Kanto CHERRY BLOSSOM Tour April nts/8 days from: $2295 dbl/tpl $2695 sgl

Transcription

1 Kanto CHERRY BLOSSOM Tour April Hanami The cherry blossom season is coming soon! It s happening: all over Japan, the sun and warm weather is coaxing the tsubomi buds to blossom into bursts of pink, white, and red. Hanami literally means viewing flowers, and every year in the spring, Japan celebrates Hanami with the beautiful blooming cherry blossoms. The ritual of viewing and admiring the blossoms dates back over 1,000 years when aristocrats would enjoy the flowers and write poems based on their inspirations. Today, most people enjoy the view with an afternoon picnic. While there are beautiful blossoms all over the country, the Kanto region offers great viewing spots in early April. 6nts/8 days from: $2295 dbl/tpl $2695 sgl Itinerary/Details Day 1 April 02 nd, Monday Depart from Honolulu United Airlines #903 Departs Honolulu 9:50 am Arrive Narita 1:25 pm +1 International check in begins 3 hours prior to departure. Please meet your Panda Travel guide at the United Airlines check in area, main terminal at least 3 hours prior to the departure time. After clearing security, you will meet up once again at the gate area. Day 2 April 03 rd, Tuesday Narita Tokyo After clearing customs, we will be met by our local English speaking guide for the bus ride to our hotel for the next four nights, the newly renovated Sunshine City Prince Hotel. The drive time is approximately 1 hour. Our hotel is ideally situated in the Ikebukuro section of Tokyo. The hotel is less than a 10-minute walk from the Ikebukuro JR Station. The lobby of the hotel connects to a huge shopping and entertainment mecca with four towers, including a 240-meter-high skyscraper with an observation deck on the top. Sunshine City is typically open from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm seven days a week. With our early afternoon arrival in Tokyo, you can enjoy a nice afternoon and evening exploring the Ikebukuro area around our hotel. Your Panda Travel guide will show you the area once we are all checked in

2 There is also a 24-hour Family Mart convenience store off the hotel lobby and as well as a supermarket close by with wonderful bentos in case you prefer a light dinner. Rest well for tomorrow we have fun day on tap, sightseeing as well as some unique shopping. The remainder of the evening is free. Accommodations: Sunshine City Prince Hotel Day 3 April 04 th, Wednesday Tokyo (B/l) After breakfast, please meet your guide in the lobby by 8:30am as we are off on a full day of touring. The morning begins with a drive to our first Cherry Blossom viewing spot on tour, in front of the beautiful Niju-bashi Bridge that stretches over the moat in the outer gardens near Tokyo Station. From Kokyo Gaien, the large plaza in front of the Imperial Palace, visitors can view the Nijubashi, two bridges that form an entrance to the inner palace grounds. The stone bridge in front is called Meganebashi (Eyeglass Bridge) for its looks. The bridge in the back was formerly a wooden bridge with two levels, from which the name Nijubashi (Double Bridge) is derived. It is everything you could ask for: huge moats, cherry blossom trees, enormous walls, an impressive city landscape nearby and it doesn`t get much better than that the contrast of old castle with that of the modern urban landscape. Look into the palace and you can see a couple of the remaining towers and keeps as well. From here we are off to Asakura, the center of Tokyo s shitamachi (literally "low city"), one of Tokyo's districts, where an atmosphere of the Tokyo of past decades survives. The main attraction is Sensoji Temple, Tokyo's oldest, and one of its most significant temples. Dominating the entrance to the Sensoji Temple is the kaminari-mon or "Thunder Gate". This imposing Buddhist structure features a massive paper lantern dramatically painted in vivid red-and-black tones to suggest thunderclouds and lightning. Kaminari-mon contains two protective deities - (left side) Raijin - God of Thunder and (right side) Fujin - God of Wind. Nakamise-dori, the street leading from the Thunder Gate to the Sensoji Temple itself, is lined with small shops selling omiyage ranging from fans, ukiyo-e (woodblock prints), kimono and other robes, Buddhist scrolls, traditional sweets, to Godzilla toys, t- shirts, and cell-phone trinkets. These shops themselves are part of a living tradition of selling to pilgrims who walked to Sensōji. Pilgrims and tourists flocking to Sensoji have shopped at the small stores here for centuries. Catering to the visiting crowds, the surrounding area has many traditional shops and eating places that feature traditional dishes (hand-made noodles, sushi, tempura, etc.). Enjoy some free time to walk around, shop and have a snack. Sensoji Temple and surrounds offer Cherry Blossom viewing. From here we will be having lunch at a local restaurant. This afternoon we are off to Ameyoko Shopping Street, famous throughout Japan for its wide variety of products. The name "Ameyoko" is a short form for "Ameya Yokocho" (candy store alley), as candies were traditionally sold there. Alternatively, "Ame" also stands for "America", because a lot of American products used to be available there when the street was the site of a black market in the years following WWII. You can get just about EVERYTHING here, clothes, bags, cosmetics, fresh fish, dried squid, and spices are sold along Ameyoko. It is quite the scene to just walk around through the very crowded and narrow streets. An awesome place to sightsee, shop and eat! We will remain here for 1.5 hr. so you can shop at leisure.

