Imperial Japan

IMPERIAL JAPAN

September 26 - October 9, 2021 | 14 Days | Small Group Adventure

MAP NOT TO SCALE Expedition Highlight

• Spend three full days in Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital, and enjoy an exclusive geisha experience with a local expert.

• Discover the highlights of Shirakawa-go cosmopolitan Tokyo with its JAPAN unique blend of ancient sites and Kanazawa modern marvels. Takayama • Experience the excitement of Tokyo riding first-class in Japan’s famed bullet trains. Hiroshima Kyoto Nara Hakone • Pay your respects at the solemn Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Miyajima Memorial Park in Hiroshima. • Stroll through serene Kenrokuen Train Travel Garden, regarded to be one of Japan’s most beautiful gardens. Land Travel

• Itinerary...... page 2 > • Flight Information ...... page 3 > • Meet Your Travel Director ...... page 4 > • Rates ...... page 4 > KYOTO SHIRAKAWA-GO

Thursday, September 30 Itinerary TOKYO / TAKAYAMA Based on the expeditionary nature of our trips, there may be ongoing Board the famous Shinkansen bullet train to Nagoya, then enhancements to this itinerary. transfer to the Limited Express Hida for one of the most scenic train journeys in Japan, winding through tall mountains and stunning gorges on the way to the rural city of Takayama. Sunday & Monday, September 26 & 27, 2021 Explore the narrow streets and wooden buildings of this DEPART USA / TOKYO, JAPAN historic city that dates back to the end of the 16th century. Board your independent flight to Japan. Upon arrival in Tokyo Tonight, enjoy the outstanding mountain views from your on September 27, transfer by private car to the Conrad Tokyo and deluxe room at the Associa Takayama Hotel. enjoy sweeping views of the city’s magnificent skyline from your executive bay-view room. Enjoy the evening with a Welcome Dinner Friday, October 1 TAKAYAMA Today, explore the bustling Miyagawa Morning Market, one Tuesday & Wednesday, September 28 & 29 of Japan’s largest morning markets, and taste some of the TOKYO region’s delicacies. Visit Takayama Jinya, the only surviving On your first full day of touring, visit the Meiji Shrine, government office building remaining from the Edo Period dedicated to the deified spirit of Emperor Meiji, then stroll to (1603 – 1868), which now serves as a museum. Later, stroll nearby Omotesando shopping street, home to some of the through old town Takayama on the way to the Festival Floats world’s top fashion brands, and make a stop at the fascinating Museum and see intricately carved ornamental floats dating Samurai Museum, which displays the swords and elaborate back to the 17th century. costumes of Japan’s military nobility. After lunch, enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the city from the 781-foot-tall Mori Tower. Continue to Asakusa, Tokyo’s old town, and visit the city’s oldest temple, Asakusa Kannon. Tonight, enjoy dinner at the Saturday, October 2 hotel. TAKAYAMA / SHIRAKAWA-GO / KANAZAWA Travel to the remote mountain village of Shirakawa-go, a The next day, keep an eye out for iconic Mt. Fuji during a day UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for its traditional trip to Hakone. After lunch at a local restaurant, take a cruise gassho-zukuri farmhouses and their steeply pitched, thatched on scenic Lake Ashi. Continue to Owakudani via the Hakone roofs—unique in Japan. Built to withstand heavy snowfall, the Ropeway, on a clear day, views of Mt. Fuji is stunning. Take roofs are constructed without the use of nails and provided a a stroll along trails that lead to the steam vents and bubbling large attic space used historically for cultivating silk worms. pools of this active volcanic area. Those who eat an egg Continue to Kanazawa, a hub of historical arts and culture boiled in the volcano’s natural hot springs are said to prolong and stop at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. their life by seven years. Return to Tokyo for dinner at the hotel Tonight, enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the city from your deluxe or your Travel Director is happy to make a recommendation, room at the Nikko Kanazawa Hotel, the tallest building in whatever you culinary predilection. Japan’s Hokuriku region.

