2021 Historical Japan Spring Break Tour #2 Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe/Himeji/Kurashiki Okayama/Miyajima/Hiroshima /Hakata MARCH 20h – 28th, 2021 7nts/9days from: $2895 triple $2995 double $3395 single Cancel for any reason up to 60 days prior-FULL REFUND! Maximum Tour size is 24 tour members! Japan has a rich history that stretches back thousands of years and the country's ancestors have left their imprint everywhere. It is a world apart – a cultural Galápagos where a unique civilization blossomed, and today thrives in delicious contrasts of traditional and modern. The Japanese spirit is strong, warm, and incredibly welcoming. We begin in Osaka, Japan's third-largest city where things have always moved a bit faster. It packs more color than most cities with its dazzling neon and vivid storefronts. Above all, it is a city that loves to eat: its unofficial slogan is kuidaore ('eat until you drop'). At night, Osaka shines as it seems that everyone is out for a good meal and a good time. There is also a full day in Kyoto, old Japan with its quiet temples, sublime gardens, and colorful shrines followed by visits to Kobe, Himeji, Kurashiki, Okayama, Miyajima, Hiroshima, and Hakata. Besides daily sightseeing we have included 2-hands-on experiences, bullet train ride, and 2 free days to go off and explore on your own or shop til you drop. Whether it is your first time or a seasoned traveler, this tour hits all the spots. Itinerary/Details Day 1 – March 20th, 2021- Saturday – Departure from Honolulu Hawaiian Airlines #449 Departs Honolulu 1:00 pm – Arrive Kansai 6:45 pm +1 Please meet your Panda Travel representative at the Hawaiian Airlines check-in counters, Terminal 2, Lobby 4, a minimum of 3 hours prior to the departure time. A complimentary meal will be served in-flight. Day 2 – March 21st, 2021- Sunday – Kansai-Kyoto After clearing Passport Control and Customs, we will be met by our local guide and then board the bus as we make our way to Osaka. The drive time is approximately 1 hour. Welcome to Osaka, Japan’s 3rd most populous city and the working heart of Kansai. Famous for its down- to-earth citizens and the colorful Kansai-ben (Kansai dialect) they speak, it is a good counterpart to the refined atmosphere of Kyoto. Primarily, Osaka is famous for good eating: the phrase kuidaore (eat 'til you drop) was coined to describe Osakans' love for good food. Osaka is also a good place to experience a modern Japanese city. It is only surpassed by Tokyo as a showcase of the Japanese urban phenomenon Accommodations for our three nights in Osaka are at the Hotel Monterey Grasmere Osaka, set in a modern high-rise building. Enjoy incredible views of the city and its surrounding from your room. The hotel is ideally located just a few minutes’ walk to Shinsaibashi, Osaka’s most famous entertainment district and Dotonbori, where you can sample many of Osaka’s most famous dishes. Famous Blade Runner Neon Shinsaibashi Shopping Dotonbori Street Accommodations: Hotel Monterey Grasmere Osaka free Day 3 – March 22nd, 2021- Monday – Osaka-Kyoto-Osaka (B) After breakfast, please meet your guide in the lobby by 8:00am as we are off to Kyoto for a full day of touring. The drive time is approximately 1.5 hours. Kyoto is a town of 1.5 million, a place beloved not for its go-all-night sleeplessness but its quiescence: In pockets of Kyoto, you can see Japan as it was centuries ago, as if modernity itself were a simple inconvenience, something to be adapted or ignored as chosen. This is, after all, where everything we think of as Japanese—its court culture, its art, its artisanry, and, oh yes, much of its spectacular cuisine—was born or perfected. Once here, our day begins with a visit to Kiyomizu Temple, one of the signature World Heritage sites in Kyoto that dates back 1200 years. Kiyomizu-dera is perhaps the most popular of the temples in Kyoto and a fixture in the minds of the Japanese people. The temple's veranda juts out of the side of a mountain supported by 13-meter-high wooden columns. The main hall with its distinctive hip-shaped roof of cypress bark rests to the rear of the veranda and houses within it a priceless statue of Kannon Bodhisattva, the goddess of mercy. From the veranda, one can appreciate fine views facing west over the city of Kyoto. This is an auspicious place to watch the sunset, which may also explain the romantic associations accorded to the temple. Several other buildings designated as "national treasures" dot the grounds, as do waterfalls and landmarks which have entered popular lore. Thus, people come to the temple to drink water from the falls