Extended Okaeri Japan
- Duration : 14 days
- Locations : Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Kanazawa, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Tokyo
Did you miss Japan? Okaeri literally means "welcome back" in Japanese. After more than two years of border closure, the reopening of the borders was long overdue!
Our tour in Japan special reopening of the borders, to discover or rediscover Japan in 14 days in private stay from 1 person!
Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Kanazawa: a 2 weeks itinerary which will definitely seduce you. The electric district of Akihabara, a visit to the geisha district in Kyoto, a ride on the ultra-fast Shinkansen or the Hiroshima peace memorial: the perfect ingredients for an unmissable and unforgettable trip.
Icing on the cake: you will be accompanied by a private guide every day of your trip and above all you will be able to visit Japan before anyone else!
14-day itinerary (Tokyo -> Tokyo loop)
- Tokyo (4 days)
- Kyoto (5 days including 1 day in Nara)
- Hiroshima (2 days including 1 day in Miyajima)
- Kanazawa (2 days)
- Tokyo (1 day)
The first and last day are reserved for your arrival and departure from Japan (and for the last bit of souvenir shopping!).
Please find below the itinerary details.
You like this tour but you would like it to be shorter? Then do not hesitate to discover our other tour Okaeri Japan Essential - Private tour : Tokyo - Kyoto - Kanazawa
WARNING : The tour departure and end dates presented on this page relate to your stay in Japan. On departure, you will have to leave your home country on the day before. The return flight is on the same day due to the time difference. For further details, refer to "More about your trip".
Why this trip to Japan ?
- Supervision by a bilingual English-speaking guide every day, a specialist in Japanese culture
- Private stay in Japan: enjoy the best of Japan especially for you, without the constraints of a group
- (Re)discover Japan for the first time since the pandemic before anyone else
- Settle in the heart of Tokyo in your 3* hotel chosen for its comfort and location
- Travel by Shinkansen to Kyoto and your 3* hotel combining Japanese and Western style.
- Visit the ancient imperial capital and go on a day trip to Nara
- Stay in a traditional house in Kanazawa, on the Sea of Japan
- Enjoy the history of Hiroshima through its castle and peace monuments
- On the last day, a shuttle will take you from your accommodation to the airport
- Recommendations available in your travel diary
- Benefit unlimited internet access thanks to your pocket Wi-Fi
- If necessary, contact our English-speaking assistance
- Benefit from the expertise of Japan Experience, European leading travel agency in Japan.
Some constraints however, concerning COVID-19:
- A PCR test done 72h to 48h before departure is necessary to board at your departure airport. This test must be negative. In case of positive PCR, the insurance included in the tour refunds 90% of the tour price.
- No test upon arrival in Japan
- For more information concerning specific measures to your country, please refer to the website of the embassy.
Before your trip:
- Register to the Visit Japan Page
- Need to go to the embassy or consulate to apply for the tourist visa (most of the papers are provided by Japan Experience, more details in "learn more").
During the trip :
- Wearing a mask is mandatory indoors and in some crowded places outdoors
- If you feel unwell, please communicate your health condition to the guide
- A guide will accompany you at all times of the day
- Need to be reachable by phone or WhatsApp at any time of the day by the guide or by the Japan Experience assistance
- NB: Remember to charge your pocket WiFi every day in order to have constant access to the Internet.
Your trip in detail
Itinerary
Day 1 : Wake up in Tokyo 東京
Arrival at Tokyo airport (Narita or Haneda).
Welcome to Japan! Yokoso 日本へようこそ!Reception at the exit from Customs in English by our airport assistant, who will give you all your travel documents.
Accompanied transfer from the airport to your hotel (see details).
Check-in at OMO3 Tokyo Akasaka by Hoshino Resorts or equivalent 3* hotel (rooms available from 3pm).
Night in Tokyo.
Day 2 : First steps in the capital
Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure at 9am from the hotel for an accompanied tour of Tokyo (examples of sites to visit, the itinerary is to be decided jointly with your guide on the day):
- Tsukiji, the small outdoor food market;
- Hamarikyu, the Japanese garden between the buildings of Tokyo;
- Asakusa, traditional district, and its Buddhist temple Senso-ji, place of pilgrimage;
- Tokyo Skytree, one of the highest skyscraper in the world (the guide will let you enjoy the breathtaking view at the top on your own while waiting at the entrance).
Night in Tokyo.
Day 3 : The effervescent metropolis
Breakfast at the hotel.
Continue to visit Tokyo with your guide (examples of sites to visit, the itinerary is to be decided jointly with your guide on the day):
- Shinjuku Gyoen (park);
- Harajuku: the avant-garde district;
- Omotesando: the Champs-Élysées of Tokyo;
- Takeshita-Dori: the most famous street in Japan;
- Meiji Jingu, the imperial sanctuary;
- Shibuya and its unavoidable crossroad.
Night in Tokyo.
Day 4 : Between tradition and modernity
Breakfast at the hotel.