ZEGRAHM EXPEDITIONS | IMPERIAL JAPAN < 2 > GOLDEN PAVILION UDON

Sunday, October 3 Thursday, October 7 KANAZAWA KYOTO Explore the nearly 300-year-old Omicho Market, home to Today, visit Nijo Castle. This ornamental former residence more than 200 stalls bursting with fresh produce and seafood. of the Shogun was finished in 1603 and is surrounded by Continue to one of Japan’s most beautiful gardens, Kenroku-en beautiful gardens. Continue to gold-leaf covered Kinkakuji, Garden, also known as “Garden of the Six Sublimities,” which was also known as the Golden Pavilion, which was originally built curated to entice visitors year-round. Later, witness a centuries- as a retirement villa for the Shogun but became one of Kyoto’s old Yuzen silk painting demonstration, followed by a visit to the most famous Buddhist Temples. Dine on Buddhist vegetarian historic Nomura Samurai House, a traditional Japanese home cuisine at a temple in Arashiyama. with a tea-ceremony room, an interior courtyard garden, and artifacts dating back to the Edo Period. Friday, October 8 KYOTO / NARA Monday, October 4 Travel to Nara, Japan’s capital during the eighth century and KANAZAWA / HIROSHIMA home to many ancient temples and shrines that still stand today. Today, board a bullet train for Hiroshima. Upon arrival check Visit the Todai-ji Temple, the world’s largest wooden structure, in to the Sheraton Grand Hotel with the rest of the day at and see Japan’s largest Buddha. The temple is surrounded leisure to explore on your own. by Nara Park, which is home to more than 1,000 tame deer. Witness the beauty of the Kasuga Taisha Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was established in AD 768 and is Tuesday, October 5 famous for its bronze and stone lanterns. Finish off the day with HIROSHIMA / MIYAJIMA a visit to the Fushimi Inari Shrine, which was featured in the movie Begin the day with a visit to the Peace Memorial Park. Located Memoirs of a Geisha, and is famous for its thousands of red in the heart of the city, the park is more than 30 acres and is tori gates leading up through the sacred forest of Mount Inari. dedicated to the legacy of Hiroshima as the first city in history to Tonight, attend a special farewell dinner at the hotel. suffer a nuclear attack. Visit the park’s main attraction, the Peace Memorial Museum, and listen to eyewitness testimonies. After lunch, board a ferry to the small, sacred island of Miyajima Saturday, October 9 and photograph the Itsukushima Shrine’s “Floating Torii Gate,” KYOTO / OSAKA / USA a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enjoy breakfast before being transferred to the airport for your independent homeward flight. Arrive in the USA the same day. Wednesday, October 6 HIROSHIMA / KYOTO Board the train to Japan’s former capital—Kyoto. Walk through the city’s atmospheric Higashiyama district, one of Kyoto’s Flight Information best-preserved historic districts. Experience a traditional Japanese tea ceremony at the Gesshin-in Temple, which was You will need to purchase airfare from your home city/ Tokyo and Osaka/home city. Please contact our in-house Air founded in 1617 and is home to a 600-year-old “Yuraku” Department for fare quotes, reservations, or other air-related camellia tree. Afterwards, stroll through Kyoto’s famous geisha questions. district, Gion. In the evening, enjoy dinner, conversation, and drinking games with geishas and a local expert. Tonight, relax in your deluxe room at the stylish, five-star Hyatt Regency Kyoto.

ZEGRAHM EXPEDITIONS | IMPERIAL JAPAN < 3 > Meet Your Travel Director

AMBER MEDKIFF Amber is a graduate of the University of London where she studied Fashion Design. Prior to entering the travel industry, she lived in Florence for two years while working for fashion designer Emilio Pucci, and she also worked for an international incentive company, taking care of top entertainers and CEOs from Fortune 500 companies. Amber speaks French, Italian, and Spanish, and is a member of the Italian Institute and the French Institute of San Francisco, where she resides. She has published a travel article on Italy and was the subject of a Condé Nast Traveler magazine article titled “How to Travel Like a Millionaire.”

RATES

$16,980 per person, double occupancy; $19,980 per person, solo occupancy

Limited to 14 guests.

INCLUDED: NOT INCLUDED: • All meals, including select beverages during lunch and dinner • Airfare from your home city/Tokyo and Osaka/home city • Transportation within Japan • Excess baggage charges • All accommodations • Airport arrival and departure taxes • All excursions in the company of a Travel Director and • Passport and/or visa fees expert local guides • Travel insurance • Luggage transfers • Items of a personal nature such as laundry, alcoholic beverages • All gratuities (other than listed at left), entrance fees for any extra sightseeing or • Group and individual airport transfers on arrival and optional activities, and other incidentals departures dates • Email/Internet/fax/telephone charges • Medical expense coverage and emergency evacuation insurance

A 25% per person deposit will secure your space on this expedition. All rates are per person, quoted in US dollars, and must be paid in US dollars. Rates and itineraries are subject to change. Please review our Terms & Conditions online at www.zegrahm.com/terms, or call our office for a printed copy.

Know Before You Go For most activities, a relatively moderate level of exertion is required. You must be able to walk distances of one to three miles, sometimes over uneven surfaces, such as cobblestones and forest paths, and climb stairs that may not have hand- rails. Temperatures will range from the low-50s to high-70sºF throughout this itinerary. Be prepared to remove your shoes throughout your travels in Japan, especially when visiting religious sites.

To reserve, visit www.zegrahm.com/imperial-japan-2021 or contact your travel consultant. < 4