3 We are now off to explore Ueno Park where approximately 1,200 cherry trees flourish with pink magical flowers at the 133- acre park. An estimated 2 million people will visit to experience the Cherry Blossom viewing while picnicking directly beneath a tree. Simply admire the natural beauty along the paths and take photos. Our return to the hotel will be approximately 5:45pm and the remainder of the evening is free. Accommodations: Sunshine City Prince Hotel Day 4 April 05 th, Thursday Tokyo (B) After breakfast, please meet your guide by 8:00am as we are off on a full day of touring. If you've ever dreamed about melt-in-your-mouth, out-of-this-world sushi, then you might have heard of Tsukiji, the largest fish market in the world. Most of Tokyo, and even high-end sushi restaurants in Hong Kong and San Francisco, gets their fish from this cultural landmark near the center of Japan's capital city. Tsukiji sits on some of the most valuable real estate in Tokyo. At some point in the future the market will move to reclaimed land on Tokyo Bay, but for now, enjoy the charm of this unique spot. Opened in 1935, Tsukiji sprang to life after the Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed most of Tokyo in It has since become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city. Every morning sightseers start lining up at 3 a.m. to watch the frozen tuna auction. The more expensive fresh tuna auctions where a single Bluefin once sold for nearly $1.8 million- are privately conducted. If you re a foodie, love markets, enjoy photography or simply like visiting unique places then you ll probably love Tsukiji. After a good stroll around the market, there s nothing like a sushi breakfast to complete the experience. There are plenty of sushi shops make sure to choose one where you see locals dining. If you don t feel like sushi, there are other options including ramen, donburi and more. If you finish early we encourage you to visit Tsukiji Hongan-ji Temple, less than one block away. With an Indian-style exterior, was built in 1617 near Asakusa, but was burnt down in a huge fire that swept through Edo (Tokyo) in The Temple was then rebuilt on the present site, but destroyed again by the Great Tokyo Earthquake of The current main building was built in 1934.The main building possesses a distinctive ambience not found in other Japanese temples, due to its variety of architectural styles. From here we are off to visit the Meiji Shrine, located right in the middle of one of Tokyo`s most popular areas is an amazing urban oasis, Meiji Jingu. It is a shinto shrine that is dedicated to the souls of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shoken. After the Emperor s death in 1912, the Japanese Diet passed a resolution to commemorate his role in the Meiji Restoration and the construction of a shrine where his soul would be enshrined was undertaken. The area around an iris garden in Tokyo where Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken had been known to visit was chosen as the building s location. With the passing of the resolution, construction began in 1915, formally dedicated in 1920 and finished in When you enter the grounds of the shrine, probably the first thing that will get your attention is the, torii (the traditional gate to a Shinto shrine) you pass under. It is enormous and majestic, completely impossible to miss. Actually, there are three torii in total between the Harajuku entrance and the main building. But once you pass under the first one, you enter the forest which blocks out the sights and sounds of the city. While walking along the path to the shrine you will pass huge barrels of sake. These barrels are donated every year by Meiji Jingu Nationwide Sake Brewers Association to the enshrined deities at the shrine, and they make for a great photo opportunity for the visitor. About five minutes past the sake barrels you`ll come to the entrance of the main shrine area, from where you can see the Mode Gakuen building far behind in the distance. The two buildings really contrast each other. Mode Gakuen, an icon of the