Examples of possible visits in the capital, the itinerary is to be decided jointly with your guide on the day:
- Akihabara: the electronic and manga district;
- Ueno: the must-see of Tokyo with its park full of cherry trees and its lotus pond;
- Yanaka vintage neighborhoods.
Night in Tokyo.
Day 5 : On the way to the old capital
Meet at the hotel with your guide and go to Tokyo Station to board one of the fastest trains in the world: the Shinkansen! Travel by Shinkansen to Kyoto (direct, about 2h40).
When arriving at Kyoto, meet with your guide and settle in the center of the old capital at the Rakuro Share Hotel or equivalent 3* (rooms available from 3pm).
You have 4 days to visit Kyoto with your private guide.
Examples of places to visit, the itinerary is to be decided jointly with your guide on the day:
- The emblematic district of Gion;
- Kiyomizu-Dera, the great water temple;
- Sannen-zaka & Ninnen-zaka historical alleys.
Night in Kyoto.
Day 6 : Traditions in Kyoto
Breakfast at the hotel.
Examples of sites to visit, the itinerary is to be decided jointly with your guide on the day:
- Ryoan-ji, with its famous zen rock garden;
- Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion);
- Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion);
- The bewitching path of philosophy.
Night in Kyoto.
Day 7 : Kyoto and its bamboo grove
Breakfast at the hotel.
Examples of sites to visit, the itinerary is to be decided jointly with your guide on the day :
Walking tour of the Arashiyama district:
- Togetsukyo Bridge;
- the UNESCO Tenryuji Zen Temple, its bamboo grove and its famous Zen garden, the Sogenchi;
- Rakushisha, former home of the poet Mukai Kyorai, one of the most famous disciples of the haiku master Matsuo Basho;
- Gioji Buddhist temple, wrapped in moss and dedicated to the courtesan Gio, famous for her great beauty...
Night in Kyoto.
Day 8 : Nara, the first capital
Breakfast at the hotel in Kyoto.
Visit of Nara, the first fixed capital of Japan in the 8th century.
Examples of sites to visit, the itinerary is to be decided jointly with your guide on the day:
- The Kasuga Taisha shinto shrine and its thousands of lanterns;
- The Todaiji, its large bronze Buddha and the imposing Nan-Daimon gate;
- Kofukuji temple and its beautiful pagoda.
On the way back to Kyoto, visit the fabulous Fushimi Inari Shrine - usually crowded with foreign tourists - to see an incredible sunset.
Night in Kyoto.
Day 9 : Hiroshima, city of history
Breakfast at the hotel.
In the morning you will take the Shinkansen to Hiroshima (3 hours):
Settle in this historic city at the Intergate Hotel or equivalent 3*.
In the afternoon start visiting the city (examples of sites to visit, the itinerary is to be decided jointly with your guide on the day):
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum;
- The peace monuments (The Dome, the memorial of the young Sadako Sasaki, one of the many victims of radiation).
Night in Hiroshima.
Day 10 : The Sacred Island
Breakfast at the hotel.
Ferry to Miyajima, the sacred island of Shinto.
Examples of possible visits, the itinerary is to be decided jointly with your guide on the day:
- Visit of Itsukushima-jinja shrine and its big gate (ootorii)*;
- Folklore museum (Egami house);
- Senjôkaku shinto temple and pagoda;
- Shopping street for your last purchases.
*The ootorii is under renovation and scheduled to remain like this until end 2022.
Night in Hiroshima.
Day 11 : In the footsteps of the samurai
Breakfast at the hotel.
Direction Kanazawa by Shinkansen and express train (5h).
Meet your guide at the station in Kanazawa and make yourself at home in your Temari-an house or equivalent.
Examples of possible visits, the itinerary is to be decided jointly with your guide on the day:
- Nagamachi samurai district and the former residence of Nomura, once rulers of the fiefdom.
Night in Kanazawa.
Day 12 : Kanazawa, the little pearl of Ishikawa
Continue your visit of Kanazawa (examples of possible visits, the itinerary is to be decided jointly with your guide on the day):
- Kenroku-en, the beautiful Japanese garden of Kanazawa;
- The museum of contemporary art and its outdoor gallery;
- Omicho, the fish market of the Sea of Japan;
- Higashichaya, one of the three geisha districts of the city.
Night in Kanazawa.
Day 13 : Return to Tokyo
In the morning, return to Tokyo by train and Shinkansen (4h) and settle in your hotel OMO3 Tokyo Akasaka by Hoshino Resorts or equivalent 3*.
Night in Tokyo.
Day 14 : Sayonara - see you next time
Transfer to Haneda or Narita airport.
Flight back to home country.
Do not hesitate to extend your trip by one or more days in Tokyo, we will be able to advise you.
