Nara
Another option is to head to the Tokyo National Museum, where you’ll find the world’s largest collection of Japanese art, with pottery, painting and prints, textiles, fashion and oriental antiquities. Japanese food is increasingly being rightfully recognised as one of the world’s great cuisines and it goes way beyond sushi with teppanyaki, teriyaki, sashimi, yakitori, udon noodles, and a huge variety of sake rice wine. Utilising the freshest possible ingredients cooked without oils, fats or butter, it is a revelation. Even the famous “bento box” packed lunches, available at any railway station, are wonderful to look at, very tasty and excellent value. (B) + Included Experience – Visit Tokyo’s Asakusa district DAY 5 – Mount Fuji & Hakone Saying goodbye to Tokyo we drive towards Mount Fuji, probably Japan’s most instantly recognisable sight, fringed by thick forests and a crescentshaped ring of shimmering lakes. We visit two of these beautiful lakes to give you the best chance to enjoy the stunning panorama from two different angles. Our first stop is at Lake Kawaguchi, well known to the Japanese but still undiscovered by most foreign visitors. Next, we head south to explore the fascinating mountain resort of Hakone. Descending to the smooth dark blue waters of Lake Ashi, we take a cruise on a rather unusual Japanese version of an early 19th-century pirate
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ship. From here, especially on a clear day, the views of Mount Fuji are one of the world’s greatest panoramas. The entire area is geo-thermally active, and provides the perfect opportunity to try one of Japan’s unmissable experiences – bathing in an ‘onsen’, a hot spring at our very own hotel. (B,D) + Included Experience – Visit Lake Kawaguchi, Hakone and Lake Ashi DAY 6 – Bullet train This morning we travel to Hiroshima on Japan’s iconic gleaming white bullet train. With reclining seats, plenty of legroom, air-conditioned comfort and speeds up to 189 mph, this is an incomparable way to travel. Arriving at
Kyoto
lunchtime there’s a sobering reminder of the horrors of war this afternoon as we visit Hiroshima’s Peace Park and museum, displaying the remains of the only building to survive the atomic bomb blast of August 1945. The city has been completely rebuilt and there are no signs left of the devastation of that fateful day. (B) + Included Experiences – Travel on the Bullet Train and visit Hiroshima’s Peace Park and museum DAY 7 – Miyajima Today we make our way to one of the country’s most distinctive views on the nearby small island of Miyajima. A huge red ‘Torii’ gate sits just offshore;
