Hokkaido Winter Festivals - 8 Days 7 Nights US$2698.00 Tour Start Dates: 2016 – 2/7

Charms of Northern Japan Tour - Hokkaido Winter Festivals - 8 days 7 nights US$2698.00 Tour Start Dates: 2016 – 2/7

TOUR COST INCLUDES: 4 nights Western style and 3 nights Japanese style accommodation Meet and greet upon arrival at Chitose Airport Airport transfers on arrival and departure Private luxury coach transfers between destinations in Japan Comprehensive escorted with AJT professional English speaking tour guide Gratuities

Meals Breakfast everyday 4 lunches and 3 dinners

Admission fees and activities Entry fees to sites, gardens, and museums listed in the itinerary Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival Sapporo Snow Festival Mt. Okura Observatory Asahikawa Winter Festival Sounkyo Ice Fall Festival Attaka Abashiri Ice Breaker Cruise Shiretoko Fantasia - Laser Show

All prices are per person, based on double or triple occupancy. International flights are not included on our tours -this allows you the flexibility to choose your own departure and get the best value for your money! We can arrange international flights for US customers if needed, please ask for details. All Japan Tours 646 W. California St., Ontario, CA 91762, USA Toll Free (US/CANADA): 1-855-325-2726 <1-855-32JAPAN> TEL: 1-909-988-8885 FAX: 1-909-349-1736 E-mail: [email protected] www.alljapantours.com

ITINERARY Day 01: Chitose Airport

Welcome to Sapporo! Our tour guide will greet you and escort you to the hotel.

Overnight: ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Chitose or similar class

Day 02: Lake Shikotsu (Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival), Shiraoi (Shiraoi Ainu Village), Sapporo (Sapporo Beer Museum)

Today we start our tour with the Shikotsuko Hyoto Matsuri (Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival). From there we will proceed to Ainu Village at Shiraoi, where you will learn about and meet the Ainu, the native people of northern Japan. Here you can enter their traditional thatch roof houses, watch a dance demonstration, listen to indigenous music and sample tradional smoked salmon that has been hanging from ceiling rafters. In the afternoon, we will depart for Sapporo by a private coach and visit the Sapporo Beer Museum, dedicated to all things beer. Sapporo is Japan's oldest brewery and exports its beer throughout the world.

Overnight: ANA Hotel Sapporo or similar class

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Day 03: Sapporo (Sapporo Snow Festival)

This morning we will visit the Sapporo Snow Festival (Odori Site) by train. The festival's famous large snow sculptures, some measuring more than 25 meters wide and 15 meters high, are exhibited there. Besides about a dozen large snow sculptures, the Odori Site exhibits more than a hundred smaller snow statues and hosts several concerts and events, many of which use the sculptures as their stage. A good view over the Odori Site can be enjoyed from the Sapporo TV Tower at the eastern end of Odori Park. The afternoon is free for you to enjoy, along with lunch on your own. Our tour guide will be there to help you make arrangements or take you to places depending on the group’s need.

Overnight: ANA Hotel Sapporo or similar class

Meals: Breakfast

Day 04: Sapporo (Mt. Okura Observatory), Asahikawa (Asahikawa Ramen Village / Asahikawa Winter Festival / Otokoyama Sake Brewery), Sounkyo (Sounkyo Ice Fall Festival)

This morning our tour of Sapporo continues with a visit to Mt. Okura Observatory. The 90 meter ski jump portion of the Winter Olympics 1972 was held in the Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium. We will take a chair lift to the Okurayama Observatory at the top of the hill for breath taking views of Sapporo. From Sapporo, we will take a 2 hour ride by private coach to Asahikawa. We will have lunch at the Asahikawa Ramen Village before heading to the Asahikawa Winter Festival, where we see the biggest solid snow castle in Japan. You might like to enjoy a hot sake while sitting inside a cafe built from ice. At the Otokoyama Sake Brewery, you will learn the fascinating history of sake brewing through viewing its nostalgic buildings and valuable collection of traditional brewing tools. Enjoy a sake tasting experience. Then, proceed to Sounkyo Gorge in Daisetsuzan National Park. Visit Sounkyo Ice Fall Festival, where giant structures, stairways, tunnels, turrets and castle walls resemble the face of a frozen waterfall and are illuminated with colored lights. After your evening stroll around the ice festival you can return to your hotel and relax in the hot spring baths.

