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Overview

JAPAN Sushi, Culture, & Cherry Blossoms
Tokyo & Kyoto
Mar 25 - Apr 1, 2023
My Life's a Travel TRIBE image
My Life's a Travel TRIBE
$3,200
Deposit: $500

About your trip

If Japan is on your bucketlist, join us for the epic adventure around Tokyo and Kyoto, including a very special feature; Cherry Blossom Season!! As you know, we cannot fully predict when flowers bloom, but we have used several "Cherry Blossom predictors" to schedule the most accurate dates for seeing them!


Come explore this bustling and tantalizing culture, as we eat ALL the sushi, marvel at all the lights and sights, and of course, have too much fun doing things like karaoke! 


We'll also escape to calmer areas and see things like Mt. Fuji, as well as the famous sites of Kyoto, like Fushimi Inari Shrine (the places with over 1000 red archways)!


This trip is very high in demand, so book as soon as possible! If you're added to the waitlist, it will be first come first served!

Important Things to Note!

PLEASE READ THIS VERY CAREFULLY!!!

- Again, we cannot 100% predict when Cherry Blossoms will bloom, and as you know, climate change makes it even harder! We have done our best to schedule the trip according to when predictions say they will bloom, but please don't ask for a refund if they decide not to ;)

- All rooms are based on twin-sharing. We will pair you up with another solo traveler, or if you know someone going that you want to room with, let us know! If you want to pay extra for your own room, let us know.

- Hotels are always subject to change due to availability and our large group sizes, however the sooner we fill the trip, the sooner we can secure the hotels! We will always notify you of any changes!

- You will have different guides in each city, along with our awesome group trip manager and now co-host Jena who can both answer all of your questions and help you with anything you may need including photos!! Please be very aware that Alyssa is there to have fun with you guys only!

-We have a very strict "No Drama Policy"! If you have any issues with other guests, guides, us, or the itinerary, please let Jena know immediately (and politely) so we can try to fix it! Please be fully aware that things are always bound to change or happen, and while we are professionals at handling them, we also need you to keep a positive attitude if they should arise.  Please be respectful of locals, their culture, other guests, and us!

Cancellation Policy

Please find our full Cancellation Policy Here

Add-Ons

We will be listing the add-ons later on once we finish getting accurate pricing, but they will be:


- Single Room Supplement

- Additional Hotel Nights 

- Osaka Extension

- Tokyo Disneyland Extension

- Okinawa Islands Extension

What's included

7 Nights Accommodation

Please see hotels at the end of each day

Some Meals

7 breakfasts, 3 Izakaya dinners, 3 casual dinners, 1 lunch

All Airport Transfers

Only on the day of Arrival/Departure. If you arrive early or leave later it is not covered.

All Ground Transportatio

Cars, Buses, Trains

Epic Welcome Gift

All Local Tour Guides

What's not included

International Flights

Covid Testing

Additional meals/drinks

Tips for the guides

We will collect around $60/person at the beginning of the trip to cover tips for all hotels, restaurants, drivers, and guides so you don't have to worry about it!

Travel Insurance

(Mandatory)

Day 1

Day 1 image

Arrival Day!

Welcome to Tokyo! One of our guides will greet you at the airport and help transfer you to our first hotel! 


You can use a credit card for everything in Japan, but if you feel like getting some local Yen out, feel free to do so at an ATM at the airport! We usually do not recommend using money exchanges.


Depending on what time you get in, you can relax and refresh, or go explore the area outside of our hotel! We will wait for the whole group to arrive, then we will have an Izakaya Welcome Dinner to get to know each other and be briefed on the trip!


FLIGHT TIPS: Try to arrive as early as possible today! That way you have more time to get situated and have some time to rest before our intense tour starts! If you can't find any good flights, you may want to consider arriving a day early!


Hotel: Tokyu Stay Nishi-Shinjuku or similar

Day 2

Day 2 image

Tokyo Full Day Tour Part 1

Rise and Shine! It's time to explore Tokyo Time! Today we will start one of three tours we have prepared for you in Tokyo! It's a BIG city with a lot to see, so we're going to try to fit as much in as possible, along with allllll the fun things!


First we will head to The Imperial Palace Ground and visit the outer gardens of it. Then we'll head to the world famous Tsukiji Outer Market where most of the World's fish for sushi restaurants is bought! Please note that the original Tsukiji market that you see in photos closed several years ago, and this is the newer (less cool looking) one. But you can still try alllllll the various types of fresh fish here!


Afterwards we'll head to an old fashioned area called Yanaka District, and then Asakusa District to see the Sensoji Temple and downtown Tokyo.


After a long day, we'll head to a casual dinner and then back to the hotel!


Hotel: Tokyu Stay Nishi-Shinjuku or similar



Day 3

Day 3  image

Tokyo Full Day Tour Part 2

Today is probably the most busy day we will have, because we have a day tour, a night tour, AND a super fun night out planned!


Pick up at hotel

transfer to sushi making venue

Sushi Making Experience

-Try to make your own Nigiri, Maki and Gunkan

Transfer to the centre of Tokyo's street culture

Omotesando

-Sophisticated fashion area

Takeshita Dori Street

-Center of young fashion

Shibuya

-Experince the famous crossing like a local!

