ITIN Family with 11-year-old daughter, Japan June 2019

Jizo: protector of children, found in every neighborhood in Japan

Client: An American mother and father and 11-year-old daughter. This trip was 90% self guided and almost entirely focused on the interests of the daughter.

June 7 (Fri): Arrive Narita International Airport on NH5 (ANA) @ 16:30 (out of LAX) at T1, south wing; you will exit customs at roughly 17:30 and then take the 18:15 Narita Express to JR Station (as below; only a few Narita Express trains go to Shinjuku; this one does). From Shinjuku you can take a short taxi ride to Station to meet your host or go there by train: the transfer document will provide for both options: platform numbers, etc.). Hotel: AirBnB in Takadanobaba, about 3 km

Your Japan Private Tours Ltd. (since 1990) | Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan | Tel: +81-(0)50-5534-4372 | www.kyoto--private-tours.com north of Shinjuku. Charges: Yen 5,000/2pax Digital A to B transfer from the airport to .

Time Route Fare Seat Fee UsefulLink • Map • Hotel NARITA AIRPORT TERMINAL 1 • Rent-a-car 18:15 Station timetable | Add to favorite Restaurant •

LTD. EXP NARITA EXPRESS 44 • Reserved seat: ¥1,700 [89 Min] Train timetable | Interval timetable ¥1,490

SHINJUKU(JR)

[ Arrival track No.6 ] 19:44 Add to favorite

June 8 (Sat): 10:00-12:30: Nakano: this cathedral-like shotengai shopping arcade (2 km northwest of Shinjuku) is a popular haunt for Tokyo's otaku geek community. 13:00-16:00: : 1. Exit the station and see the Hachiko Dog Statue and have a casual lunch nearby. 2. Seibu Department Store gourmet food scene in the basement. 3. Tokyu Hands (everything for making crafts, arts and more) . 4. Loft (a truly astounding stationery, sticker, card, trending shop for nearly 20 years now. 5. Cat Café Mocha Shibuya. 16:00-18:00: the otaku geek district. Highlights: manga and anime. Charges: Yen 15,000/3pax + basic expenses for the 8-hour self guided tour.

June 9 (Sun): 10:00-18:00: 1. JR to Station. You will enter the massive Meiji Shrine complex and the forest that surrounds it from the northeast gate entrance. 2. As you exit the “forest” shrine complex, you will swing right into the area of Yoyogi Park where the youth culture displays are going full tilt (pretty much only on Sundays). 3. Then you would stroll east out of the park into the district (the youth center of Tokyo) and walk through the best things for children (and adults) and ending in the Aoyama district at the east end of the Omotesando boulevard. 4. The day would end with an exploration of the dense range of “traditional” Japanese culture attractions of Asakusa. Asakusa is home

Your Japan Private Tours Ltd. (since 1990) | Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan | Tel: +81-(0)50-5534-4372 | www.kyoto-tokyo-private-tours.com to Sensoji Temple and the back lanes around the temple are full of souvenir shops and young people, Japan's oldest amusement park is also there as is Japan's most famous kitchenware street ( is really a place for adults, in the direction of Rodeo Drive). Dinner @ 20:00: Ninja Akasaka (CONFIRMED). Charges: Yen 15,000/3pax + basic expenses for the 8-hour self guided tour; Yen 5,000/3pax to for dinner reservations (and to and from logistics).

June 10 (Mon): 8:00-15:00: The 12th century worlds of Kamakura by the sea (as previously outlined). 16:00-17:00: Mori Digital Arts Museum in Odaiba (with reserved tickets: Yen 3,200/adult; Yen 1,000 for Amber) followed by an optional highlight stroll through Odaiba leading into sun set. Charges: Yen 15,000/3pax + basic expenses for the 8-hour self guided tour; Yen 5,000/3pax to get reserved tickets for the digital museum (CONFIRMED).

June 11 (Tues): Depart Tokyo (by bullet train: 30 minutes) for Hakone | Mount Fuji and spend one night there. Hotel: Laforet Club Hakone, Gora. Itinerary highlights: On arrival on the bullet train at Odawara, you will proceed directly to the hotel using the Hakone Tozan Railway (with Hakone Free Passes, that you will buy en route) to Gora and then a short taxi ride to the hotel (will check if they have a shuttle service). You will drop off your luggage and take a local bus (covered by the pass) to Choanji Temple ancient stone Buddha garden and then walk to the nearby Pola Art Museum which is more about architecture and integration with nature. There is also a museum devoted to the Little Prince in the area. Then you will visit the Owakudani volcanic slope (on the ropeway down to the lake), take a boat ride to the south end of the lake, and see the Tokaido highway historical checkpoint and Hakone Shrine. Charges: Yen 15,000/3pax + basic expenses for the 8-hour self guided tour.

