ASIA Guaranteed small group of no more than 24 Smithsonian travelers per departure ETERNAL JAPAN FROM TOKYO TO KYOTO 13 days from $6,286 total price from Los Angeles, San Francisco ($5,595 air & land inclusive plus $691 airline taxes and departure fees) istorically a land of delicate art and rich Htraditions, Japan is also known for its bustling commerce and dizzying modernity. Experience fascinating aspects of Japanese culture, from a traditional tea ceremony to a stay in a ryokan, as well as historic and modern sites and the stunning scenery of Mt. Fuji. See the highlights of Tokyo and Kyoto, and go off the beaten path to the lovely historic cities of Takayama and Kanazawa. JAPAN Sea of Japan Lake Suwa Kyoto Osaka Hiroshima Destination Motorcoach Beloved by artists, climbers, tourists, and Japanese alike, Mt. Fuji stands as the country’s most enduring symbol. Train Pacific Ocean Extension (train) Entry/Departure Day 1: Depart the U.S. for Tokyo, Japan some of Ginza’s department stores, boutiques, or galleries, or to set off in a new direction. (B) Avg. High (°F) May Sep Oct Day 2: Tokyo Upon arrival this evening, transfer Tokyo 72 78 70 Kyoto 75 82 74 to your hotel where you learn about the journey Day 5: Mt. Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and ahead at a briefing with your tour director. Suwa Japan’s pastoral side is on tap as you leave Tokyo for Mt. Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Day 3: Tokyo Spend the morning touring this Here sits imposing Mt. Fuji, a dormant volcano (it Your Small Group Tour Highlights amazing city that comprises 23 wards and covers last erupted in 1707) with a perfectly symmetrical a staggering 840 miles. Focus on a smaller area cone that rises to 12,388 feet. The mountain’s Learn about Tokyo’s past during a special visit to the visiting some of Tokyo’s top sights, including Shinto Edo-Tokyo Museum ... Visit the gallery of preeminent majesty is breathtaking, as artists and writers have calligrapher Koshun Masunaga in Tokyo ... Experience an Meiji Shrine, a peaceful enclave of temples and gardens, attested for centuries. Take a coach ride where, overnight stay in a traditional ryokan ... Tour the famed the Edo-Tokyo Museum, a historical presentation of weather permitting, you’ll enjoy breathtaking Kenrokuen Garden in Kanawaza ... Enjoy a full day excur- Edo (the city from c. 1600 until 1868) and Tokyo (the panoramic views; then descend for a relaxing cruise sion to Nara, Japan’s ancient capital, featuring many World new Edo from 1868 until the present); and historic on scenic Ashi Lake. Leaving the park, travel to the Heritage sites. Imperial Palace, surrounded by moats and ramparts, town of Suwa where you spend the night at a ryokan, a and home of the Imperial family. Visit Tokyo’s traditional Japanese inn where you take off your shoes Day Itinerary Hotel Rating oldest temple, Bud d hist Asakusa Kannon, followed upon entering and sleep on a futon. (B,D) 1 Depart U.S. for Tokyo by the Nakamise Shopping arcade. This afternoon is 2-4 Tokyo Park Hotel Tokyo Sup. First Class at leisure; enjoy a welcome dinner tonight at a local Day 6: Takayama Today travel to lovely Takayama Nunohan Hotel restaurant. (B,D) in the Japanese Alps, considered one of the country’s 5 Lake Suwa Not rated (ryokan) most attractive towns with its 16th-century castle and 6 Takayama Hida Hotel Plaza First Class Day 4: Tokyo The day begins with a motorcoach old-style buildings. Your explorations center on three 7-8 Kanazawa Nikko Kanazawa First Class tour of Ginza, Tokyo’s famed shopping, dining, narrow streets in the San-machi-suji district where, in 9-12 Kyoto ANA Kyoto Hotel First Class and entertainment district boasting Japan’s most feudal times, merchants lived amidst the authentically 13 Depart Kyoto for U.S. expensive real estate. Visit the gallery of preeminent preserved small inns, teahouses, and sake breweries Ratings are based on the Hotel & Travel Index, the travel calligrapher Koshun Masunaga, where you learn that you see here. Enjoy a sake tasting then have free industry standard reference. Unrated hotels may be too about this ancient art and browse the collection. time to visit local shops that sell the region’s unique small, too new, or too remote to be listed. Then the remainder of the day is at leisure to visit lacquerware and prized carvings of yew wood. (B,D) 52 On The Web See more photographs of Japan in our slide show at SmithsonianJourneys.org/Japan Day 7: Takayama, Shirakawago, Kanazawa Pay an early visit to the river side Miyagawa Morning “It was excellent, very enlightening, Market selling flowers, fruit, and vegeta bles, a blaze of dazzling colors and exotic foodstuffs. Then leave very memorable.” Takayama for the World Heritage site of Shirakawago -Smithsonian Traveler Gassho-zukuri Village. Comprising buildings re locat ed from authentic villages nearby that were razed for a dam, the village is also a vibrant com- Castle (c. 