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

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

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

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 

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

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

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 :)