June 12 (Wed): Morning program: Relax at the hotel until check out at 11:00. 11:30-15:00: Transfer to Kyoto (as below) and your Kyoto ryokan

Your Japan Private Tours Ltd. (since 1990) | Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan | Tel: +81-(0)50-5534-4372 | www.kyoto-tokyo-private-tours.com using my Digital A to B transfer service (door to door). Ryokan: Kyomachiya Ryokan Sakura Urushitei. 15:00-21:00: A 6-hour self guided tour that begins with a walk out of your ryokan to nearby Sanjusangendo Temple (11th century main building; UNESCO World Heritage Site) and then a stroll around the corner to Kiyomizu Temple and the pilgrimage lanes of Sanenzaka, Ninenzaka leading to your tea ceremony appointment at 18:00 (Yen 2,500/person; cash payment; CONFIRMED). After tea ceremony, you will stroll through the north part of the Gion geisha district (along the stream) and a take a private local train south (15 min one way) to Fushimi Inari and walk to the top of Mount Fuji (dimly lit 24/7) which takes about 90 minutes round trip. Finally, you will return to the Gion geisha district (near your ryokan) and have a lively dinner in a sushi restaurant (reserved for 21:00; no charge). Charges: Yen 5,000/3pax Digital Transfer from Laforet Club Hakone to the Kyoto ryokan + Yen 10,000/3pax for the 6-hour self guided tour (including reserved dinner in Gion) + basic expenses + Yen 5,000/3pax to set up the tea ceremony (CONFIRMED).

Time Route Fare Seat Fee UsefulLink • Map • Hotel ODAWARA • Rent-a-car 12:08 Station timetable | Add to favorite Restaurant •

[69 • SHINKANSEN HIKARI 511 Min] Train timetable | Interval timetable

• Map NAGOYA • Hotel 13:17 [ Arrival track No.17 / Departure track No.16 ] • Rent-a-car Reserved seat(Low-season): ¥5,070 13:33 Station timetable | Add to favorite ¥7,020 Restaurant •

[35 • SHINKANSEN NOZOMI 109 Min] Train timetable | Interval timetable

KYOTO

[ Arrival track No.14 ] 14:08 Add to favorite

June 13 (Thurs): 9:00-13:00: A half day guided tour on the west side of Kyoto (Arashiyama; Kyoto’s second most famous area after the Kiyomizu Temple area): Monkey Mountain (where you can feed “wild” monkeys

Your Japan Private Tours Ltd. (since 1990) | Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan | Tel: +81-(0)50-5534-4372 | www.kyoto-tokyo-private-tours.com from the inside of a hut built for the purpose; this is a university primate research facility; and staring at the monkeys is to be avoided!), Bamboo Forest, Okochi Sanso spiral gardens, amazing souvenirs. 14:00-17:30: Cooking Sun Kyoto; downtown Kyoto; Izakaya cooking class; Yen 8,000/adult; Yen 5,000/child; Total: Yen 21,000; CONFIRMED). Charges: Yen 31,000/3pax + basic expenses for a half day guided tour + Yen 5,000/3pax to reserve the cooking class (CONFIRMED).

June 14 (Fri): MORNING: FREE OF CHARGE: Ohara, at the edge of northeast Kyoto: an active farming village (if you know where to look), local farm products and interesting souvenirs, and, best of all, Sanzen-in Temple and it’s enormous moss and hydrangea gardens. AFTERNOON: 13:00-17:00: Kyoto downtown program: walking south from the Old Imperial Palace on Teramachi Street: Highlights: 1. One of Japan’s best washi handmade paper shops. 2. One of Japan’s best tea shops. 3. An excellent vintage kimono and obi shop (mostly from the 1920s), plus tea ceremony accessory shops and more. 4. After about a kilometer Teramachi is covered and you will explore Teramachi and adjacent Shinkyogoku (young people’s street for Kyoto) focused on things that will interest your daughter including a lively popular shrine dedicated to students and “scholars” and the Nishiki food market (also covered and like the other two streets car free). Charges: Yen 7,500/3pax + basic expenses for the half day self guided independent afternoon tour.

June 15 (Sat): 9:00-13:00: Nara Park in the morning (Amber can feed the deer as there are hundreds wandering the park; a connection to very early Shinto shrine culture & the Deer Park of India intimately connected to the story of the Buddha). 13:00-17:00: Modern (a bit of the shopping zone followed by Shinsaibashi, Amerika Mura Village, the Dontonbori Canal area and then the baseball game in the same general area (Yen 11,472 for the tickets; CONFIRMED). Charges: Yen 15,000/3pax + basic expenses for a full day self guided independent tour (also door to door) + Yen 5,000/3pax to get reserved baseball tickets (CONFIRMED).

Your Japan Private Tours Ltd. (since 1990) | Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan | Tel: +81-(0)50-5534-4372 | www.kyoto-tokyo-private-tours.com

June 16 (Sun): MORNING: 9:00-13:00: Half a day of strolling from Kurama to the top of Mount Koya and down to Kibune and Kibune Shrine and riverside lunch in extremely charming surroundings. AFTERNOON: 13:00-17:00: PLUS WHAT EVER IS DECIDED FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE DAY: WHICH COULD BE THE NORTHWEST AREA OF KYOTO (CLASSIC 15TH AND 16TH CENTURY ZEN GARDENS AND A SPECIAL SHRINE NEXT DOOR) OR IT COULD BE SOMETHING ELSE AND WE CAN AGREE ON THIS LATER. Charges: Yen 15,000/3pax + basic expenses for a full day self guided independent tour.

June 17 (Mon): Departure flight: from Narita on ANA back to LAX @ 16:05 (therefore you will have to leave Kyoto at 11:00 am). Charges: Yen 5,000/3pax digital transfer from the Kyoto hotel to Narita International.

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Your Japan Private Tours Ltd. (since 1990) | Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan | Tel: +81-(0)50-5534-4372 | www.kyoto-tokyo-private-tours.com