by collecting it in tin cups; the water is said to have therapeutic properties and drinking from the three different streams is said to confer health, longevity, and success in studies. There is also a shrine Jishu-jinja Shrine on the grounds and praying there is said to help one succeed in finding an appropriate love match. People desirous of a romantic partner can be seen walking between two prominent stones with their eyes closed. If one can make the journey alone, this is taken as a sign that the pilgrim will find love. Those who need assistance in making the crossing will require an intermediary to help them find their mate. From here, a visit to two of Kyoto’s most attractive streets, Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka, a pair of lanes that lead down from Kiyomizu-dera Temple toward Nene-no-Michi Lane. While the rest of Japan has adopted modernity with abandon, the old ways remain in Kyoto. The atmosphere of traditional old Kyoto is alive here. Lined with beautifully restored traditional shophouses and blissfully free of the overhead power lines that mar the rest of Kyoto, this pair of pedestrian-only lanes that make for some of the most atmospheric strolling in the whole city. You will find a variety of restaurants and teahouses to refresh yourself as you explore, including the single most atmospheric teashop in the city, Kasagiya. There are also souvenir shops selling Kyoto original goods like dolls and Japanese fans, Japanese restaurants using the reconstructed merchant’s house, and ceramic shops stand side by side along the slope. Enjoy free time here to explore and have lunch on your own. Now, a hands-on experience, hand fan painting and then off to visit Kyoto’s famed Golden Pavilion. Be it capped by snow in winter or set against a lush green background in summer, nothing is as symbolic of Kyoto as Kinkaku-ji's golden reflection shimmering across the rippled surface of the pond before it. Kinkaku-ji is one of Japan's best-known sights. The original building was built in 1397 as a retirement villa for Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. His son converted it into a temple. In 1950, a young monk consummated his obsession with the temple by burning it to the ground. The monk's story was fictionalized in Mishima Yukio's The Golden Pavilion. In 1955, a full reconstruction was completed that exactly followed the original design, but the gold-foil covering was extended to the lower floors. The temple is set in three stories. The 1st floor is Shinden-zukuri, the palace style. It is named Ho-sui-in. The 2nd floor is Buke-zukuri, the style of the samurai house and is called Cho-on-do. The 3rd floor is Karayo style or Zen temple style. It is called Kukkyo-cho. Both the 2nd and 3rd floors are covered with gold-leaf on Japanese lacquer. The roof, upon which the Chinese phoenix settles, is thatched with shingles. The entire temple is surrounded by a beautiful garden with a pond in the front called the Mirror Pond. The stones in the pond give a representation of the Buddhist era. Golden Temple & grounds We now make our way back to Osaka, arrival by 5:30pm. The remainder of the evening is free. Accommodations: Hotel Monterey Grasmere Osaka free Day 4 – March 23rd, 2021- Tuesday – Osaka (B) After breakfast, enjoy a complete free day to explore, shop, and eat. Osaka's real treasures are in the bustling street life in its arcades, markets, and byways. And Osaka really comes into its own at night, when locals come out for delicious eats and good times. Close by to our hotel is Amerikamura with its American-style boutiques and shops, international bars, and low prices. The area is a popular hangout spot for trendy youths who like Western fashion and pop culture. Rather than the big-name brands, Amemura has indie boutiques and thrift stores that give it its quirky and lively reputation. Flea markets are sometimes set up on weekends and there are often street performances. This makes this a fun place to visit and hang out to experience the fusion of Japanese and Western culture. There’s also Kuromon Market, with more than 190 years of history and tradition, this popular area is known by locals as "Gastronome" and "Osaka' s Kitchen". All kinds of fresh food items are available at this market, fully satisfying the hunger of the people of Naniwa (Naniwa is the old name for this area). Despite its sometime touristy feel, the 150 or so shops here still give you the sense of a local neighborhood market. Local folks in the area come here to so their shopping, buy their produce and fish, new clothes, shoes, and a variety of household items and gadgets.