All Japan Tours 646 W. California St., Ontario, CA 91762, USA Toll Free (US/CANADA): 1-855-325-2726 <1-855-32JAPAN> TEL: 1-909-988-8885 FAX: 1-909-349-1736 E-mail: [email protected] www.alljapantours.com

Overnight: Sounkyo Choyotei Hotel or similar class

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 05: Sounkyo (Ginga & Ryusei Waterfalls), Abashiri (Okhotsk Ryuhyo Museum / Attaka Abashiri)

After breakfast, we will explore the Sounkyo Gorge area including Ginga and Ryusei waterfalls. Enjoy beautiful scenery as we drive to Abashiri and visit Okhotsk Ryuhyo Museum. The Sea of Okhotsk is frozen in winter, with an endless blanket of packed ice drifting down from the Arctic. You will discover that ice is not the simple substance most people think it is. This afternoon we will visit the Attaka Abashiri on Lake Abashiri, where you can walk on the frozen lake. Watch locals catch Wakasagi fish through holes in the ice or even take a ride on a snow mobile.

Overnight: Abashiri Kanko Hotel or similar class

Meals: Breakfast & Dinner

Day 06: Abashiri (Ice Breaker Cruise / Abashiri Prison Museum), Lake Tofutsu, Shiretoko (Shiretoko Fantasia - Laser Show)

This morning, we will experience an Ice Breaker cruise among the floating drifts of ice. Here, you can observe Northern Fur Seals, Kurile Seals and numerous sea eagles resting on the icebergs. From there, visit the Abashiri Prison Museum. Abashiri Prison was constructed in the 1890s to hold over a thousand dangerous criminals. In the 1960s, the prison gained national fame through a popular yakuza movie series directed by Ishii Teruo. Following a major modernization of the Abashiri Prison in 1984, the prison's old buildings were moved into the Abashiri Prison Museum, which opened its doors to the public in 1985 as an open air museum. In the afternoon we will take a tour of Lake Tofutsu to view Whooper Swans. Lake Tofutsu is famous for its more than 2,000 whooper swans that migrate from Siberia each winter. Tonight we stay in a harbor front hotel at Utoro Port on Shiretoko Peninsula, a World Heritage listed nature site. This evening we will see a laser light show “Aurora Fantasy,” which is the main event of the festival. The event was started to recreate the real Aurora that appeared on a night sky of Shiretoko in 1958. Dynamic music, beams of light and smokes from burning straws create a fantasy world.

Overnight: Shiretoko Grand Hotel "Kita Kobushi" or similar class

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 07: Lake Mashu, Kushiro (Akan International Crane Center / Kushiro City Marsh Observatory / Washo Market)

After breakfast we transfer to Lake Mashu where you can look down into the volcanic crater lake. Continuing our journey, we visit the Akan International Crane Center, a museum, breeding center and sanctuary for "red-crowned" Tancho Cranes. From there we will visit Kushiro Marshlands, the largest wetland in Japan. In 1980 it was protected by the Ramsar Convention and in 1987 it was incorporated into the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park. Lastly, visit Washo Market where you will see a variety of fresh local fruits and vegetables.

Overnight: ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Kushiro or similar class

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Day 08: Tour End

After breakfast, our tour officially ends. Checkout time is 11 am and Kushiro Airport can be reached by Airport Limousine Bus.

NOTE: If you would like to stay longer in Japan, please contact us to book hotel accommodations.

Meals: Breakfast