demise of the emperor’s power. The finest artists of the day filled the castle with delicate transom woodcarvings and paintings by the Kano School on sliding doors. One of the castle’s most intriguing features is the so-called “nightingale” floors. To protect the Shogun from real or imagined enemies, these floorboards creak when stepped on. Next, you can visit Kinkaku-ji. Kinkaku-ji, also known as the Golden Pavilion, is one of Kyoto’s most recognizable attractions. The gleaming building covered in gold leaf seems to float on the aptly named Mirror Pond, especially on a sunny day. We suggest spending some time in Nishiki Koji. Nishiki Koji is a narrow, five block long shopping street lined with more than one hundred shops and restaurants. Known as “Kyoto’s Kitchen”, this lively retail market specializes in all things food related such as fresh seafood, produce, knives and cookware, and is a great place to find seasonal foods and Kyoto specialties. You will also have the opportunity to participate in an authentic tea ceremony, as there is a tea house on almost every street in Kyoto. The regimented discipline of the tea ceremony has been practiced for more than 400 years, and at one time was considered mandatory for Samurai as an aid to train the mind. You will retrieve your main luggage from the hotel in the afternoon. Breakfast at the hotel included.

Travel:N/A

Today is free to explore areas that you missed yesterday. We recommend taking a train to the nearby city of Fushimi, one of the largest sake producing regions of Japan. Here you can visit the Fushimi Inari Shrine which was established in the 8th century. It is famous for the long tunnels of vermilion torii gates straddling a network of trails leading to the top of the heavily forested Mt. Inari. You can then travel to the Higashiyama District filled with narrow, cobblestone alleys, or visit the Yasaka Shrine, also known as the Gion Shrine. This shrine, built over 1350 years ago, is one of the most famous shrines in Kyoto. The shrine’s main hall combines the honden (inner sanctuary) and haiden (offering hall) into a single building. From here you can walk to the famous Gion Geisha District where you can see where the Geiko (in Kyoto they call themselves Geiko, not Geisha) and Maiko live and work. You may even see one on their way to one of their appointments. Breakfast at the hotel included.

Travel: N/A

It’s time to say “sayonara” (goodbye) to Japan. You will take the express train to the Kansai International Airport, just outside Osaka where you will catch your flight home. Breakfast at the hotel included.

Travel: 1 Hour