Day 1, 2 May 2024: Flight to Japan
Evening meeting at Athens & Thessaloniki airports and flight via Istanbul to Tokyo, the capital of Japan and one of the most populous cities in the world. Overnight on board.
Day 2, May 3, 2024.
Arrival at Haneda Airport. After formalities, collect luggage and meet your local guide. During the transfer to the hotel, you will receive initial information about the country and daily activities.
Day 3, May 4, 2024: Tokyo (Morning: City Tour, Afternoon: Free).
After breakfast you will start your Tokyo city tour, where you will see all the main sights of the metropolis, including Tokyo Tower, the Imperial Palace, Asakusa Sensoji Temple, and Nakamise, which is the most famous shopping street in the Asakusa area. The street runs for 250 meters along the main gate to Sensoji Temple and is lined on both sides with shops selling traditional souvenirs, snacks and sweets. Free time for lunch and the wonderful Ginza area, where the tour will end. Free time to explore the bustling markets, modern and traditional neighborhoods of downtown Tokyo. Don't miss to visit the famous Shibuya, the shopping center that never sleeps.
Day 4, May 5, 2024: Tokyo (Free day)
Breakfast and free day to continue exploring Tokyo. You may choose to visit one of its many museums, theme parks or shopping districts with countless options for sampling Japanese delicacies. Alternatively, we recommend the full-day excursion to the magnificent Nikko, where you'll cross the arched, red-arched Shin-kyo (Sacred Bridge) over the Daiya River and visit the Tosho-gu Shrine with its luxurious and elaborately decorated buildings. You will be impressed by the Pagoda, the Sacred Stave, the Sacred Warehouses, the Tower of Tympanum, the inner sanctuary of Hoden. It is worth seeing Lake Chusen-ji with its stunning mountainous background and the impressive 96-metre high Kegon Falls. Also an excellent excursion is a visit to Kamakura, one of Japan's most interesting and well-preserved medieval cities. The most important attraction is the Temple of the Great Buddha, the bronze statue which is 13 meters high and weighs 100 tons. It is one of the two largest bronze Buddha statues in Japan - the other can be found in Nara. Then visit the Temple of the goddess Kannon and walk along the picturesque Komachi-dori street with its old shops.
Day 6, May 7, 2024: KYOTO - NARA, city tour
After breakfast, meet your guide and transfer to Kyoto Central Station to board the Kintetsu Express train. Arrive in the holy city of Nara, the country's first capital. This is the birthplace of ikebana, the art of flowers and the melodrama "Noh". "Only after seeing Nara is one allowed to die" say the Japanese about the city that is home to the largest bronze statue of Buddha in the world, 16 meters high and weighing 550 tons. A symbol of peace are the thousand tame deer that roam freely in the city park around the Todai-ji temple you will visit next. The large complex is dominated by the pavilion housing the statue of the Buddha (Daibuchuddin), which took hundreds of tons of molten bronze, mercury and vegetable wax to cast. Over 3000 stone lanterns in the forest lead to the famous Kasuga shrine, which you will visit next. Return again by train to Kyoto, where you will have the opportunity to walk through the oldest part of the city with its famous "ochaya" (teyopotaya), through which you will get some insight into the customs and culture of the Japanese people in general.
Day 7, May 8, 2024: KYOTO (Free day)
After having your morning meal you will have the whole day free, where we suggest an afternoon walking tour, seeing the main sights of Kyoto, such as Kiyomizu and Kodaiji temples, Yasaka shrine, Gyeon Geisha quarter, bamboo forest, etc.
Alternatively and optionally, you could take a full-day guided tour of Osaka city. Osaka has many different names, such as the city of food, the city of merchants, the city of comedy, the city where the Shengoku period ended. Osaka is diverse, tolerant, with fun and adventurous people. That's why so many foreigners are fascinated by it. On the tour you will see the Osaka Castle Museum, Dotonbori, Kuromon Market, Tsutenkaku Tower, and Shitennoji Temple.
Day 8, May 9, 2024: KYOTO - Mount Fuji area
After our morning meal, handover of the rooms and transfer to the railway station of Kyoto. Board the fast train to reach the Mount Fuji region. With an altitude of 3,776 meters, Mount Fuji is the highest in Japan. Its near-perfect cone floats above the hills and low clouds. Until a hundred years ago Mount Fuji was considered so sacred that only priests and pilgrims climbed it, and it was off limits to women until 1872. The indigenous Ainu people were the first to name this mountain Fuji, giving it the name of the fire goddess Fuchi, and later Japanese retained both the name and the sacred character of the mountain. The Shintoists built worship temples here dedicated to the mountain goddess Shengen.
After an optional lunch, you will visit Sakwanosato Park and take the cable car to climb Mount Omuro. Transfer and check-in at the hotel. Dinner and overnight. Experience the ONSEN baths offered by your hotel.
Day 9, May 10, 2024: Mount Fuji area - TOKYO
After breakfast you continue with your guide to explore the Mount Fuji area. Transfer by road to Hakone, followed by a cruise on Lake Asinoco, which is the largest of all the local volcanic lakes. Mount Fuji is reflected in its waters, framed by a pattern of slender pine trees. It is followed by the Hakone Ropeway (cable car), famous for the magnificent scenery it offers to passengers on its floating "gondolas". In good weather, it is one of the best spots to admire Mount Fuji-san, while the rising sulphurous vapours from Owakudani's "great hell" create an unforgettable atmosphere. A little further down, at the cable car station between Togendai and Sounzan is the Owakudani hot springs valley. Owakudani is the area around the crater created during the last eruption of Kami, the highest mountain in Hakone. Here there are boiling springs, hot streams and erupting steam, and a sulfurous smell is everywhere. To avoid wasting the thermal energy of the boiling sulfur, locals have learned to boil chicken eggs in it. According to an ancient legend, an egg eaten in Owakudani gives one at least seven years of life. Free time to eat. In the afternoon we will visit the 5th Fuji Station, located on the side of Yamanashi Prefecture, which is the gateway to the summit of Mount Fuji.It offers a pleasant experience not only for climbers but also for tourists as a popular attraction. Transfer to Tokyo. Arrive late afternoon at the hotel and settle in the rooms.
Day 10, May 11, 2024: Tokyo
After breakfast, transfer to the airport and fly via a connecting flight to Athens or Thessaloniki.
Day 11, May 12, 2024: Arrival in Athens
Return back home full of wonderful images and memories.
