The Takayama Festival Tour takes you off the beaten track on a fascinating trip around Honshu, the main island of Japan.  Starting in the upbeat streets of Tokyo, we then head westward to Hakone where you can take in the stunning views of the sleeping giant - Mt.Fuji.  Take a boat trip on the slightly tacky, but nonetheless fun, Pirate ships on Lake Ashi before walking along a stretch of the fabled Tokaido Highway which was constructed during Japan’s long isolation.

Then we move on to the historical city of Takayama by bullet train where you can join the colourful celebrations in what is considered by many as the best festival in the country. 

Staying in the area you'll spend the following night in the quaint village of Ogimachi, before leaving the mountains behind to go to Kanazawa with its world-renowned

garden, Kenrokuen. 

From there you'll head south to the cultural hub of the country, Kyoto, where you'll be able to participate in the tea ceremony, watch maiko (apprentice geisha) dance and soak in nearby hot springs if you want to. 

The tour concludes back in Tokyo where you’ll be able to get some last minute shopping in and explore Shinjuku under the shadow of the skyscrapers.

This tour offers a variety of accommodation including a night in a 250 year old thatched roof farmhouse, as well as ryokan (traditional Japanese inns) and  western style business hotels.  You'll also have the opportunity to experience a number of local culinary delights, sights and customs rarely enjoyed with larger tour companies.

 

If you wish to split away from the group at anytime we'll give you a mobile phone so that if you get too lost, you'll have a lifeline to your Tour Leader.

2011 Tour Dates

Start Date	Finish Date	Price	Availability
11th April 2011 (Mon) Cherry Blossom Tour	22nd April 2011 (Fri)	-----	Full
6th October 2011 (Thu) Autumn Tour	17th Oct 2011 (Mon)	-----	Full

* The prices stated above are per person

2012 Tour Dates

Start Date	Finish Date	Price	Availability
11th April 2012 (Wed) Cherry Blossom Tour	22nd April 2012 (Sun)	£1,900	Full
6th October 2012 (Sat) Autumn Tour	17th Oct 2012 (Wed)	£1,900	6 Places Left

* The prices stated above are per person

Day	Highlights	Accommodation
Day 1	Group meal; Walking Tour of Shinjuku and Kabukicho.	Tokyo / Hotel
Day 2	Tsukiji Fish Market; Hakone; Museum; Hot Springs.	Hakone / Hotel
Day 3	Hell's Valley; Views of Mt.Fuji; Nature Walk; Lake Ashi; Old Tokaido Highway.	Hakone / Hotel
Day 4	Bullet Train; Takayama Festival.	Takayama / Hotel
Day 5	Takayama and Festival.	Takayama / Hotel
Day 6	Village of Shirakawa-go; Mountain foods; Hot Springs.	Ogimachi / Gassho-Zukuri*
Day 7	Open-Air Museum; Kanazawa; Kenrokuen Gardens; Geisha district.	Kanazawa / Hotel
Day 8	Eastern Kyoto; Kiyomizudera; Gion Geisha District; Cultural Show.	Kyoto / Ryokan**
Day 9	Ryoanji Zen Garden; Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) and Nijo Castle.	Kyoto / Ryokan**
Day 10	Tea Ceremony; Nara; Giant Buddha.	Kyoto / Ryokan**
Day 11	Morning free in Kyoto; Bullet Train to Tokyo	Tokyo / Hotel
Day 12	End of tour.  Narita Airport is only an hour from the city.  Alternatively, stay for a few extra nights! There is plenty more to see and do nearby.

* Gassho-Zukuri - Traditional thatched farmhouse unique to the Shirakawa-go area, it's a fantastic cultural experience.

** Ryokan- Traditional Japanese inn, sleeping on futons in rooms floored with tatami mats.

Notes

As with all our Small Group Tours we suggest arriving a night or two before the tour commences to help recover from any jetlag.  We will be pleased to arrange additional accommodation, meet you at the airport up to two days before the tour starts and give you any info and advice you might want for your extra days.

 

Daily breakdown

Day 1 - Tokyo

You'll be met at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport with a cheery smile and transfer to your hotel.  In the evening we'll host a meal at a local restaurant, there'll be something for all tastes and it'll be a great opportunity for everyone in the group to get to know each other.  Afterwards take a walking tour of the buzzing downtown area. 

 

Day 2 - Hakone (Mount Fuji) 箱根

Visit the Tsukiji Fish Market in the morning.