1603), where the shogun asserted control over munity whose residents work together to preserve the city and its people and attend a traditional Japanese the unique traditional architecture here known as tea ceremony, a historic, ritualized ceremony of Gassho style. Next visit that dam – Miboro – the form, grace, and spirituality. (B) largest dam constructed using “rock-fill technology,” i.e. just stones and clay. Late afternoon reach the Day 11: Nara Today, enjoy an excursion to Nara, castle town of Kanazawa, an alluring coastal city that Japan’s ancient capital. Take a walking tour to see survived the ravages of World War II. (B,L) the Kasuga Taisha Shrine and Todaiji Temple, both World Heritage sites, and the Nara National Museum. Day 8: Kanazawa Today’s tour of this culturally Return to Kyoto late afternoon. (B) rich city features renowned Kenrokuen Garden, a national landmark whose origins date to 1676. Also Day 12: Kyoto See the sights today from a slightly see Ishikawa Gate, the only remaining section of the different perspective as you embark on a cycling town’s original castle; the Gold Leaf Museum tour through the grounds of the Imperial Palace celebrating the art and craft of gold leaf technology; and its garden, Kyoto-gyoen, and the Gion district and the Higashi Chayagai teahouse and geisha area. where geishas gather. Dismount to stroll through Your last stop is the Nagamachi Samurai district, Miyakawacho, where the geishas live, and Machiya, where the ruling family’s samurai warriors lived. (B,D) a neighborhood of traditional townhouses. Tonight enjoy a fare well dinner at a local restaurant. (B,D) Day 9: Kanazawa and Kyoto This morning visit the Kutani Ceramics Museum celebrating this Day 13: Depart Kyoto for the U.S. Travel by quintessential Japanese art form, and the Asakusa coach to Osaka, to board return flights to the U.S. B)( Isokichi Art Museum. Then board the train for Kyoto, once Japan’s Imperial Capital and now the country’s cultural and artistic capital. With its many Smithsonian Expert temples, shrines, artful gardens, and well-preserved Young girl in traditional attire wooden architecture, Kyoto embodies Japan’s rich Carol Morland is a Japanese art culture and complex history. (B,D) historian, with special expertise in the painting of the Edo period. 2014 Tour Dates and Prices She has taught courses in East and including international airfare and all taxes, surcharges, and fees Day 10: Kyoto Today’s tour reveals the highlights Southeast Asian art at the University May 14 of Kyoto, which was spared destruction during of Michigan and Nanzan University Sep 13 World War II. Highlights include 16th-century (Nagoya, Japan). Carol has been Ryoan-ji Temple, with the dry garden of sand and an editor for the Asian art magazine, Orientations, Sep 27 rocks (kare-sansui) and Kinkaku-ji, the lakeside Tem- and has translated Japanese articles for that publica- Los Angeles, San Francisco $6,286 ple of the Golden Pavilion. Also visit the ornate Nijo tion and others. Most recently, she was an assistant curator at the Honolulu Museum of Art, where she Portland (OR), Seattle $6,486 focused on the museum’s collection of ukiyo-e. Carol Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Post-Tour Extension holds an M.A. in Japanese studies and a Ph.D. in Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Japanese art history from the University of Michigan. $6,686 Houston, Minneapolis, She will lead the September 27 departure. The other New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix HIROSHIMA: CITY OF PEACE departures will be led by comparable experts. 3 days/2 nights for $895 total price Atlanta, Baltimore, Single Supplement: $95 Charlotte, Cincinnati, Miami, $6,786 Discover the modern and cosmopolitan Your Tour Price Includes Orlando, Tampa, Washington, DC city of Hiroshima, reborn from the atomic des truction of World War II. • Round-trip air transportation from listed cities Land Only $4,995 • 11 nights accommodations: 10 nights in Superior Please call if your city is not listed. Prices are per person First Class and First Class hotels; 1 night in traditional Your Tour Price Includes based on double occu pancy and include airline taxes, Japanese ryokan • Round-trip train transportation Kyoto/Hiroshima fuel surcharges, and departure fees of $691, which • 2 nights accommodations at Hotel Granvia Hiroshima • 18 meals: 11 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 6 dinners are subject to change until final payment is made. (First Class) • Extensive sightseeing as described, including all • 3 Meals: 2 breakfasts, 1 lunch entrance fees Single travelers please add $1,195. All 2014 tour • Extensive included sightseeing: Isukushima Shrine; • Services of a professional Tour Director prices above (excluding airline taxes, fuel surcharges Hiroshima touring by local “Hiroden” train; visit to Peace • Lectures by Smithsonian Expert and departure fees) are guaranteed.