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Essence of Japan (2025)

Tours and Cruises8 days

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo›Kyoto

Abstract

Characteristics

Group tour
local Italian-speaking guides for the visits
breakfast included
departures are guaranteed (min 2 participants). Subject to availability
starting from 22 days before departure, availability is on request
transfers and visits by private and public means (train, bus, shuttle, or on foot)
transfers might be shared with tourists from several countries,

Itinerary

Day 1 — Tokyo

Single check-in at the hotel (no assistance is provided), Rooms will be available from 15, Tokyo is a unique, unpredictable, puzzling city. Those who have never seen it, and might be expecting an exotic Eastern capital, are in for disappointment: Tokyo is an enormous, chaotic, hypermodern megalopolis, unbelievably thick with building. Every centimetre square matters. It’s a wild urban jungle, void of the rationale, the monuments, the boulevards, the palaces that are typical to most great cities. Yet with Tokyo appearances are deceiving. Its history and truest essence emerge in the details; its secret beauty hides in the interior. Sheer vivacity permeates its thriving cultural landscape and unanimously celebrated museums, filling the everyday life of a people that never stops., accommodation

Day 2 — Tokyo

Breakfast, all-day visit of the city, by public transport. With Italian-speaking guide, the tour starts at 9.30 and ends at 18, accommodation
***OPTIONAL ACTIVITY*** (see extras). IZAKAYA DINNER EXPERIENCE - Leave the hotel at 6:30PM with your guide and get on foot to an izakaya. These Japanese-style pubs serve excellent food as well as plenty of booze. You will enjoy a Japanese dinner with drinks (all-you-can-drink) from 7PM to 9PM. Your guide will help you with the necessary information, then he will leave you alone. Return to the hotel on foot, without the guide.,

Day 3 — Tokyo

Breakfast, free day, accommodation ***OPTIONAL ACTIVITY*** (see extras)

optional excursion (not included) to Kamakura

- from 9 am to 6pm, with lunch. Appointment with the Italian-speaking guide at the hotel; transfer by public transport to Kamakura (about 1 hour). South of Tokyo, between the sea and the woody hills, Kamakura boasts an illustrious tradition, starred as it is with temples and shrines, return to the hotel, free evening and night,

Ship

Day 4 — Tokyo → Kyoto

Breakfast, departure from hotel at 7:50, an English-speaking assistant will accompany you to the station of Tokyo, but will not join you during the train journey, Your main luggage will be shipped separately from Kyoto to, The luggage is shipped via courier, with next-day delivery; it is necessary to have a carry-on bag with the essentials for the night., travel by high-speed train to, duration: about 2:15 hours, arrival at 11:15, welcome upon arrival and tour of the city by of public transport, accompanied by an Italian-speaking guide, As soon as you catch sight of Kyoto’s skyscrapers, you will be tempted to think it a hypermodern city. You will soon find out, however, that the heart of Kyoto is as traditional as it can be. With its beautiful Zen gardens and cherry trees, it’s almost a window on the ancient, mysterious Land of the Rising Sun. Aside from being a historic landmark, this old capital is also the only Japanese big city that was spared by the devastation of the Second World War. Today, the city takes pride in its temples and shrines, imperial palaces, gardens, and traditional wooden townhouses. Many of these sites are UNESCO-listed. Kyoto is also the city that has the greatest concentration of artisans in Japan. It is not just temple and shrines, then, that make it unique: its humming daily routine is just as special., accommodation, free evening and night, accommodation,

Ship

Day 5 — Kyoto

Breakfast, all-day visit of Kyoto and Nara, by public transport. With Italian-speaking guide, the tour starts at 8:30 and ends at 18:30, return to the hotel; the rest of the night is free, accommodation

Day 6 — Kyoto

Breakfast, free day, accommodation

Day 7 — Kyoto

Breakfast, Rooms have to be vacated in the morning, transfer to the airport by shared taxi, no assistance, you will be informed about the exact departure time from the hotel by the staff the day before leaving, end of the tour,