4 modern age and Meiji Jingu an icon of ages past, but still relevant in the modern era as it one of the main places for News Years prayers and is still very culturally important. This afternoon we are off to Harajuku, the area around Tokyo's Harajuku Station. The focal point is Takeshita Dori (Takeshita Street) and its side streets, which are lined by many trendy shops, fashion boutiques, used clothes stores, crepe stands and fast food outlets geared towards the fashion and trend conscious teens. When you walk through the arch of Harajuku s Takeshita-dori what first hits you is not the fashion, but the sheer amount of pink, on the sides of the buildings, in the shops and on people, but also the astounding number of crepe shops! If you want a crepe, now is the time to do it especially if you have always dreamed of essentially eating a warm, freshly baked cone filled with a whole piece of cheesecake and ice cream! Enjoy some free time to stroll around and enjoy the area. Don t forget to stop at the 100 yen Daiso store, halfway up on Takeshita-dori. We will remain here for 1.5 hours so that you have ample time to shop, lunch on own and enjoy this quite unique atmosphere. Next, on to Shinjuku where you may think of as only a place to shop and eat, but there s one giant serene spot right in its center, Shinjuku Gyoen s gardens, with 1,500 sakura trees of many different species. In spring Shinjuku Gyoen is one of the best spots in the city for cherry blossom viewing. Enjoy free time here to take in all its beauty. With our day complete, we are off back to our hotel, arrival by 4:00pm and the remainder of the afternoon and evening is free. Accommodations: Sunshine City Prince Hotel Day 5 April 06 th, Friday Tokyo-Omiya-Kawagoe-Tokyo (B) After breakfast, please meet your guide by 8:30am as we head out for a full day of touring. The day begins with a drive to Omiya to visit the Bonsai Art Museum. Opened in 2010, the museum is the world s first publicly run museum dedicated to bonsai art and boasts a collection of more than 120 bonsai masterpieces and bonsai-related artifacts. These include bonsai pots, miniature landscape stone called suiseki, books and woodblock prints, etc. Selected in accordance with the four seasons, about 60 pots of bonsai are always displayed in the garden and some in the gallery. After walking around inside, do step outside into the large courtyard, where most of the museum s bonsai are displayed around a central water feature. These are much larger than their indoor counterparts, which allows you to see in greater detail the care that has been taken in shaping and potting these artful plants. The majority are Shohaku (evergreen) varieties such as Japanese Five Needle Pine or Yezo Spruce, as well as of deciduous bonsai. From here we are visiting Omiya Park, the most visited park in Saitama prefecture, especially at the peak of the cherry blossom season when it is a profusion of pink flowers. This park is considered one of 100 best Sakura Spots, with about 1,200 cherry trees. Omiya Park it is a popular spot to visit and enjoy a Hanami Party. During the Sakura season, there are many stands where you can enjoy a snack or beverage. Enjoy free time here for cherry blossom viewing. Now, off to Kawagoe, the most Japanese destination of all and yet, only an hour from Tokyo. Tight streets lined with gabled buildings and tiled roofs -- it's an image many visitors, particularly those of an older, pre-pokémon vintage, hope to find when they come to Japan for the first time. The old storehouse merchant houses are lined up, and the Toki-no-kane (Bell Tower) rings to tell the time. Enjoy time here to take a stroll through the town in a kimono and you'll feel as if you've travelled back in time to ancient Edo. In Kawagoe, you can experience the traditional and pure Japan which you can't see in Tokyo. Enjoy time here for lunch on your own. From here we make our way back to Tokyo and our hotel, arrival by 4:15pm. Once back, the remainder of the evening is free. Accommodations: Sunshine City Prince Hotel

