Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Kyoto Shinto priests, Tokyo
DAY 9 • Kanazawa • Optional Gokayama tour Enjoy free time to explore Kanazawa on your own, or join a full-day optional excursion to Gokayama— a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This village in the remote Chubu Mountains is renowned for its distinctive gassho-zukuri-style homes with steeply pitched thatched roofs.
Meals: B | Hotel Kanazawa or similar
DAY 10 • Kanazawa • Home-Hosted Visit: Tea with a local family • Train to Kyoto
Enjoy a Home-Hosted Visit with a local family, sitting down for tea and a firsthand glimpse of Japanese life. Some of our hosts are accomplished tea ceremony masters, are skilled in Japanese calligraphy, cultivate bonsai trees, or fold origami. After, ride the rails to Kyoto, Japan’ s ancient imperial capital. This city
remains an important cultural center today, and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Meals: B, L, D | Hotel Vista Premio Kyoto Nagomitei or similar
DAY 11 • Kyoto • Arashiyama Bamboo Grove • Kinkakuji • Nijo Castle
Explore the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove before we visit Kinkakuji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. Then, visit Nijo Castle this afternoon.
Meals: B, L | Hotel Vista Premio Kyoto Nagomitei or similar
DAY 12 • Kyoto • Nara • Samurai Kenbu Theater visit
Explore Nara, visiting Todaiji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to an awe-inspiring, 52-foot Buddha statue. You may even meet the tame and friendly“ bowing” deer that roam here. Then, visit Samurai Kenbu Theater for a show and hands-on demonstration of traditional Samurai swordplay.
Meals: B, L, D | Hotel Vista Premio Kyoto Nagomitei or similar
EXCLUSIVE WOMEN’ S DEPARTURE
DAY 13 • Kyoto • Zen Temple • Optional sake brewery visit
Head to 400-year-old Senkoji Temple today to practice Zen meditation with a monk. This afternoon, you can join an optional sake brewery visit, exclusively for our small group.
Meals: B, L | Hotel Vista Premio Kyoto Nagomitei or similar
DAY 14 • Kyoto • Fushimi Inari Shrine • Meet a sushi chef
Visit Fushimi Inari Shrine this morning, one of Japan’ s most iconic sites. Comprised of a winding path of 10,000 vermillion torii( gates), the shrine snakes its way up a heavily forested mountain. Then, take part in a sushi-making lesson with a local sushi chef. After free time this afternoon, enjoy a Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant.
Meals: B, L, D | Hotel Vista Premio Kyoto Nagomitei or similar
DAY 15 • Return to U. S. Transfer to the airport in Osaka for your flight home. Travelers taking our optional Hiroshima: City of Peace post-trip extension will transfer to Hiroshima by bullet train today.
Meals: B
One departure only— 10 / 3 / 26
Connect with other like-minded travelers on this exclusive“ women’ s only” departure of one of our most popular adventures. Space will fill quickly on this special departure— reserve soon!
Want to know more? Find the full itinerary and dates & pricing at www. oattravel. com / jpn
72 Japan’ s Cultural Treasures