![Hamarikyu gardens : One of Tokyo must see](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_470/public/images/2021-04/Tokyo%20-%20Hamarikyu%20-%20%23Nature%20-%20%23City%20-%20123RF%20OK%20Paid%20-%20Photo%20Credit%20tupungato.jpg.webp?itok=aFstiiL0)
![Senso-ji temple in Asakusa, Tokyo](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_470/public/images/2021-07/Tokyo%20-%20Asakusa%20-%20Sensoji%20-%20%23Spirituality%20-%20%23City%20-%20Photo%20by%20Moiz%20K.%20Malik%20on%20Unsplash.jpg.webp?itok=KYlwIl01)
![Worldwide famous Shibuya crossing, Tokyo](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_470/public/images/2021-07/Tokyo%20-%20Shibuya%20crossing%20-%20123RF%20_%20Wasin%20Pummarin.jpeg.webp?itok=aWl36Gns)
![](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_470/public/images/2021-05/The%CC%80me_Culture%20Pop%20_%20Akihabara_jezael-melgoza-unsplash.jpg.webp?itok=7ZrjK3HA)
![Kiyomizu-dera Kiyomizu-dera](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_470/public/legacy/japan_experience/1574078184137.jpg.webp?itok=W0X0CywM)
![Women in kimono in Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_470/public/images/2021-04/Kyoto%20-%20Fushimi%20-%20%23Spirituality%20-%20%23torii%20-%20123RF%20OK%20Paid%20-%20Photo%2068542965%20-%20Credit%20Patryk%20Kos%CC%81mider.jpg.webp?itok=JMyCqmxs)
![River in Arashiyama during fall : famous touristic site to visit in Kyoto](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_470/public/images/2021-04/Kyoto%20-%20Arashiyama%20-%20%23Nature%20-%20%23Fall%20-%20123RF%20OK%20Paid%20-%20Photo%20Credit%20Tawatchai%20Prakobkit.jpg.webp?itok=YDvCq6hf)
![Nara Sika deers are sacred, and protected as National Treasures.](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_470/public/images/2021-08/Nara%20-%20Deer%20and%20girl%20-%20123RF%20_%20nicholashan.jpg.webp?itok=7Htvgh0z)
![The Genbaku Dome, one of the only buildings not destroyed by the atomic bomb that fell on Hiroshima](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_470/public/images/2021-07/Hiroshima%20-%20Genbaku%20Dome%20-%20%23Peace%20-%20Photo%20Credit%20Philippe%20Voisin.jpeg.webp?itok=XSBi_p7t)
![The sacred island of Miyajima and its famous torii with feet in water, worth a visit off Hiroshima in Japan](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_470/public/images/2021-07/Miyajima%20-%20torii%20and%20pagoda%20at%20night%20-%20123RF%20_%20Sean%20Pavone.jpg.webp?itok=pbcM42iK)
![Kanazawa's geisha district invites you to take a timeless stroll, among its alleys and ancient buildings.](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_470/public/images/2021-08/Kanazawa%20-%20Geisha%20district%20-%20%C2%A9JTA%20%20%C2%A9JNTO.jpg.webp?itok=TBaQl6kU)
![Kenroku-en garden, one of the 3 most beautiful in Japan : a must-see in Kanazawa](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_470/public/images/2021-08/Kanazawa%20-%20Kenrokuen%20-%20%23Garden%20-%20%23Nature%20-%20Photo%20by%20Andi%20Winata%20on%20Unsplash.jpg.webp?itok=agNpDUvz)
![Shinjuku and New national stadium](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_470/public/images/2021-07/Tokyo%20-%20Shinjuku%20-%20%23City%20-%20123RF%20OK%20Paid%20-%20Photo%20Credit%20tobusora.jpg.webp?itok=J6cPs77B)
![Sayonara - bye bye Japan !](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_470/public/images/2021-07/Departure%20-%20Sayonara%20Maneki%20Neko%20-%20123RF%20_%20Maksims%20Grigorjevs.jpeg.webp?itok=3wwGJU8B)
Accommodation
- 4 nights in a 3* hotel in the heart of Tokyo
- 4 nights in a 3* hotel in the historical capital of Kyoto
- 2 nights in a 3* hotel in Hiroshima
- 2 nights in a traditional house in Kanazawa
- 1 night in a 3* hotel in Tokyo
The basic rate includes a twin room for two people in hotels.
Transportation
- Airport transfers <> Tokyo
- Prepaid public transport card
- Japan Rail Pass for 14 days
Experiences and meals
- Airport welcome
- A guide for each day of your trip
- Breakfasts in Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima
Included in your self-guided tour
Additional services
- Unlimited Wi-Fi access with pocket Wi-Fi
- Complete e-travel diary sent before your departure
- Telephone assistance in English
- Japan Experience Protect insurance, providing pre-departure cancellation insurance and on-site assistance. COVID protection included. Valid for residents of the world outside Japan.
Not included in the price of your trip
- The flights home country <> Japan
- Personal expenses including meals (some breakfasts are included) and visits to tourist sites
- Public transportation when your transportation passes run out (see details) or if you choose to go outside the cities on your itinerary
- Everything that is not included in the "included in your tour" section
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- Competitive prices thanks to a single team in UK, Europe, USA and Japan, with no intermediaries
- Assistance available in Japan throughout your trip
- A specialized team is available 7 days a week by phone or email
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