5 Day 6 April 07 th, Saturday Tokyo-Mt. Fuji-Oiso (B/L/D) The morning begins with a drive to the Mt. Fuji area and a visit to the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum Our first stop today is at the Kubota Icchiku Kimono Museum, located near Lake Kawaguchi with majestic views of Mt. Fuji. The museum is an artist s paradise. It was built by the artist Kubota Itchiku and highlights his priceless creations. He was a textile artist who dedicated his whole life to reviving and mastering the lost art of Tsujigahana silk dyeing, a traditional dye technique, used to decorate elaborate kimonos during the Muromachi period ( ). Itchiku Kubota was 20 years old when he first encountered tsujigahana. After suffering through a hard prison life in WWII he came back and began to study tsujigahana. He devoted the remainder of his life to this. 29 years later, in 1977, he had his first exhibition Itchiku Tsujigahana" at the age of 60. Its beauty and high-quality technique gained reputation and the exhibition was also held abroad. It went around cities like Paris, New York, and London. He also has received various awards. In 1994, Itchiku Kubota Art Museum was opened. His works are exhibited in the main building of the museum. This building has a complicated wooden structure using Hiba trees (cypress family) more than 1000 years old. Both traditional artisanal techniques and modern log cabin methods are used to construct the building. The building has an open ceiling and the wooden structure is visible. There also are a Japanese tea house and a cafe where you can enjoy the view of a waterfall as well as tea and sweets, and a gallery with a collection of glass beads. Enjoy the beautiful traditional artworks, and enjoy walking in the garden and on the path to take full advantage of the beautiful natural environment of the museum. From here we are off to Oshino Hakkai for lunch at a local restaurant and free time to explore. Oshino Hakkai is a set of eight ponds in Oshino, a small village in the Fuji Five Lake region, located between Lake Kawaguchiko and Lake Yamanakako on the site of a former sixth lake that dried out several hundred years ago. Snow feeds the eight ponds which melt from the slopes of nearby Mt. Fuji. The water has filtered down from the mountain through porous layers of lava for over 80 years, resulting in very clear spring water that is revered by the locals. Next to one pond, you can drink the cool water straight from the source. The ponds are quite deep and have interesting freshwater plant life and large fish, almost like visiting an aquarium. Along here are a variety of restaurants, souvenir shops and food vendors selling vegetables, sweets, pickles, crafts, and other local products. Some operate small outdoor grills to attract shoppers with the alluring smells of roasted sweet potato and toasted rice crackers (osenbei). Cherry trees line about 400 meters of the river on the northwestern side. The most popular view is from the bridge not far from the Shibokusa Sengen Shrine. If we luck out on a clear day, Mount Fuji can be seen behind the cherry trees and makes for an incredible cherry blossom viewing spot. We now drive to Oiso, a historic coastline town facing Sagami Bay of the Pacific Ocean. Osio is a popular beach resort and holiday spot for residents of Tokyo. Accommodations for this evening are at the Oiso Prince Hotel, beachfront overlooking the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. Many of the rooms offer ocean views. Arrival at the hotel will be approximately 5:00pm and a Japanese dinner at our hotel will begin at 6:30pm.

6 Accommodations: Oiso Prince Hotel Day 7 April 08 th, Sunday Oiso-Kamakura-Yokohama (B) After breakfast, please meet your guide in the lobby by 8:30am as we are off on another full day of touring. The day begins with a short 45-minute drive to Kamakura and a stop at Enoshima, a small island at the mouth of the Sakai River that flows into Sagami Bay. It is approximately four kilometers, and it is linked with the opposite shore of Katase by the 600-meter-long Enoshima-ohashi Bridge. Once we have crossed the bridge, you will see marine product shops, souvenir shops, inns, and traditional restaurants on the approach to Enoshima-jinja Shrine. Enoshima-jinja Shrine was originally a tutelary shrine where the three goddesses of land, sea transport, and fisheries were enshrined in 552. Hadaka-Benten, or the naked goddess of entertainment in the shrine, is one of the three most famous goddesses in Japan. During the Edo Period, the shrine was crowded with worshippers, as Enoshima Benzaiten had many believers at that time. Still today, of course, many celebrities visit the shrine to wish for success. Enjoy a short time here to do some shopping. The next stop is at the Great Buddha of Kamakura, a bronze statue of Amida Buddha, which stands on the grounds of Kotokuin Temple. With a height of meters, it is the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan. The statue was cast in 1252 and originally located inside a large temple hall. However, the temple buildings were destroyed multiple times by typhoons and a tidal wave in the 14th and 15th centuries. So, since 1495, the Buddha has been standing in the open air. The Great Buddha rises serenely from its base, with gorgeously draped garments that you can hardly believe are forged from bronze. The serene expression is so evident; you feel the peace the artists intended to convey. The Great Buddha of Kotoku-in is an iconic image that represents Japanese culture. It is not just big, but beautiful. This is also a beautiful spot for Cherry Blossom viewing. Our next stop is at Komachi Dori, the main shopping street in Kamakura. It is always busy with visitors year-round, tourists and locals alike. There is a good mix (product and price-wise) of places to spend your yen from shops selling everything hello kitty to fancy pottery and restaurants serving traditional meals to stalls selling snacks. Enjoy lunch on your own here. Our last stop today will be at Hokokuji Temple, famous for the bamboo forest behind the main road. In the serene air of the bamboo garden nestle stone buddhas and five-tiered pagodas. You can experience the special atmosphere of a Zen Temple. Hokokuji was established in 1334 at the start of the Kamakura Era as a place to house the family treasures and pay homage to the grandfather of the first Ashikaga Shogun. The whole encampment, set against a mountain ridge far off the beaten path in the Jyomyoji section of Kamakura, is magnificently maintained. The towering moso bamboo forest is glorious. Thousands of the towering hardwood grasses rise out of a floor covered in its own fallen leaves as mulch. The delicate green canopy above filters in light gently, creating a surreally pillow-like effect. Two stone paths wind through the grove and our sense of relaxation only grew as we approached the classic wooden tea pavilion in the back-left corner, set up so that tables and counters faced out across the bamboo assemblage. This spot is yet another excellent Cherry Blossom site. We are now off to our hotel for the evening, Shin Yokohama Prince Hotel, ideally located, just a three-minute walk from the JR Yokohama Station. Arrival will be by 5:00pm. After some time to freshen up, please meet your guide in the lobby as we will be taking a walk over to the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum for a dinner of ramen.