After breakfast we'll leave Tokyo giving us plenty of time in Hakone to visit one of the fabulous museums in the area. We would recommend the Open Air Museum featuring art by Henry Moore and Pablo Picasso and also the neighbouring Polo Museum with a collection including pieces by Van Gogh, Monet and Renoir. The Polo Museum building itself is an amazing piece of architecture.

If museums aren't your thing, feel free to explore the area yourself or simply head back to the ryokan to relax and soak in the revitalizing hot springs.

 

Day 3 - Hakone (Mount Fuji) 箱根

It's best to start the day early, taking the funicular and cable cars to Owakudani where we should enjoy picture-postcard views of Mount Fuji. From there you can take the cable car down the other side but you may choose the hour hike down to Lake Ashi. After lunch we'll board one of the pirate ships to take us across the lake and then walk along an original stretch of the Tokaido pathway over 400 years old. In the evening you'll be able to soak in the hot springs before dinner at the ryokan.

 

Day 4 - Takayama 高山

Today we'll board the Shinkansen (bullet train) and make our way to the ancient city of Takayama where the festival, which dates back to the 15th century, will be heating up.

Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed there are two Takayama Tours at different times, this is because there are two Takayama Festivals; one welcoming spring and the other celebrating the harvests.

Nature is an important element on both occasions. The Spring festival takes place amongst the delicate pinks and whites of the blooming cherry blossoms. In contrast the autumn festival is held following the harvests.

The highlight of both festivals is in the evening when colourful dashi (floats), are lead through the streets amid cheers and drums. There are a number of small rivers running through the old town and the parades will pass over the beautiful vermillion bridges that span them.

 

Day 5 - Takayama 高山

Explore more of Takayama today and enjoy the festive atmosphere as floats and parades weave their way through the old town.

 

Day 6 - Ogimachi

This morning we'll take the bus to the picturesque village of Ogimachi. Nestled deep in the mountains, it's an idyllic place with age-old traditions and architecture now lost to most of the country. You'll be spending the night in a gassho zukuri (a traditional thatched farm house) which is over 250 years old. The rooms are homely and you'll sleep on comfortable futons on tatami flooring. It's just how you'd imagine a Japanese house to be, this is the real thing!

You'll have plenty of time to stroll around the excellent open air museum and get a taste of the community spirit at the heart of this place. The local people here still work together in building and maintaining these magnificent houses, re-thatching them every 25 - 35 years.

In the evening you'll be served a home cooked meal made with food from the local mountains. Afterwards, there is a fantastic onsen (hot spring) nearby. If you've never been to an onsen before then this is a good one to start with. If you don't think onsen are your thing, (don't worry, they don't appeal to all) the farmhouse has its own private washing facilities.

 

Day 7 - Kanazawa 金沢

After breakfast and some free time to explore more of the village we'll get on the bus for Kanazawa, the second largest city after Kyoto lucky enough to have escaped the bombings of WW2. The hotel is close to the station and most of the town's main attractions, including the geisha districts, samurai houses, and the world famous Kenrokuen garden.

Kenrokuen is considered one of the best three gardens in Japan, but by many the best. Once the private gardens of the ruling samurai family, it took over 200 years to make. It is everything you would want from a Japanese garden with manicured trees, waterfalls, rock gardens and a teahouse by a tranquil pond.

 

Day 8 - Kyoto 京都

This morning we'll catch the train to Kyoto; the heart and soul of Japan. Here we'll visit the classic, must-see of Kiyomizudera (Kiyomizu Temple). It's a World Heritage site and people come from far and wide to wish for more or less everything here; from meeting their ideal lover and improving their relationships, to exam success and miraculous cures.

From there we'll walk down the atmospheric cobbled streets to Gion, the main remaining geisha district in the city, where, in the evening, you'll have the opportunity to attend a show that'll take you deep into the cultural heart of the country. It includes performances of Koto (Japanese harp), Gagaku (court music), Kyomai (maiko performing a traditional dance), Kado (flower arrangement) and Bunraku (puppet play). If you've ever wanted to dress up as a samurai or geisha today would be the perfect day.

 

Day 9 - Kyoto 京都

Today is steeped in beautiful sights, history, art and intrigue. We'll be visiting the three best World Heritage sites in Kyoto, each are very different and each help to tell the story of how we understand Japan today.

We'll start with Ryoanji with its iconic Zen Garden with 15 rocks set in a gravel void of fluid. Perhaps only the gods can see all 15, perhaps you can see all of them too as you contemplate the phrase "Ware tada taru shiru" (I only plenty know) carved into the water receptacle around at the back of the temple.

