Japan’s Cultural Tour: From Tokyo Thrills to Kyoto Tranquility

Board flight from Sudbury to Tokyo

4:55 PM               Arrive in Tokyo, meet your Evolve Tour Director after collecting your luggage, and board our private coach bus.

6:30 PM               Check in at our hotel

7:00 PM               After check-in at our hotel and time to freshen up, we will take head towards the city centre like locals do, using the subway.

7:30 PM               Enjoy a welcome dinner as a group in a traditional Japanese restaurant.

9:00PM                 Return to the hotel and make sure that we’re well-rested for tomorrow.

8:00 AM               Breakfast

9:00 AM               Head out for the first day of visit. Take the train to Ueno Station to pick up our Japan Rail passes.

10:00 AM            Pick up our Japan Rail passes. Take the train to Odaiba area of Tokyo.

12:00 PM             Visit three floors of attractions at Tokyo Joypolis.  Explore innovative activities, virtual reality simulators, and competitive arcade games.

2:30 PM               Visit the Miraikan National Museum of Emerging Science & Innovation and discover all of the innovative scientific devices and exhibitions.

Evening                Head to Tsukishima, a man-made island in Tokyo Bay, for free time to explore this unique Tokyo neighborhood. This area is well known for monjayaki, a pancake like dish with different ingredients such as seafood, meat and vegetables mixed into the batter (make sure to try the grasshoppers!).

7:30 PM               Enjoy a group welcome dinner at Kin no kura jr.

8:45 AM               After having breakfast, we’ll visit the most popular destinations near Ryogoku Station.

10:00AM              Stop by the Kokugikan Sumo Stadium museum, a sumo training center in Tokyo. Then, head to Tokyo Memorial Hall which will take us back in time to the Second World War, to learn about the war from a different perspective. We will head across the garden to the Great Kanto Earthquake Museum, where you can see historical documents about Japan’s earthquakes. The Kyu-Yasuda Teien Garden has a pond in the shape of the Japanese kanji “kokoro”, meaning “heart”. This beautiful garden was designed in the Meiji Period style, beginning as a Samurai Residence and being transformed into its final state in 1927.

Afternoon           Walk over to Asakusa to explore the Sensoji-Temple, one of Tokyo’s oldest, most popular, and beautiful temples.

We’ll also visit Nakamise, a 200-meter long shopping street leading from the outer gate all of the way to the second gate of the temple, called the Hozomon. Alongside typical Japanese souvenirs such as yukata and folding fans, various traditional local snacks from the Asakusa area are sold along the Nakamise.

6:00 PM               Sit down to a group dinner in Asakusa

7:00 PM               After dinner, head to Sky Tree to enjoy a stunning night view of Tokyo from 450 metres above. Weather permitting, we will be able to enjoy 360-degree panoramic view to distances of over 75km away.

7:00 AM               Enjoy breakfast at the hostel, before departing for the train station. We will take a high speed bullet train to Hiroshima. Running at the maximum speed of 320 km/h, Japan’s well-known high speed bullet train, the Shinkansen, will take us to our destination on time, comfortably, and safely. We will eat our packed lunch in the train.

Note: Our luggage will be picked up at the hotel and will be delivered directly to the hotel in Kyoto, so we won’t have access to them until March 12^th. Make sure you take with you a small backpack with clothes for 2 days.

2:00 PM               When we arrive, head out on public transportation to get to the city centre in an area with plenty of attractive options for everyone to try something new.

3:45 PM               Here we will participate in a Kendo Lesson; Kendo is a Japanese martial art, which descended from swordsmanship (kenjutsu) and uses bamboo swords (shinai) and protective armour (bōgu)

7:00 PM               Enjoy a group dinner and then evening exploration

9:00 AM               Today we will take a day trip to Miyajima, a small island located just off the coast of Hiroshima, and ranked one of Japan’s three best scenic spots. Wander along the walking trails on the “Island of Gods”, see wild deer and visit the Itsukushima Shrine. Itsukushima Shrine is a Shinto shrine, a UNESCO site and the most famous highlight on the island. Experience the “floating” shrine, and discover the history here reaching back to the 6th century when locals worshiped the island’s highest peak, Mount Misen. After a morning here, we will return to the mainland by ferry and head back to Hiroshima.

Afternoon           Arriving back in the city, we’ll enjoy lunch and then depart to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

This moving museum is educating visitors on the events of the atomic bombing that occurred in the area during World War II. Browse the exhibits, which in addition to historical events, focuses on the elimination of nuclear warfare, and promotes world peace.

