Japan Scout

On arrival at Tokyo Narita or Haneda Airport, you will be greeted by our local, accredited, English-speaking guide, who will assist you with the transfer by limousine bus to your hotel. The remainder of the day is at your leisure.

Today enjoy a full-day tour of Tokyo at your leisure by using local public transportation. We recommend a visit to the Hamarikyu Garden where seawater ponds change with the tides. A traditional teahouse on the island offers visitors a resting place to enjoy the scenery. This traditional green oasis stands in stark contrast to the surrounding skyscrapers of the adjacent Shiodome district. Additionally, we recommend a visit to Asukasa and the Sensoji Temple, a very popular and colourful Buddhist temple. It is one of Tokyo’s most colourful and popular temples. Legend has it that in the year 628, two brothers fished a statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, out of the Sumida River, and even though they put the statue back into the river, it always returned to them. Consequently, Sensoji was built nearby for the goddess of Kannon. No visit to Tokyo would be complete without checking out the shops! Take a walk along Nakamise Street, lined with boutiques, souvenir shops and street food outlets. Your final recommended stop should be the spacious Meiji Shrine.

This morning, after breakfast, you will proceed to Tokyo Station on your own, where you will take the bullet train to Toyama. Upon arrival, you will proceed to your hotel yourself and check in. Toyama is a coastal city on Japan’s main island, Honshu. In the centre is Toyama Castle Park, a restored castle dating to the 1500s. Additionally, it has several small museums of history and art. The nearby Toyama Glass Art Museum displays striking contemporary works. Rakusui-tei is an art museum in a traditional home with a formal garden. On the Fugan Canal, Kansui Park offers views of the distant Tateyama mountains. We recommend a visit to Takaoka. Takaoka’s emblematic Great Buddha is one of Japan’s three Great Buddha statues, alongside the one at Nara’s Todaiji Temple and the Kamakura Daibutsu. The statue was completed in 1933 after three decades of work, utilizing local bronze casting techniques. 

Today we recommend you use the bullet train to visit Kanazawa. Kanazawa is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, known for well-preserved Edo-era districts, art museums and regional handicrafts. Kenrokuen Garden, begun in the 17th century, is celebrated for its classic landscape designs incorporating ponds and streams. Adjacent Kanazawa Castle was built in the 1580s, after the defeat of the Peasant’s Kingdom, Japan’s only Buddhist fiefdom.
Return to Toyama in the evening.

This morning, after breakfast, proceed to Toyama Station on your own, where you will take the express train to Takayama. Enjoy a full day of sightseeing in Takayama, before you proceed by express train to Nagoya. The narrow streets of Takayama’s Sanmachi Suji historic district are lined with wooden merchants’ houses dating to the Edo Period, along with many small museums. On arrival in Nagoya, check in to your hotel and enjoy some time at leisure or venture out on your own to discover the town. The city’s Naka ward is home to museums and pachinko parlours (gambling machines). Naka also includes the Sakae entertainment district, with attractions like the Sky-Boat Ferris Wheel, which is attached to a mall. In northern Naka, you will find Nagoya Castle, a partly reconstructed 1612 royal home displaying Edo-era artifacts.

Today enjoy a self-guided tour of Nagoya. We recommend a visit to the Futami Okitama Shrine, located in a phenomenal location with a fantastic view of the ocean. The shrine is extremely popular as it is believed to bring good luck in matchmaking and marital harmony.
Meoto Iwa has become a classic Ise destination. The two rocks of Meoto Iwa are tied together by large shimenawa, giving the appearance that they are close companions.

After breakfast, check out of your hotel, and we suggest a sightseeing tour in Nagoya or Inuyama or a visit to the Nagashima Spa land. On conclusion of your visit, proceed to the train station and take the bullet train to Kyoto. On arrival, enjoy the hotel or venture out on your own to discover the city. Kyoto is famous for its numerous classical Buddhist temples, as well as gardens, imperial palaces, Shinto shrines and traditional wooden houses. It’s also known for formal traditions such as kaiseki dining, consisting of multiple courses of precise dishes, and geisha, female entertainers often found in the Gion district.

Enjoy the day in Kyoto at your leisure.

This morning you can choose to train back to Tokyo or enjoy some touring in Hakone on the way. If you choose Hakone, take the express train to Hakone-Yumoto. The train ride will take approximately four hours. Explore the beautiful Fuji Hakone Izu. This national park is home to incredible scenery, including the famous Mount Fuji. Sit back and soak in the natural scenery of Lake Ashi on the Pirate Cruise Ship. From here, you will get wonderful views and photos of Mount Fuji. You can also use the cable car known as the Hakone Ropeway, which gives you the chance to glide through the skies, looking down on the Japanese countryside. Disembark in Owakudani – an active volcanic zone of sulphurous fumes, hot springs and rivers. On the day’s completion, take the bullet train to Tokyo.

Enjoy your final few hours in Tokyo before you check out of the hotel and make your way by public transport to either Haneda or Narita International Airport for your onward flight.