-Day 1 Overnight Flight to Tokyo
Day 2 Konichiwa Tokyo
Meet your tour director and check into hotel
Dinner
Day 3 Tokyo
Breakfast
Dinner
Details: Rikugien Garden visit
One of Tokyo's most beautiful, Japanese style landscape gardens, Rikugien is quite a spacious garden with a central pond, islands, forested areas, man-made hills, and several teahouses. It takes about an hour to cover the garden's whole network of walks paths at a leisurely speed.
Details: Meiji Shrine visit
View the Meiji Shrine, dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. Emperor Meiji was the first emperor of modern Japan, born in 1852 and ascending to the throne in 1868 at the peak of the Meiji Restoration when the power was switched from the feudal Tokugawa government to the emperor.
Details: Free Time in Harajuku and Omotesando
Explore Harajuku and Omotesando. Harajuku's Takeshita Dori (Street) is where Tokyo's trendy teens come to shop the fashion botiques and crepe stands. Nearby Omotesando is affectionately referred to as Tokyo's Champs Elysees, focused on the adults desire for name brand fashions and lovely restaurants.
Details: Roppongi District visit
Spend some time in the famous shopping streets of Roppongi Hills. In the midst of a depressed real estate market, some 15 years after the Japanese economy's bubble burst, Japan's leading developer Minoru Mori opened and succeeded with the Roppongi Hills Complex. While it is sprawling and somewhat unpredictable in its design, Roppongi Hills encourages wandering and exploration through a huge retail pot of gold that has helped bring the middle class back into central Tokyo.
Day 4 Tokyo
Breakfast
National Museum visit
Dinner
Details: Sensoji Temple visit
Explore the Sensoji Temple (also knows as Asakusa Kannon Temple) which is a Buddhist temple located in Asakusa, the center of Shitamachi. It is said that in the year 628, two brothers fishes a statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, out of the Sumida River. Even though they put the statue back in the river, it was returned to them. Consequently, Sensoji was build there for the goddess of Kannon. The temple was completed in 645, making it Tokyo's oldest temple.
Details: Akihabara Electric Town visit
Take a trip to the Akihabara district, a mecca for electronic goods and home to Japan's otaku (diehard fan) geek culture. Explore the thousands of shops dedicated to anime, manga and video games.
Details: Tokyo choir performance
Potential venues include (but not limited to): the Holy Resurrection Cathedral, the American Center Japan (US Embassy Tokyo), the Suginami Public Hall, the Hatoyama Hall, and the Tokyo College of Music. Subject to final confirmation.
Day 5 Tokyo--Hakone
Breakfast
Details: Travel to Hakone via train
Hakone is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, less than 100 km from Tokyo. Famous for hot springs, outdoor activities, natural beauty, and the view of nearby Mt. Fuji, Hakone is one of the most popular destinations among Japanese and international tourists looking for a break from Tokyo.
Day 6 Hakone--Hiroshima
Miyajima Park & Itsukushima shrine visit
Daishoin Temple visit
Details: Travel to Hiroshima via train
Hiroshima, a modern city on Japan’s Honshu Island, was largely destroyed by an atomic bomb during World War II. Today, it has been rebuilt and is a thriving city.
Day 7 Hiroshima--Kyoto
Travel to Kyoto by train via Himeji
Details: Peace Memorial Park visit
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, located in the center of Hiroshima City was built in its current location near the hypocenter of the atomic bombing during WWII on August 6, 1945. The park is home to many memorials and monuments, including the Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims.
Details: Himeji Castle visit
Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park is one of the most prominent features of the city. Even visitors not looking for the Peace Park will likely stumble upon the large park of over 120,000 square meters. Its trees, lawns, and walking paths are in stark contrast to the surrounding downtown area. Within the Peace Park is the Peace Memorial Museum, the museum surveys the history of Hiroshima and the advent of the nuclear bomb.
Day 8 Kyoto
Breakfast
Details: Sanjusangen-do temple visit
It is the popular name for Rengeo-in, a temple in eastern Kyoto which is famous for its 1001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. The temple was founded in 1164 and rebuilt a century later after the original structure had been destroyed in a fire.
Details: Kiyomizu Temple visit
Explore the Kiyomizu Temple, known as the Pure Water Temple, which is one of the most celebrated temples of Japan. Founded in 780, it stands in the wooded hills of eastern Kyoto and offers visitors fantastic views over the city from its famous wooden terrace.
Details: Kyoto choir performance
Potential venues include (but not limited to): the Heian Shrine, the Kyoto Station, the KBS Hall, and the Eiun-In temple in Kurodani Temple Complex. Subject to final confirmation.
Day 9 Kyoto
Breakfast
Kinkaku-ji temple (Golden Pavilion) visit
Details: Nijo Temple visit
The Nijo Temple, created to show off the wealth and power of the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Inside are painted screens considered to be Japanese masterpieces that are designed to impress.
Details: Ryoan-ji Temple visit
Explore the Ryoanji Temple containing the most famous rock garden in Japan.
Details: Kyoto choir performance
Potential venues include (but not limited to): the Heian Shrine, the Kyoto Station, the KBS Hall, and the Eiun-In temple in Kurodani Temple Complex. Subject to final confirmation.
Tour Includes:
- Round-trip airfare and other transportation described in the itinerary
- Accommodation in three- or four-star hotels in twin (or occasional triple) rooms with private facilities guaranteed throughout
- Plentiful daily breakfast to start the day energized and ready to go
- Appetizing, culturally representative, three-course dinner daily
- Full time, multilingual, WorldStrides tour director who is LEAP-trained in experiential education
- Local guide at sites and on city tours as described in the itinerary
- All of the venue arrangement fees and promotional costs for included concert performances
- LEAP! Learning through Exploration and Active Participation; trademarked immersive approach of learning by doing
- Entrances and transportation to sites and activities described in your itinerary
- Local guide and local bus driver tips; see note regarding other important tips
- Basic Medical, Dental, Emergency Evacuation Insurance during trip
- 24/7 On Tour Emergency Support
- Up to three college credits upon course completion (grades 9-12) or high school credit (grades 6-12)
- Note: On arrival day only dinner is provided; on departure day, only breakfast is provided
- Note: Tour cost does not include airline-imposed baggage fees, costs for rental, transport of instruments or music stands, any passport or visa fees, or tips for the Tour Director or multi-day bus drivers. Optional excursions, optional pre-paid tips, or other customizations will be listed as separate line items in the total trip cost, if included.
Loading...