Day 1

You will likely arrive in the afternoon. I will arrange for a driver to meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel, the Hilton Tokyo Odaiba. You will be exhausted from your trip, but you should avoid sleeping when you arrive in order to best acclimate to the new time zone. Check-in at the hotel and start our adventure with a sake tasting tour to get you moving and then get you to rest peacefully.  Once the tour is concluded, return to hotel for a full night’s rest.

 

Day 2 (B, D)

Today you go to a sumo wrestling Match. This is a quintessential experience that you should not miss. You will then return to the hotel and prepare for dinner. Tonight, you will dine at Florilege (Ranked # 39 in the world by The World's 50 Best Restaurants), a Japanese/French fusion where the chefs deliver the meals to each customer so that they know the background of the ingredients and Japanese food culture.  It is an 11-course tasting menu that borrows from Japanese and French traditions, ingredients, and techniques. 

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Day 3 (B, D)

You have been in Japan for a full day now so it’s time to move.  Today you head to Mount Fuji and lake Ashi. You will board a bus and travel to visit these scenic sites. This is a full day trip. No Japan experience should be without a ride on a bullet train which is what you will be travelling in as you head back to Tokyo.

As an upgrade, there is an additional option of climbing the summit of Mount Fuji.  It’s a 2-day experience.  You would depart early today and climb most of the day (until 9:00PM with some breaks for dinner, rest).  You would then awake early (3AM), climb some more and welcome the sunrise from the top of Mt. Fuji.  On the way down you would have a chance to bathe in the hot springs of Lake Yamanaka Onsen.

 

Day 4 (B, D) 

Today you will start with breakfast at the hotel and then head out on a tour of the Senso-ji temple as well as other shrines.  It will get your body moving while at the same time you explore some beautiful traditional Japanese sites. Once the tour is concluded, head out and do some looking around at the Ginza, not far from our hotel. You can grab lunch at a any of the endless number of restaurants there.

For dinner, you will experience Narisawa (Ranked # 19 in the world by The World's 50 Best Restaurants). The menu is what would be called farm-to-table in the U.S. In Japan it is called Satoyama, meaning sustainable. The chef is known for strong relationships with local farmers and fishermen. As a result, his ingredients are day fresh.  The menu changes season to season and day to day. Not only will this be a phenomenal meal, it will also complement the experience of the shrines you visit in the morning.

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Day 5 (B, D)

Today you will go to the Kabukikaza theater for a Kabuki performance. Kabuki is a Japanese theater form dating back to the 1600’s. After the performance head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner. You’ve been in Japan several days now and for dinner you will go to Den (Ranked 11 in the world and #3 in Asia by The World's 50 Best Restaurants), perhaps Japan’s top restaurant.  It is described as “Innovative Japanese dining with a large helping of humor”. The concept of the restaurant is kaiseki, which involves the creation of attention-to-detail small but complex dishes.  The salad, for example, contains 20 vegetables picked daily from his garden.

 

Day 6 (B, L, D)

Your day starts with a tour of the Tsukiji fish market. You will first tour the outer market filled with shops, then take a sushi class and enjoy some FRESH sushi. At around 2:00PM, you can head back to the hotel to rest before heading out for a Ramen tour. No visit to Tokyo would be complete without experiencing a variety of Japanese Ramen. And after almost a week of formal dining, a street-food experience will be a nice change of pace. After the tour is concluded, you will return to our hotel for some much-needed rest.

 

Day 7 (B, D)

Today is our last full day in Tokyo together and we will make it count. We will depart for Nikko National Park. The tour is full of breathtaking landscapes, sacred shrines, and stunning temples. Visit Toshogu Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage site dedicated to Shinto worship, and hear about the structure’s fascinating history. We return to our hotel and prepare for our final meal together: a Rosanjin dinner at Kuybey.  Kuybey is one the top high-end sushi restaurants in Tokyo, yet still appropriate for beginners.  The menu includes appetizer, sashimi, grilled fish soup, assorted sushi, and desert.

 

Day 8 (B)

Today is our departure day.  Should you wish to extend your stay, we would be happy to make additional arrangements for you.  Otherwise, a car will be waiting to take you to the airport.