Tokyo and Kyoto 101 Itinerary Sample
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These are real trips designed for clients. We want to whet your appetite and show you a sample trip that was made for our passionate travelers. We’re all about tailoring a customized experience for you. Have a look at a few itineraries and then, call us and we will create a trip that’s perfect for you – that’s what we believe travel should be.
Day 1
Arrive in Tokyo
Private transfer from Narita International Airport to Aman Tokyo, via VIP transfer
Check in to Aman Tokyo. You have been upgraded upon request to the Suite.
Rest and relax for the afternoon
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Day 2
Trendy Tokyo
Tokyo offers possibilities that no other city can rival: karaoke in glass-walled rooms, more Michelin stars than Paris, cutting-edge underground cultures, and the world's busiest fish market and train station. This is a city that unities cultural extremes. Japan's capital is a truly mesmerizing place, and giant TV screens, flashing neon, and inventive technology make Tokyo one of the most futuristic and thrilling places on earth. The old downtown (shitamachi) still exists alongside the modern city. Tiny station eateries, ancient temples, geisha districts, and traditional shopping streets seemingly unchanged in the last century rub shoulders with super luxury hotels, sleek skyscrapers, and high-tech shops. Tucked in amongst the concrete and the tangles of massively efficient train and metro lines, there are also pockets of tranquillity to be found in Tokyo's abundant parks and gardens, which provide a welcome respite from the fast pace of the metropolis.
After breakfast, meet your private guide at the hotel lobby and enjoy a guided visit through Meiji Shrine and Park, Shibuya and Harajuku for youth culture, alternative Japanese fashion and street food. Then head to Omotesando, Tokyo's Champs-Élysées.
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Samurai Lesson
In the afternoon, you are booked for a Samurai lession.
Learn the way of the Samurai, which is not just about the way of the sword. Being a Samurai also required knowledge of etiquette, custom, and history. Class opens with a meditation, followed by changing into the samurai outfit. Here focus learning the techniques, the history and background to samurai weapons.
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Day 3
Classic Tokyo
Sushi Making Workshop with a Sushi Chef
Meet your private guide at your hotel lobby and set out to a private Sushi Making Workshop with a Sushi Chef. Today you will experience how to make nigiri sushi at a restaurant. Using fresh seasonal fish, the chefs take great care in providing high quality food. You will learn about the history and culture of sushi followed by instructions on how the fish is filleted to get the perfect cut and shape to be placed on top of a bite of rice. Observing your professional chef instructors, you will practice hand rolling the sushi yourself and after all the work is done, enjoy the delicious taste of professionally made sushi. Experience lasts about 1.5 hours.
After the Sushi Making Workshop, your private guide will bring you to explore the historical cultures of Tokyo: Asakusa Kannon Temple and Nakamise Shopping Street, Tokyo’s downtown area, Ueno Park, Imperial Palace East Gardens, Edo-Tokyo Museum – and lastly Akihabara, home to many of Tokyo’s subcultures.
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Dinner in Shinjuku
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Bar hopping with a local
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Day 4
Art & Fashion Day with a Specialist
After breakfast meet your private art and fashion specialist guide at the hotel lobby and be transported to the world of teamLab.
TeamLab Borderless Museum is a massive Body Immersive space consisting of a collection of installations in which the entire body becomes immersed in art, and the boundaries between the viewer and the work become more ambiguous. Enjoy immersing yourself in this groundbreaking artwork today.
After TeamLab experience, your private guide will bring you to Mori Art Museum (no. 1 contemporary art museum in Tokyo) with the most stunning 360 degree view of the city; and finish the art tour at the edgy 3331 Arts Chiyoda.
After lunch your private specialist guide will introduce you to luxury fashion in Ginza and innovative fashion in Omotesando. Alongside Tokyo’s fashion designers and personal shopping she will also point out the cutting-edge Pritzker Prize architecture on the avenue.
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Yayoi Kusama’s “Yellow Pumpkin” in Naoshima
Day 5
Tokyo to Naoshima
Meet your transfer driver at the hotel lobby and be transferred via train and ferry to Naoshima Island.
Check in to Benesse House. You are confirmed for the Oval Suite (featuring artwork by Richard Long).
After a short break and refreshments, visit on your own to Chichu Museum (ticket timed at 3pm) and Lee Ufan Museum.
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Dinner Reservation at Umi no Hoshi
French cuisine in the terrace restaurant overlooking the sea
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Day 6
Naoshima to Kyoto
This morning you will have leisure time to visit some of Naoshima’s art sites independently, including: Benesse Museum, Art House Project, Tadao Ando Museum.
Return to Benesse House to collect your things and take the Benesse Shuttle Bus to Miyanoura port
Transfer via ferry and train to Kyoto Station
Upon arrival to Kyoto Station, your driver will meet you on the train platform.
Private transfer to the Ritz-Carlton hotel.
Check in to your room at the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto
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Dinner Reservation at Mizuki
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Day 7
Eastern Kyoto
After breakfast meet your private guide and enjoy a half day guided tour to the Eastern district of Kyoto, including:
• Ginkakuji, the Silver Pavilion
• The Philosopher’s Path
• Chion-in, a beautiful temple atop a hill beside Yasaka Shrine
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Gion and Yasaka Shrine
After lunch, your private driver will bring you to explore Gion, independently.
Gion is a traditional entertainment district and is known as Kyoto’s most famous geisha district. Packed with bars, restaurants and traditional teahouses, Gion is at its most atmospheric in the early evening, when the lanterns are lit and apprentice geisha will flit about the back streets on their way to their appointments.
Continue to explore Yasaka Shrine, one of Kyoto's most famous shrines, it was founded over 1350 years ago and is now the focal point for the Gion Matsuri, one of Kyoto's biggest festivals and one of the most famous festivals in Japan.
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Dinner Reservation at Sodoh Higashiyama
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Arashiyama
Day 8
Western Kyoto / Arashiyama
At the base of Kyoto’s western hills, Arashiyama and Sagano are most famous for their spectacular bamboo groves (the most impressive grove is outside Tenryu-ji's northern gate), but the area is also full of historic temples and hidden gardens.
After breakfast meet your private guide at the hotel lobby and transfer to Western Kyoto for an adventure through breathtaking Arashiyama. You will enjoy a rickshaw ride around Arashiyama, through private pathways closed to the public. In this 30-minute course, you'll start from Togetsukyo Bridge and head into the bamboo groves. The path takes you past Tenryuji Temple and Nonomiya Shrine and on to the Rakushisha hermitage before returning to your start point. Enjoy Arashiyama in style!
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Tenryuji Temple and Private Estate Visit
Tenryuji is the head temple of the Tenryu branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism, located in Arashiyama district since its foundation, completed in 1345. The temple was ranked one of the five greatest Zen temples in Kyoto and registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The temple’s highlight is the magnificent garden “Sogenchi Teien”, designed by the famous garden designer Muso Soseki, offering amazing landscape with the central pond, pine trees and the forest of Arashiyama mountains.
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Tea Ceremony with a Couple
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