7:00 PM               Enjoy a group dinner and then evening exploration.

8:30 PM               Return to the hostel and prepare to depart Osaka tomorrow morning.

7:30 AM               Wake up and eat breakfast at the hotel. We will then head to the train station. We say goodbye to Hiroshima and travel to Himeji and Kyoto via train.

9:00 AM               Arrive in Himeji. Meet with our local guide. Visit the Himeji castle, which is known as a National Treasure. This National Heritage Building, is one of the best castles in Japan and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Afternoon           We will climb Mount Shosha and visit the Engyoji temple while enjoying an incredible view on the interior sea of Japan.

We will travel to Kyoto via train and check in our Hotel.

9:30 AM               Visit the Nijo-jo Castle in central Kyoto, one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The castle was originally built in 1603 as the residence of the first shogun of the Edo Period, and is considering some of the best surviving castle palace architecture in Japan.

10:30 AM            Visit the Kyoto International Manga Museum! We will learn the history of Manga and see the collection of approximately 50,000 publications, starting from the 1970s and going right up to the present day.  The museum has an open access library system that spans 200 meters through the building called the “Wall of Manga”. This wall includes over 5,000 volumes translated into many languages.

Afternoon           Walk to Nishiki food market for lunch and free time

After lunch, we’ll head to one of the most celebrated temples of Japan, Kiyomizu-dera. It was founded in 780 on the site of the Otowa Waterfall in the wooded hills just east of Kyoto, and derives its name from the fall’s pure waters. In 1994, the temple was designated as a world heritage site by UNESCO. Kiyomizudera is best known for its wooden look-out point that juts out from its main hall, 13 meters above the hillside below. From this view point, we will be able to see the magnificent cherry and maple trees, which are best seen in spring and fall.

7:00 PM               Before dinner tonight, enjoy an evening performance of traditional Japanese arts, including a tea ceremony, music, dance and theatre.

8:00PM                 We’ll go to a local restaurant for dinner.

9:00PM                 Return to the hotel.

9:30 AM               First, we will head to the Instant Ramen Museum. Here, we will learn about another side of Japanese food culture with an audio guide. Instant noodles were invented in 1958 and have been developed in Japan by Nissin. Now, these convenient instant cup ramens are eaten around the world. Here we will have the opportunity to create an original and completely unique instant noodle cup from over 5,400 options of ingredients. We will even be able to customize the design of the cup itself and bring home our master creation to enjoy later. After we are done making our very own ramen cup, we will go to the Chicken Ramen Factory to make some noodles from scratch.  We will work as a team to put all of the ingredients together and learn the process of the delicious food from the very beginning.

Afternoon           We’ll eat lunch around the area and then we will visit the Osaka Aquarium.

7:00 PM               Visit the Dotonbori Shopping Town for a group dinner and shopping time. Note: Tour guide to give Shopping Boundary. We will go to the Okonomiyaki restaurant. Return to Kyoto by train.

9:00 AM               Start this morning with brilliant temple, Kinkakuji. Kinkakuji temple is a Zen temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf. Kinkakuji is an impressive structure built overlooking a large pond, and is the only building left from shogun Yoshimitsu. It has been burned down numerous times throughout its history including twice during the Onin War, a civil war that destroyed much of Kyoto; and once again more recently in 1950 when it was set on fire by a fanatic monk. The present structure was rebuilt in 1955. We will drop by a small tea garden outside the area. We will have a chance to enjoy a cup of real Japanese green tea.

Before we head to the restaurant for lunch, we continue with one of the most breathtaking Kyoto experiences, wandering through the Arashiyama Bamboo grove. We’ll walk along the paths through towering bamboo stalks that seem to continue on endlessly. Make sure to bring your camera too, as this is one of Kyoto’s most photographed locations for good reason.

Afternoon           Continue on to one of Kyoto’s most impressive sights, the Fushimi-Inari-Taisha Shrine. This massive complex consists of five shrines and is spread across the wooded hills of Inari-San Mountain. This is the head shrine for approximately 40,000 Inari shrines that can be found across Japan. Take our time to explore the site, which was dedicated in the 8th century to the gods of rice and sake.

7:30 PM               We’ll go to a local restaurant for dinner.

Morning               Enjoy breakfast at the hostel, pack our luggage and depart for Tokyo by high speed train.

12:30 PM             Arrive in Tokyo at the train station, where our private bus will be waiting to transfer us to the airport.

2:00 PM               Arrive at the airport.

Hop on our homebound flight.

Arrive home after an incredible trip to Japan!