Notes

BAGGAGE: One medium-size baggage (max. 20 kg) per person is allowed. Storage room is extremely limited on Japanese trains. In the event of your luggage being shipped separately to your final destination, we suggest you bring along a carry-on baggage with any personal belonging you might need during the trip (including toiletries for the night). Upon payment of a supplement, you can ship an extra luggage (service is provided upon request).
ROOMS: Triple rooms are double rooms plus an extra bed, typically smaller than the other two. Triple rooms are subject to availability at the time of reservation. Special requests for smoking, communicating, adjoining, high floor, low floor rooms etc. are always upon request and the service is never to be intended as guaranteed.
TRAVEL DOCUMENTS: before the start of the tour, all the participants must make sure they possess the required documents to enter the destination countries, and that such documents are comprehensive and valid.
HOTEL / ITINERARY, CHANGES: The Organizing Body reserves the right to substitute the itinerary and/or the hotels to alternative of a similar or superior category in the event of unplanned circumstances, and if the safe and normal proceeding of the tour is threatened. Furthermore, when in the impossibility for all of the travellers to stay at the same hotel, the group will be split amidst several hotels of the same category.
TIPS: not included; at your discretion
MEALS: not included when not specified
PUNCTUALITY: you are advised to be punctual. No refund is issued to passengers failing to meet at designated time.
REFUNDS: If the tour or any part thereof cannot be conducted due to Force Majeure or Vis Majeure, the Company shall not be responsible to give any refund; also, no refund will be given for any portions of the tour unused by the traveler
TRANSFERS: not included when not specified. When included, a supplement for private transfer is applied in the event of arrival/departure late in the evening/night or early in the morning (usually between 8pm and 7am). A supplement is always charged to individual passengers.
TATTOOS: Very few people in Japan have tattoos, which are almost always considered as the distinguishing mark of the Yakuza (the Japanese mafia). It is forbidden to bathe in the onsen if you have tattoos – even small ones.
TRANSFERS: not included when not specified. When included, transfers operate only from/to the hotels included in the tour. A supplement is charged for transfers from/to different hotels, and in the event of arrival/departure occurring from 00.00 to 7.30am (transfers are on request). A supplement is always charged to individual passengers. Requests for unscheduled transfers from/to different hotels, or in the event of flights outside timetable must be issued at least 3 weeks before departure; otherwise, an additional urgency surcharge will be imposed.

Starts from

6 days / 3 nights – from Tokyo to Kyoto,

Meals

Key: B breakfast,

Price includes

Local Italian-speaking guides for all destinations, separate baggage delivery service (1 piece per person, max. 20 kg) from Tokyo to Kyoto, admissions, visits and excursions: as scheduled, accommodation at the scheduled hotel (or similar), meals: breakfasts,

Price does not include

Administration fees and “no-risk” coverage, trip cancellation, medical expense & baggage coverage, meals that have not been specified; beverage; any extra, porterage, tips, air travel and taxes, everything not expressly mentioned in "The fee includes",

Important notes

Double rooms in Japan are extremely uncommon; are always subject to request and never guaranteed, in the event of arrival at the Tokyo Haneda airport between 8pm and 8am, you will be transferred to the hotel by private taxi (see. supplements), flight to Osaka Kansai (not included): book a flight leaving after 08.30. You can purchase optional excursions at the time of booking, we recommend you wear comfortable footwear,

Abstract

Characteristics

Group tour
local Italian-speaking guides for the visits
breakfast included
departures are guaranteed (min 2 participants). Subject to availability
starting from 22 days before departure, availability is on request
transfers and visits by private and public means (train, bus, shuttle, or on foot)
transfers might be shared with tourists from several countries,

Itinerary

Day 1 — Tokyo

Day 2 — Tokyo

Day 3 — Tokyo

Ship

Day 4 — Tokyo → Kyoto

Ship

Day 5 — Kyoto

Day 6 — Kyoto

Breakfast, free day, accommodation

Day 7 — Kyoto

Notes

BAGGAGE: One medium-size baggage (max. 20 kg) per person is allowed. Storage room is extremely limited on Japanese trains. In the event of your luggage being shipped separately to your final destination, we suggest you bring along a carry-on baggage with any personal belonging you might need during the trip (including toiletries for the night). Upon payment of a supplement, you can ship an extra luggage (service is provided upon request).
ROOMS: Triple rooms are double rooms plus an extra bed, typically smaller than the other two. Triple rooms are subject to availability at the time of reservation. Special requests for smoking, communicating, adjoining, high floor, low floor rooms etc. are always upon request and the service is never to be intended as guaranteed.
TRAVEL DOCUMENTS: before the start of the tour, all the participants must make sure they possess the required documents to enter the destination countries, and that such documents are comprehensive and valid.
HOTEL / ITINERARY, CHANGES: The Organizing Body reserves the right to substitute the itinerary and/or the hotels to alternative of a similar or superior category in the event of unplanned circumstances, and if the safe and normal proceeding of the tour is threatened. Furthermore, when in the impossibility for all of the travellers to stay at the same hotel, the group will be split amidst several hotels of the same category.
TIPS: not included; at your discretion
MEALS: not included when not specified
PUNCTUALITY: you are advised to be punctual. No refund is issued to passengers failing to meet at designated time.
REFUNDS: If the tour or any part thereof cannot be conducted due to Force Majeure or Vis Majeure, the Company shall not be responsible to give any refund; also, no refund will be given for any portions of the tour unused by the traveler
TRANSFERS: not included when not specified. When included, a supplement for private transfer is applied in the event of arrival/departure late in the evening/night or early in the morning (usually between 8pm and 7am). A supplement is always charged to individual passengers.
TATTOOS: Very few people in Japan have tattoos, which are almost always considered as the distinguishing mark of the Yakuza (the Japanese mafia). It is forbidden to bathe in the onsen if you have tattoos – even small ones.
TRANSFERS: not included when not specified. When included, transfers operate only from/to the hotels included in the tour. A supplement is charged for transfers from/to different hotels, and in the event of arrival/departure occurring from 00.00 to 7.30am (transfers are on request). A supplement is always charged to individual passengers. Requests for unscheduled transfers from/to different hotels, or in the event of flights outside timetable must be issued at least 3 weeks before departure; otherwise, an additional urgency surcharge will be imposed.