Japan - Free & Easy
Accommodation + JR Pass
Japan was the first country to build dedicated railway lines for high-speed travel. You will experience the legendary bullet train when traveling in Japan.
Experience Tokyo Metropolis
The capital of Japan mixes the ultra-modern and the traditional, from neon-lit skyscrapers to historic temples. Explore one of the most vibrant cities on earth and enjoy a cruise along the Tokyo River.
Discover Kyoto
Kyoto, once the capital of Japan, is famous for its numerous classical Buddhist temples, as well as gardens, imperial palaces, Shinto shrines and traditional wooden houses.
Pricing
Independent trip (guide or tour not included) starting at $3,299* CAD per person, based on double occupancy
10 Days – Tokyo to Tokyo
Your package includes
- JR-Pass (7-day ordinary class)
- Accommodation as per itinerary (twin/dbl) including breakfast
- Meet and greet and Introduction assistant upon arrival in Tokyo to explain how to use the JR pass
Not included
- Flights
- Gratuities to hotel staff
- Meals (other than mentioned)
- Beverages
- Entrance fees
- Travel insurance
- Optional excursions
- Local city tax (if applicable), varies from city to city, to be paid directly to the hotel in destination
- Visas (if required) to visit this country
- All other item not mention in the inclusions section
Additional Information
Please note that this program includes accommodation and train pass. All other activities in the itinerary are suggestions to do on your free days. No entrance fees are included.
Day
Day 1
Location(s)
Tokyo, Japan
Meals
Description
Welcome to Japan! Upon your arrival in Tokyo, you will be greeted buy an English-speaking assistant for further information about your “Free & Easy” Tour in Japan. The assistant will explain how to use your JR pass to get to your hotel.
The rest of the day is at your free disposal. We recommend a first exploration on foot in the vibrant neighborhood of Shinjuku. It is a major commercial and administrative centre and also encompasses the buzzing clubs and karaoke rooms of neon-lit East Shinjuku and upscale bars and restaurants in the Skyscraper District.
Accommodation: Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyobashi, 4* – Moderate Queen (or similar hotel, 2 nights)
Day 2
Tokyo
Breakfast
Time at leisure in Tokyo. Enjoy a full day of explorations around Tokyo by using public transportation.
We recommend a visit to the Hamarikyu Garden where seawater ponds change with the tides. A traditional teahouse on an 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.
You should also visit Asukasa and the Sensoji Temple, a very popular and colourful Buddhist temple. It is one of Tokyo’s most colorful and popular temples. The legend says 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 stop should be the spacious Meiji Shrine.
Day 3
Tokyo – Toyama
Breakfast
Check-out from the hotel. You proceed to Tokyo Station on your own, where you will take the bullet train to Toyama. Your 7-day JR Pass will start on this day.
Upon arrival, you proceed to your hotel for check-in. Time for leisure.
Toyama is a coastal city on Japan’s main island, Honshu. In the center, Toyama Castle Park has a restored castle dating to the 1500s, plus 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.
You should also visit Takaoka. Takaoka’s emblematic Great Buddha is one of the three Great Buddha statues of Japan 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.
Accommodation: DoubleTree by Hilton Toyama, 4* – Premium King (or similar hotel, 2 nights)
Day 4
Toyama / Kanazawa
Breakfast
Time for leisure. We recommend that you use the bullet-train in order to visit Kanazawa today.
Kanazawa is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture. It’s 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.
Back to Toyama in the evening.
Day 5
Toyama – Takayama – Nagoya
Breakfast
Check-out from the hotel. You 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.
Arrival in Nagoya and hotel check-in. Time for leisure. Enjoy the hotel or venture out on your own to discover the town. The city’s Naka ward is home to museums and pachinko parlors (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.
Accommodation: Mitsui Garden Hotel Nagoya Premier, 4* – Moderate Double (or similar hotel, 2 nights)
Day 6
Nagoya
Breakfast
Time for leisure in and around Nagoya. We recommend a one-day tour to Ise-Shima & Toba.
We recommend a visit to the Futami Okitama Shrine, located in a phenomenal location with a fantastic view of the ocean. Stroll the shrine grounds and be greeted with the fresh breeze off the waves and the sound of the splashing tide, soothing body and mind. 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.
Day 7
Nagoya – Kyoto
Breakfast
Check-out from the hotel. For today, we either suggest a sightseeing tour in Nagoya or Inuyama or a visit to the Nagashima Spa land.
Proceed to the station and take the bullet-train to Kyoto.
Kyoto hotel check-in and time for leisure. 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.
Accommodation: RIHGA Royal Hotel Kyoto, 4* – Wide King Double (or similar hotel, 2 nights)
Day 8
Kyoto
Breakfast
Free leisure in Kyoto. 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.
Day 9
Kyoto – Hakone – Tokyo
Breakfast
Check-out from the hotel. You can either drive back to Tokyo or enjoy some touring in Hakone on the way. For 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. This gives us the chance to glide through the skies looking down on the Japanese countryside. Get off in Owakudani – an active volcanic zone of sulfurous fumes, hot springs and rivers.
Take the bullet-train to Tokyo. Check-in and time for leisure.
Accommodation: Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa, 4* – Superior King (or similar hotel, 1 night)
Day 10
Tokyo
Breakfast
Check-out and time for leisure. Sadly, it’s the end of the tour and time to say goodbye to Japan. Proceed to the airport for your departure flight.
*Hotel rooms are subject to availability and are confirmed by the supplier at time of booking; they may be replaced by other hotel rooms of similar category at the sole discretion of the supplier.
Interested in the itinerary above? Click on the “START PLANNING” button below and reference “Japan – Free & Easy” in the form, or give us a call at 587.997.5969 to book.
An adventure designed specifically for you
Let us work with you to tailor a journey based on your travel style and interests. We can use the existing itinerary above as a foundation, or build one from scratch to create your ideal vacation. Connect with us to start the conversation.
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*Prices are per person, based on double occupancy and subject to change and availability.