Day 1: We flew overnight to Japan from SFO via Hong Kong.
Day 2: Landed in Osaka and met our Tour Director at the airport
Day 3: Osaka • Kyoto where we began with a visit to Osaka Castle, then traveled to Kyoto where we took a tour of the Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine, followed by a walking tour of Nishiki Market and the Pontocho district, and finally, we stopped for a photo along the banks of the Kamogawa River.
Day 4: Kyoto took a guided tour of Kyoto, visited the Golden Pavilion, a Zen Buddhist temple, and then visited the Kiyomizu Temple, sampled green tea ice cream, and experienced a traditional Japanese tea ceremony.
Day 5: Kyoto • Takayama region traveled to Takayama, where we enjoyed a Zen meditation experience led by a Zen priest.
Day 6: Takayama region • Kanazawa we began with a visit to the Takayama morning market followed by traveling via Shirakawa-go and stopped to learn about Shirakawa-go's traditional architecture before traveling to Kanazawa.
Day 7: Kanazawa visited Kanazawa Castle and the Kenroku-en Garden and then ending the day by participating in a gold-leaf chopstick making workshop.
Day 8: Kanazawa • Tokyo departed from Kanazawa and traveled by bullet train to Tokyo. In Tokyo, we took a tour with an expert local guide. Next we visited the Meiji Shinto Shrine, the moved on to visit the Harajuku shopping district. We discovered the world of Japanese gaming culture with a visit to a local arcade and finished the day with a walking tour of Shibuya.
Day 9: Tokyo on our last day where we took a tour of Akihabara Electric Town.