Fly into Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT) or Haneda Airport (HND); flights usually arrive in the late afternoon.

Each individual traveler or family of travelers will have a reservation for a complimentary, private car that will drive them from Narita Airport to our hotel in downtown Tokyo (Since Narita Airport is far outside of Tokyo, this drive will take about 70 minutes).

We will check into our five-star hotel, The Prince Park Tower Tokyo.

Settle down at this beautiful luxury hotel located in the heart of Tokyo, just a stone throw away from the iconic Tokyo Tower.

Meet at the hotel’s Chinese restaurant for our welcome dinner.

Meet at the hotel lobby and board our private vans for Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. This is one of the largest parks in Japan. Created in 1603, the park features an immense Japanese landscape garden, as well as a French garden, an English garden, and a green house. 

After taking a walking tour of this garden, continue to the Mori Building in Azabudai Hills. We will enjoy lunch within the Mori Building at Saawaan Bistro, an upscale Thai restaurant.

We will have tickets to the spectacular Tokyo Digital Art Museum, also known as teamLab Borderless. This amazing museum features stunning, digital gardens.

Relax for the rest of the day, or continue exploring the area independently.

Guests will be on their own for dinner tonight. There are good restaurants close to the hotel, and the hotel contains multiple restaurants, as well as a bar with a wonderful view of Tokyo Tower.

Meet in the hotel lobby, with bags, and take taxis to Tokyo Station. While waiting for our train, buy your bento box from one of the many stalls in the station.

Your tickets will be distributed by John. Please keep these with you throughout the entire train journey.

Our train will be the Nozomi 155.

If we have a clear day, we’ll get a great view of Mt. Fuji.

Eat a simple box lunch on the Bullet Train. This will be a light lunch.

Arrive in Kyoto, a city of more than 2,000 temples and shrines; and countless gardens.

Meet up with our local guide, and take taxis to our hotel, the five-star Hilton Kyoto. It is a new hotel, and it is located in the city’s center near many attractions, restaurants, and stores. The Hilton is perfectly situated for exploring the city by foot.

Check into rooms, if possible. If not, leave our bags at the front desk.

Meet at the hotel lobby and depart via local train, with our local guide, and enjoy a guided tour of the legendary Fushimi Inari Shrine, a UNESCEO World Heritage Site. Comprising thousands of “tori” gates, this shrine goes deep into a lush forest.

Relax for the rest of the day, or continue exploring the area independently.

Head to 7 Embers, the restaurant located on the first floor of the hotel. Enjoy a different take on Italian classics, made with locally sourced ingredients.

Meet in the hotel lobby and, together with our guides, depart via private vans to see some of Kyoto’s most famous gardens.

Our first stop will be Shoren-In Temple. Enjoy a peaceful walk through the serene and historic temple grounds and bamboo grove.

We will enjoy lunch at a restaurant just across the street, Yamanaka Cafe.

After lunch, we will board our vans once again and head to Nanzenji Temple, which was built in the early 13th Century, and is one of the most famous Zen temples in Japan. Nanzenji has numerous gardens, including some very special rock gardens.

While still on the temple grounds, we will visit the famous Tenjuan Garden. This ancient, lush garden is full of many features. Our local garden expert will give us a tour of this quiet garden:

Relax for the rest of the day, or continue exploring the area independently.

Guests will be on their own for dinner tonight. Hundreds of restaurants are within a square mile of our hotel.

Meet in the lobby and depart via vans for Arashiyama, a picturesque part of Kyoto.

Enjoy a 30-minute ride through a famous bamboo forest in a traditional Japanese rickshaw.

Afterwards, spend time walking around the area or rowing on the nearby lake in small boats.

Enjoy lunch at Yudofu Sagano, which is famous for its Zen Buddhism food (vegetarian) and their personal garden.

After lunch, enjoy the grounds and wonderful garden at Tenryuji Temple, which features one of the city’s most famous rock gardens.

Guests may continue to explore the area (which has great shopping), return to the hotel via taxis for free time, or walk up nearby “Monkey Mountain”. This is about a 20-minute hike, each way, and at the top of the mountain are many wild monkeys.

The summit offers not only views of the monkeys, but a great view of the city.

Relax for the rest of the day, or continue exploring the area independently.

Guests will be on their own for dinner tonight.

Meet in the hotel lobby and, via private vans, Saiho-ji Temple, which features one of the most famous gardens in the world. This temple, because of its moss-dominated garden, is often called the Moss Temple.

Afterwards, board the vans once again and head towards the city center. Enjoy lunch at FORNI, inside the Hotel The Mitsui near Nijo Castle.

Head to Nijo Castle and enjoy a guided tour. Nijo has a wonderful traditional Japanese garden. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for its stunning architecture and historical significance as the residence of Tokugawa shoguns.  

On the Nijo Castle grounds, see a famous Eucalyptus Melliodora tree, which was planted from one of the seeds from one of the few trees that survived the atomic bomb at Hiroshima.

Relax for the rest of the day, or continue exploring the area independently.

Meet in the hotel lobby and walk to the nearby Fortune Garden Kyoto, which is one of the city’s best restaurants and is located next to a Zen garden. This restaurant serves French food in addition to Japanese dishes. Guests may enjoy time in the Zen garden prior to eating.

Enjoy a slower morning to explore the area. There is great shopping nearby, as well as a wonderful river walk

Meet in the lobby and walk about ten minutes to Nishiki Market. This market, founded in the year 1310, offers fresh seafood, meats, vegetables, and fruits to locals.

Convene with our drivers and head to a restaurant close to Kinkaku-ji Temple, Tonkatsu Katsurai Kinkakuji. Enjoy lunch before heading to the temple.

Continue to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kinkaku-ji Temple. Tour the extensive temple grounds, as well as its stunning gardens.

Afterwards, meet up with our garden guide, Mike, head to Hoshun-In Bonsai Garden to enjoy a stroll and chat about the special bonsai garden.

Relax for the rest of the day, or continue exploring the area independently.

Guests will be on their own for dinner tonight.

 Options include:

• Shopping at countless nearby stores
• Talking a walk along the nearby Kamogawa River
• Exploring nearby neighborhoods on foot
• Visit a quiet temple.

Leave bags in the lobby.

Today's lunch will be independent. There are countless great lunch spots near our hotel.

Meet at the lobby, with bags ready. We will have private vans and drivers take us from Kyoto to Osaka. This drive will take about one hour.

Check into our five-star hotel, the Swissotel Nankai Osaka, which is a high-rise hotel that offers amazing views of the city:

Relax for the rest of the day, or continue exploring the area independently.

Meet in the hotel lobby and walk to Dotonbori, one of the most famous pedestrian malls in the world, which is known for its countless street food stalls.

After walking around Dotonbori, and seeing all of the countless food offerings, enjoy dinner at a seafood restaurant, Kani Doraku.

Meet in the hotel's sushi restaurant and enjoy a sushi making workshop.

We will learn to make several different kinds of sushi rolls, which we will then eat for lunch.

Meet at the hotel lobby and depart, via private vans, for Osaka Castle. Tour the castle grounds, it's lovely gardens, and the surrounding area.

Relax for the rest of the day, or continue exploring the area independently.

Meet at one of the hotel’s restaurants for a farewell dinner. Tonight, we will be dining at the Empress Room.

There is a high-speed train that departs below our hotel and heads directly to Osaka airport (Kansai International Airport – KIX). A ticket and instructions will be provided for each guest for this train, and groups of guests will be accompanied by John or another guide.

Those traveling to Itami Airport will take a taxi instead (covered by JST). If payment can only be done after drop-off, please keep the receipt and we will reimburse the amount.