Essence of Japan Past Meets Present, Perfectly
Inspirational, innovative and intriguing, Japan has long been a favorite Tauck destination. Here ancient cities are electrified by the breathtakingly new... gilded temples meet glittering skyscrapers... and high-speed trains travel to sights frozen in time. Visit the ancient, graceful city of Osaka and the Hiroshima memorial museum dedicated to peace. In Kyoto, find golden pavilions, a nightingale castle and the time-honored arts of Origami and Maiko dance. Old Japan is chronicled in Nara’s gardens and Samurai residences – and in Kanazawa’s “praying hands” mountain villages. As bullet trains speed through country landscapes, the pace slows... in a country ryokan, at a sake brewery, over a sushi lunch... revealing the essence of a lovely country, Tauck style.
1. ARRIVE OSAKA Tour begins: The St. Regis Osaka at 6:30 PM. A transfer is included from Osaka’s Kansai Airport to The St. Regis Osaka, located in the heart of the Champs Elyseés of Osaka. Spend two nights enjoying one of the most prestigious neighborhoods of this ancient port city, surrounded by natural beauty and cultural grace. Join us for a welcome dinner tonight. Meals D
2. POIGNANT DISCOVERIES IN HIROSHIMA It’s all aboard the Nozomi Super Express (traveling at speeds up to 186 mph) for a visit to Hiroshima. A ferry takes you to Miyajima Island for a walk to view the oft-photographed Itsukushima Shrine and its “floating” torii gate. Have lunch on the island and then return by ferry to Hiroshima for a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, where the first atomic bomb fell on August 6, 1945; today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your visit is poignant, the story described in words, pictures and artifacts – and the optimism of the eternal flame that burns outside the museum. Dine tonight at your hotel. Meals BLD
3. PLEASURES OF OSAKA AND ON TO KYOTO
City sightseeing this morning includes two of Osaka’s most popular landmarks. Once the largest castle in Japan, when first built in the 1580s, magnificent Osaka Castle has been destroyed – and restored – several times, with its most extensive refurbishment completed in 1997. A guided tour reveals massive stone walls, gold-leaf trim, a copper roof and panoramic views, as well as a museum that chronicles its tumultuous history. Next up is a stroll down Dotonbori Street, a popular Osaka destination where restaurants, bars and shopping arcades are ablaze by night with huge neon and mechanical signs. Meals BLD
4. ENCHANTING KYOTO
Visit the Kinkaku-ji Zen Temple this morning; this Golden Pavilion was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and astounds with gold-leaf gilding on its top two stories. Continue on to Nijo Castle for an inside visit – shoes off. Best known for its ornate interiors
Call your travel agent or Tauck at 800-468-2825
Tauck Value Includes
• Discover traditional Japanese hospitality on an overnight stay at a ryokan (inn) in a hot springs resort, featuring a multi-course, artfully arranged and served dinner
• Visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum & Miyajima Island, famous for its Shinto shrine built over water
• 2 nights at The St. Regis in Osaka; 3 nights at an exclusive Tokyo hotel set in the heart of the city center, and 4 nights at a premier hotel in Kyoto, renowned for a 100+ year legacy of hospitality
• Private visit to a 400-year-old family farmhouse in Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Sushi-making demonstration in Tokyo and a sake brewery visit in the beautifully preserved Old Town of Takayama
• An insider’s look at a local home in Kyoto, enriched by an Origami demonstration and a tea ceremony
• Visit Kyoto’s 13th-century Buddhist Sanjusangendo Temple, home to 1,001 gold-leaf statues representing the virtues of beauty, wisdom and prosperity and the deities of wind and thunder
• Airport transfers upon arrival and departure as noted
• 32 meals (13 breakfasts, 10 lunches, 9 dinners); gratuities to local guides, service charges, admission fees, taxes and porterage
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