Make the ultimate trip to Japan, where you live in a ryokan and temples, among other places. The trip takes you to the best places in Japan, both in your own rental car and by train so you can enjoy the freedom and travel at your own pace. See discount hotels in Japan on ehotelat.
Go on an adventure in Japan with all accommodation and transport included. After three nights in Tokyo, pick up your rental car and head to Kawaguchiko, where you will stay at a ryokan inn overlooking Mount Fuji. From Kawaguchiko, the journey continues to the Kiso Valley. Here you will spend the next few days exploring beautiful wooden houses from the Edo period and going on life-giving hiking tours in the beautiful countryside. From Tsumago you drive to the sacred mountain Koya where you stay two nights in temples. Here you can experience Buddhist monks and prayer ceremonies in scenic areas. The next stop is Kyoto, where you drop off your car. The former capital is home to perhaps the country’s largest cultural treasures. Kyoto is a central part of every visit to Japan and offers some of Japan’s most magnificent and centuries – old temples. From Kyoto you can go on a day trip to Osaka, a true gastronomic mecca. You continue by train to Hiroshima, the city that was subjected to the first atomic bomb in 1945 and which has since worked for peace and for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Here you explore the city on your own for the next three days before continuing by train to Fukuoka, where you have one night before heading home to Scandinavia.
Day 1: Departure Scandinavia
Departure from Scandinavia to Japan with arrival the next day. Depending on the airline, there will be one to two stopovers on the way.
Day 2: Arrival in Tokyo
Today you arrive in Tokyo and take you to your hotel on your own. Over the next three days, you will have the opportunity to explore this high-energy metropolis. Tokyo is, if anything, a city of contrasts. The city offers a huge and vibrant eldorado of shops selling everything from traditional and exquisite crafts to uniquely designed fashion items, all varieties and price ranges of electronics, record stores and comic books in batches and minutes and more or less cheap (or not at all cheap) gadgets that you did not know existed and you suddenly just have to get yourself. The city offers an infinite number of restaurants that serve everything from noodle soup to French five-course menus, here are at least as many arcades and even more karaoke bars. An exciting adventure in Tokyo is to take the subway around to the various shopping areas such as the electronics center Akihabara with electronics in twelve floors, or Ikebukero, where there is a manga shop on every street corner or Shinjuku and Harajuku, with all kinds of youth culture and fashion in full bloom . Such a tour provides a wonderful and fascinating insight into the ultra-modern, but at the same time very traditional culture in Tokyo. The more traditional part of Tokyo is located in Asakusa around the Asakusa Temple. A visit here is highly recommended. The temple and the surrounding park are incredibly beautiful, but you should not expect it to be either calm or quiet because there are always people in Tokyo – everywhere. with all kinds of youth culture and fashion in full bloom. Such a tour provides a wonderful and fascinating insight into the ultra-modern, but at the same time very traditional culture in Tokyo. The more traditional part of Tokyo is located in Asakusa around the Asakusa Temple. A visit here is highly recommended. The temple and the surrounding park are incredibly beautiful, but you should not expect it to be either calm or quiet because there are always people in Tokyo – everywhere. with all kinds of youth culture and fashion in full bloom. Such a tour provides a wonderful and fascinating insight into the ultra-modern, but at the same time very traditional culture in Tokyo. The more traditional part of Tokyo is located in Asakusa around the Asakusa Temple. A visit here is highly recommended. The temple and the surrounding park are incredibly beautiful, but you should not expect it to be either calm or quiet because there are always people in Tokyo – everywhere.
Day 3-4: Discover Tokyo on your own
If you are up early (or not quite in tune with your jet lag) and craving a good sushi breakfast, then visit the Toyosu fish market, which has now taken over after the venerable but worn Tsukji market closed in 2018. We are already starting the tuna auctions at half past four, in a spectacle to experience. In the evening, try to get to Shibuya District, Tokyo’s own Times Square, Piccadilly Circus and the Champs-Élysées at once and filled with bars, restaurants and super shopping. Just stand in the Shibuya junction, close your eyes, open your eyes again and feel the big, wide and strange world! Endless other Tokyo tips include the Tokyo Hands and Isetan department stores, Tokyo NK, Takeshita Street with its many cosplay youths, the beautiful Meiji Temple and its surrounding forest, a true oasis in the metropolitan jungle, National Stadium built for the 1964 Summer Olympics and, of course, the Imperial Palace. Don’t forget to try to get some sleep too!