7 A miniature historical theme park, Ramen Town, located on the bottom two levels of the Ramen Museum, is a recreation of a bustling urban neighborhood from 1958 (which happens to be the year instant ramen was invented). Scattered among the weathered faux storefronts and fifties-era billboards are real ramen shops from around Japan, where you can try out different regional styles of noodles. Dinner is on your own tonight. This is ramen for serious connoisseurs, with the eight shops chosen carefully from among the tens of thousands of stores throughout the country. The major ramen capitals -- Sapporo, Hakata, Kumamoto and Kitakata -- are all represented, along with a few critically acclaimed shops from the Tokyo/Yokohama area. In addition to ramen, vendors hawk cotton candy and old-fashioned pastries, a time-capsule candy shop sells inexpensive toys from a bygone era, and two old-style bars dispense regional brands of sake. Upstairs is a small ramen-focused museum, and a gift shop where you can buy fresh ramen noodles and soup to prepare at home. After dinner, the remainder of the evening is free. Accommodations: Shin Yokohama Prince Hotel Day 8 April 9 th, Monday Yokohama Narita (B) After breakfast, please meet your guide in the lobby by 10:00am. It may be our last day on tour, but we will be making the best of each moment. Our morning begins with a visit to Sankeien Garden, a spacious Japanese style garden in southern Yokohama which exhibits many historic buildings from across Japan. There is a pond, small rivers, flowers, and wonderful scrolling trails that make you think you are in Kyoto rather than Yokohama. The garden was built by Hara Sankei and opened to the public in Among the historic buildings exhibited in the park are an elegant daimyo (feudal lord) residence, several tea houses, and the main hall and three storied pagoda of Kyoto s old Tomyoji Temple. The garden is also a famous viewing spot of plum and cherry blossoms. We now make our way towards Narita with a stop at Narita-san Omotesando, the closest place to the airport where the good old days of Japan remain. This charming street offers all the flavors of a temple town. Take a leisurely stroll and take a peek into souvenir shops and food vendors that strike your fancy. The first thing you notice as you walk along the street is the great number of establishments selling eel. Eel has been a Narita delicacy since the Edo Era. Just past the middle of the street is Kawatoyo where you can see staff filleting eel at the storefront. Walking through that smoky sweet aroma is also one of the things to look forward to. Nagomi-no-Yoneya, an establishment opened in 1899 dealing in kuri-yokan (chestnut bean jelly) also operates a yokan museum at the back. The yokan with added fortune slips is quite unique. Elsewhere, there is the Saheiji Kawamura Store which has the famous Teppo-zuke pickles, the lone sake brewery on the street, Chomeisen, and other shops which have many of the most famous products in Japan. As you walk around notice that some of the buildings here have existed since their construction in the Edo Era and which are still operating in the forms of the Onoya Inn and the Mitsuhashi Pharmacy. Finally, right at the end of Omotesando, you will arrive at the 1,000-year-old Naritasan temple. Naritasan Park, adjacent to the temple grounds, is filled with plum and cherry blossom in spring and red leafy trees in fall. It s our last chance for cherry blossom viewing, don t miss out! Enjoy free time here to explore and have lunch on your own.

8 Now we are off to the Narita Airport and begin the check in process for our flight home. Arrival will be at approximately 4:00 pm. United Airlines #902 Departs Narita 6:55 pm Arrive Honolulu 7:00 am