Next we'll see one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, Kinkakuji - the famous Golden Pavilion.

After a bit for lunch we'll go to Nijojo, Nijo Castle built by the Tokugawa shogunate as a symbol of power. It's a building full of national treasures and walking down the corridors on the "nightingale flooring" which sings as you tread can transfer you deep into the past of the feudal days.

 

Day 10 - Kyoto 京都

Today, the third day in Kyoto, you'll have the chance to participate in the traditional tea ceremony as it has been performed for generations by a tea house dating back to the Edo era.

Later, visit Nara with its park of hungry deer and home to the world's biggest wooden building Todai-ji, a World Heritage site, housing the 15m tall Buddha Vairocana dating back to the Nara Period over 1200 years ago.

Alternatively, as with on any day on the tour, feel free to take the day off from the set itinerary and go for a bit of shopping or on a personal adventure instead! We will be only too pleased to let you know of some of the lesser known secrets of the city, just as beautiful as the World Heritage sites, but free from crowds.

 

Day 11 - Tokyo

You'll have the morning free in Kyoto to get any last minute shopping or sightseeing in before heading back to Tokyo later on by bullet train.

 

Day 12 -  Journey's end

Sadly today is the last day of this unforgettable trip. Narita International Airport is about an hour away, alternatively, why not stay a couple of extra days?

 

Accommodation

 

Tokyo: Yaesu Terminal Hotel   Tel: (81) 03-3281-3771

Business hotel in central location

Breakfast included

Takayama: Takayama Central Hotel   Tel:  (81) 0577-35-1881

Relaxed hotel in a central location

Breakfast included

Ogimachi: Gensaku     Tel:  (81) 05769-61-176

Gassho zukuri, comfortable traditional farmhouse

Evening meal (traditional local foods) and breakfast included

Kanazawa: Garden Hotel Kanazawa.    Tel: (81) 07-6263-3333

Friendly hotel in a convenient location

Breakfast included

Kyoto: Towa Ryokan.    Tel:  (81) 075-371-5421

Refurbished ryokan in the heart of Kyoto

Breakfast included

 

Kanazawa Garden Hotel	Gensaku (Ogimachi)	Best Western Hotel
Ryokan Towa, Kyoto	Yaesu Terminal Hotel, Tokyo	View from Quatro

Please note that the accommodation above is standard for the Takayama Tour and is at times subject to change to a similar or better hotel.

All hotels have been selected with location and comfort in mind.

Flexibility

 

The itineraries in our tours are flexible, and do vary occasionally, sometimes due to weather or ongoing events such as festivals which guests may want to see.

In addition if there is something else you’d like to do or see on your trip please mention this to your Tour Leader and we’ll try our best to include it.

Transportation

 

As with all our tours we use the extremely efficient, clean, safe and reliable public transportation network. - It's the most efficient way to get around, and by far it's the best way to experience the country and its people.

 

Baggage Forwarding

 

If you bring too much luggage with you, or buy too many souvenirs during the tour; we can easily arrange to forward your belongings from hotel to hotel. The service is cheap and reliable.

Minimum Numbers

 

The minimum number of customers on the Takayama Tour is two as we believe it’s unfair to cancel tours when larger numbers are not met.

Single Supplement

 

Because the group size is kept to a maximum of 8, we have to charge a single supplement of £ 250 if you are travelling alone.  For this you'll be ensured to have a room to yourself for the entirity of the tour.

 

What's Included?

• All accommodation (11 nights). Accommodation is chosen with convenience and comfort in mind.
• All transportation from city to city including the bullet train is covered by your 14 Day JR Pass. Most local transport will also be covered by the pass.
• Transfer from the airport to the hotel on the first day, the departing transfer will also be covered if it's within 14 days of arrival. 
• Guide and support for the entirety of the tour.
• Breakfast every morning.
• Group meal on Day 1, Dinner on Day 2,3 and 6 (traditional local cuisine).
• 100% financial protection through the TTA.

What's Not Included?

• Meals, except for the ones stated above.
• Because of the flexibility of the tours some local transport within the cities (buses and subway, and taxis if you choose to use) are not included.
• Entrance fees into shrines, temples and museums, working out to be around Y0 - Y1000 per day
• Travel Insurance.
• Flights to and from Japan!

Feel free to drop us a line and we'll be happy to help with any queries or advice.