Day 5: Tokyo to Kawaguchiko and Fuji in their own car
Today you pick up your car at Haneda Airport which is about 30 minutes from the center of Tokyo and drive from there to Kawaguchiko, where you experience the slightly extraterrestrial beautiful view of Mount Fuji. You will also spend the night in an authentic ryokan, this traditional Japanese form of inn dating back to the 8th century, complete with warm baths, fluffy slippers and the invigorating taste of green tea. ( F , M )
Day 6: Kawaguchiko to Kiso Valley in his own car
After catching the sunrise over Fuji, head for the Kiso Valley, one of the best-preserved towns from the Edo period (1603-1868) and beautifully situated in the Kiso Valley among mountains and forests. ( M )
Day 7: On a voyage of discovery in the Kiso Valley
There will now be hiking in the Kiso Valley along the Nakasendo Trail, the old trade trail from Tokyo to Kyoto from the ninth century. Today there are only parts of the Nakasendo trail left and one of them starts in Tsumago and takes you to Magome. The trip is about eight kilometers and goes through beautiful woodlands overlooking small villages and valleys. From Magome you can take a bus back to Tsumago. There are several other hiking tours in Kiso, including the Torii train. You can also take your car and explore the surrounding villages, the beautiful pebble beach at Kozenji Temple or kayak at Otaki Village at the foot of Mount Ontake. ( F , M )
Day 8: Kiso Valley to Mount Koya in your own car
Today the trip goes to the Koya mountain. Driving through the mountain landscape can be one of the finest roads in Japan. Here you live in a temple run by monks. In the afternoon you can explore the temples and the moss-covered cemetery. In the evening, wearing kimonos, we eat vegetarian food prepared by the monks. After dinner there is the opportunity to walk around on evening visits to the many temples. ( F , M )
Day 9: Temple stay at Mount Koya
Today it is possible to see the monks pray, participate in their fire ceremony, explore the beautiful landscape and see the many temples on the mountain. ( F , M )
Day 10: From Koya to Kyoto in his own car
Today the trip goes to Kyoto, where you return your car at the train station in the afternoon. Kyoto is the former imperial capital and home to the country’s largest cultural treasures. The city is a central part of every visit to Japan and offers some of the country’s most magnificent and hundreds of years old temples. There are said to be 2,000 temples, shrines, palaces, museums and traditional gardens in Kyoto. ( F )
Day 11-13: On a voyage of discovery in and around Kyoto
In the next few days in Kyoto, you will be on your own with plenty of opportunities to explore Japan’s cultural center. This could be, for example, visiting Nijo Castle, taking a walk along the river, enjoying a tea ceremony or visiting the 8000 red Torii portals at Fushimi Inari-Taisha. It is also possible to take day trips by train to Osaka, Nara and Kobe.
Day 14: From Kyoto to Hiroshima by train
Today, the journey continues by train to Hiroshima, the city that was hit by the explosion of the first atomic bomb in 1945. Since then, Hiroshima has distinguished itself by promoting peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons. A walk through the peace park, the children’s peace monument and the nuclear dome, the remaining skeleton of an industrial hall that was located right where the bomb exploded, as well as a visit to the peace museum, are all strong reminders of human power and you can choose to use it, or never again.
Day 15-16: Discover Hiroshima
You will spend the following days on your own in Hiroshima. It is also possible to go to the island of Miyajima, one of Japan’s most scenic areas. Here you can experience the floating red Torii portal, visit temples, walk charming streets and see various wildlife. ( F )
Day 17: Hiroshima to Fukuoka by train
The last train journey goes to the city of Fukuoka, where you have one night before you start your journey home.
Day 18: Departure from Fukuoka and arrival in Scandinavia
After an exciting and memorable trip around Japan, the trip goes home. You get to the airport on your own, the time depends on when your flight departs. Arrival the same day in Scandinavia.
Overnight stays
Sixteen nights in hotel / ryokan, temple