Day Tour will finish at the hotel


Shinjuku Night Tour

-Pick up at the hotel 

Shinjuku walking tour

Including Bar hopping in the night district and Karaoke Experience

Tour will finish at hotel or in Shinjuku


Hotel: Tokyu Stay Nishi-Shinjuku or similar


Day 4

Day 4 image

Cherry Blossom Day!

If the online predictions are right, today should be one of the best days to see the Cherry Blossoms blooming! Again (yes we know we have said it a lot) we cannot fully predict when flowers will bloom, but we have done our best!


Typically there are Sakura festivals, with food stalls and entertainment around the Cherry Blossom trees, but most were cancelled in 2022, so let's all cross our fingers they will open back up for us in 2023! If not, we will try to have a picnic of our own in one of the parks with the Cherry Blossoms, or perhaps do a short hike!


At night, we will also cross our fingers that the Yozakura festivals resume! That's when they light up the Cherry Blossom Trees!


Please note: this is high season and we will be expecting crowds! Please don't expect photos of the trees with 0 people in them, however we will do our best to go super early, and find some unique angles!


Hotel: Tokyu Stay Nishi - Shinjuku or similar

Day 5

Day 5 image

Hakone Overnight Tour

Today we will get to see some of the lesser known, incredible parts of Japan!

 

First we will transfer our suitcases to Kyoto and check out of our hotel. We’ll then get picked up from the hotel and transferred by the Odakyu Romance Car to Hakone.


Once we arrive at Hakone Yumoto, we’ll take a but to the beautiful Lake Ashi!


Lake Ashi is a crater lake. From here we’ll have a great view of Mt. Fuji (If the weather permits) and hopefully it will!


We’ll take a scenic boat ride on Lake Ashi to Togenkyo.


Next we’ll head to Owakundani. This is a valley of boiling water. Here we’ll visit one of the local hot springs. Today much of this area is an active volcanic zone where sulfurous fumes, hot springs and hot rivers have formed.


Next we’ll head to the Hakone Open-Air Museum that houses world class modern art in an open air museum.


At the end of the day we’ll Check in at Ryokan. Ryokan is a Japanese style inn with hot springs and a local cuisine experience. They typically feature tatami-matted rooms, communal baths, and other interesting areas. We’ll get to relax in the hot springs for the remainder of the evening and have an amazing traditional meal.


Hotel: Suimeikan or similar 


Day 6

Day 6 image

Kyoto Half Day Tour

Today will start by checking out of Ryokan. and then we will take a bus to Odawara a city located in central Japan. From here we will take the Shinkansen,  bullet train to Kyoto. 


We’ll meet our awesome guide at the Kyoto station and our Kyoto tour will begin! 


First we will check out the Kiyomisudera Temple. This is a signature UNESCO world heritage site in Kyoto. It’s also known as the “Pure Water Temple” and it’s one of the most celebrated temples in Japan, and has an incredible view!


Next we’ll continue on to Gion in the Maiko district. Here you can watch Japan’s traditional performing arts. There are 7 key types of Japanese performing arts. Most notable is the Kyo-Mai dance, performed by the Maiko dancers.


We'll definitely be hungry afterwards, so we'll head to the Nishiki Market known as Kyoto’s Kitchen, where we're sure to have a delicious dinner!


After we eat, we’ll head to our hotel for some much needed rest!


Hotel: Kyoto Tower Hotel Annex or similar


Day 7

Day 7 image

Kyoto Full Day Tour

Today we will see the most famous highlights of Kyoto!


We're going to suggest waking up super super early today so we can beat the crowds at Fushimi Inari Shrine. You may or may not remember the story behind the photo above...when Alyssa took an overnight bus to Kyoto and it dropped her off at 6am, so she randomly stumbled about this shrine, not knowing it was the most famous one, and got photos there with no people because it was so early! We want to try to do that again with you guys!


The Fushimi Inari Shrine consists of 1000 red arches, and likewise...over 1000 steps! So please be prepared for that with comfortable shoes, and water!


Afterwards we'll go straight to another famous spot: The Golden Temple, which is also likely to be crowded, but we have a few tricks up our sleeves for angling our cameras just right! We can also see a beautiful Bamboo Forest here!


We'll head back to the hotel and get ready for our last night together sadly :( We will have a delicious farewell dinner of local cuisines!


Hotel: Kyoto Tower Hotel Annex or similar

Day 8

Day 8 image

Departure Day

Sadly it has come to an end. Well, unless you plan on extending ;)


We will take a bullet train back to Tokyo early in the morning and transfer everyone to the airport. 


Please Note!! The only transfer included today goes straight to the airport. We will likely take the 6am train that arrives in Tokyo around 9:15am. Please try to book flights leaving in the afternoon so you have enough time to get to the airport and check in. If you would like to leave later, and you don't want to wait at the airport, you can choose to take the train somewhere in Tokyo at your leisure, and then you can take the train to the airport when it's time for your flight, but you will need to do it on your own. We will provide plenty of blog posts explaining how to use the train :)

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1. Tokyo & Kyoto

Tokyo & Kyoto

About your organizer

My Life's a Travel Tribe is an adventure travel group trip community created by Alyssa Ramos of My Life's a Travel Movie. We have been running group trips with our audience for over 10 years now, aiming to enhance your bucketlist experiences! These group trips are for like-minded travelers, who love exploring the road less traveled! Our itineraries are carefully curated by Alyssa, based on her own solo travels in the destinations, and we use local companies only to support them!

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