June 15 - 23, 2010
Price: $3050.00
(based on double occupancy)

Tour Includes:
• Tour Escort from Hawaii
• Hotel Accommodations as indicated
• Airfare from Honolulu to Japan roundtrip
• Ground Transportation as indicated in itinerary
• Daily Breakfast and One Dinner
• Admission to all sights, attractions, and tours as indicated by itinerary

A morning flight takes us from Honolulu to Tokyo.

We arrive in Tokyo in the afternoon.  Upon arrival we will pass through immigration and customs.  From there we will head to our hotel for our stay in Tokyo.  The evening is free to relax.

We begin our introduction of Japan with a city tour of Tokyo.  Our first stop will be the famous Tokyo Tower.  Built as an homage to Paris’ Eiffel Tower, it has played an important role as a radio and television antenna, as well as being featured in numerous Japanese films.  From there we head to Oedo Museum, which is dedicated to the city of Tokyo from its time as the Tokugawa capital through its transition as the Imperial capital under the Meiji Emperor.  We will end the morning with a visit to Tsukiji Jyogai Ichiba, Tokyo's famous fish market.

Our first stop will be to Ueno, where Japan's oldest zoo and a number of museums are located.  Here we will be visiting Ameyoko-cho, a food wholesale district.  Following the end of World War Two, this area was a black market for a wide variety of goods.  Over the years it has evolved into its current state.  From there we will head to Akihabara, Tokyo's electric town.  Here you will find the latest in electronics as well as everything related to Japanese Animation.

We will also visit Roppongi Hills, an area that hints at what a future Tokyo may look like.  Here you will find a beautiful garden, art museum, movie theaters and many stores.  The center piece is the Mori Tower, a 54 story building, that houses a shopping complex, businesses, apartments, and an art museum.

Today we head out to Hakone to see Mt. Fuji.  It is held in high regard due to its symmetry, so much so that mountains throughout Japan that share a similar quality are known as local Mt. Fuji's.  We will go up Mt. Fuji and enjoy the view.  We will also take a short cruise to get to Mt. Komagatake to get a nice view of Mt. Fuji.

We leave Japan's capital city for Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital city.  To get there we will enjoy a ride on one of Japan's trains through Japan's countryside.  Once we arrive we will visit Kinkakuji and Nijo Castle.  Nijo Castle served as the Tokugawa residence in Kyoto.  Its most famous feature is the nightingale floors that served as a security measure alerting the inhabitants of intruders.  From there we go to the Kinkakuji, built by the third Ashikaga Shogun as his retirement home.  After his death it became a Zen temple.  Its outer walls are covered in gold leaf and was originally built in the early 14th century. 

In the morning we will visit Toji Temple to see its famous flea market that is held every 21st of the month in honor of Kobo Daishi.  In the afternoon, we will head down to Himeji to see its famous castle.  The White Heron Castle is one of Japan’s three most famous castles.  Despite having been bombed at the end of the second World War, Himeji Castle has remained remarkably well preserved and stands as an example of Japanese castle construction from the early 17th century.

Today we head down south for Hiroshima and Miyajima.  Our first stop will be in Hiroshima to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.  Opened in 1955, this museum is dedicated to the end of war and the use of nuclear weapons.  The museum has exhibits on the events surrounding the dropping of the atomic bomb, as well as the after effects.  Nearby we can visit the Children’s Peace Monument, a statue of a girl based on Sadako Sasaki and her one thousand cranes.

From there we will go to Miyajima, where we will visit Itsukushima Shrine.  This shrine is noted for its gate or Torii that when the tide is in, seems to float on water.  The Torii is one of Japan’s most iconic sites.

On our last day, we will visit Nara, Japan's capital before Kyoto.  There we will visit Todaiji, Nara Deer Park, and Osaka Castle.  Todaiji has the world’s largest wooden structure and houses a bronze great Buddha along with several other large statues.  In order to approach the temple you must pass through Deer Park, where deer, regarded as messengers of the gods, roam freely.  These deer are much better behaved than those on Miyajima.  From there we will visit Osaka Castle, the stronghold of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of Japan's three unifiers.

Before we head to the airport, we will stop at a local shopping center.  An evening flight will return us to Hawaii.