Chubu no Tabi

Duration: 12 days/11 nights
Stages: Ôsaka – Kanazawa – Ogimachi – Takayama – Matsumoto – Shimizu – Omi-Hachiman – Kishiwada – Ôsaka

from €2,650

Services & rates  Option photo album

Day 1 – Ôsaka (airport) – Ôsaka

• You are welcomed at Ôsaka airport by your English-speaking tour guide
• Exploration of old districts, sampling of local specialities and stroll through an old shopping arcade
• Evening meal at an izakaya
• Overnight stay at a traditional guest house/hotel

Day 2 – Ôsaka – Kanazawa

• Journey to Kanazawa, gourmet city, historical centre and home
  of plenty of Japanese handicraft
• Stroll through the castle park
• Visit to a former samurai district, a beautiful house of a Daimyo
  and a Yuzen workshop (kimono dyeing technique)
• Evening meal and overnight stay at a traditional guest house/hotel

Day 3 – Kanazawa

• Stroll through Kenroku-en, one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan
• Visit to the museum for traditional products and crafts
• Visit to the famous Omicho market, lunch at a local restaurant (seafood and freshly caught fish)
• Visit to a former geisha district and stroll beside the river
• Evening meal and overnight stay at the same location as the previous day

Day 4 – Kanazawa – Shirakawago

• Journey from Kanazawa to the Shirakawa valley, in the heart of the mountainous Gifu prefecture
• Visit to the great open air museum of Ogimachi, declared a
  UNESCO world heritage with its thatched roof houses and its old handicraft workshops
• Evening meal and overnight stay at one of the farms in the village

Day 5 – Ogimachi – Takayama

• Journey from Ogimachi to Takayama, “Little Kyoto”
• Tour of the historical buildings in the old part of town
• Stroll through the shopping alleys of Sanmachi-suji
  between handicraft shops and ancient sake breweries
• Evening meal and overnight stay at a traditional guest house/hotel

Day 6 – Takayama – Matsumoto

• Journey from Takayama to Matsumoto
• Stroll through old business districts bordered by homes of the Edo period
• Visit to Matsumoto Castle, one of Japan’s oldest and most beautiful original castles
  with its gorgeous park home of hundreds of cherry trees along the moat
• Evening meal and overnight stay at a traditional guest house/hotel

Day 7 – Matsumoto – Azumino – Matsumoto

• Journey from Matsumoto to Azumino, heart of the wasabi cultivation
• Stroll on foot/by bicycle through paths borded by Dosojin, small statues of Shinto deities who protect towns and villages from evil spirits and epidemics
• Visit to one of Japan’s largest farm of wasabi, one essential ingredient of the Japanese cuisine
• Evening meal and overnight stay at the same location as the previous day

Day 8 – Matsumoto – Shimizu

• Journey from Matsumoto to Shimizu via Shizuoka, Japan’s capital of tea
• Walk on the beach of “Miho no Matsubara” known for its magnificent views on Mount Fuji
• Evening meal and overnight stay at a guest house/hotel

Day 9 – Shimizu – Izu Peninsula – Shimizu

• Ferry crossing of the Suruga bay while admiring Mount Fuji
  to Izu Peninsula, resort area popular among Tokyoites
• Journey along the gorgeous rugged coastline until Dogashima
  famous for its dramatic stone formations, cliffs and caves
• Cruise around Dogashima
• Ferry crossing back to Shimizu
• Evening meal and overnight stay at the same location as the previous day

Day 10 – Shimizu – Omi-Hachiman

• Journey from Shimizu to Omi-Hachiman, small city on the shore
  of Lake Biwa
• Tour of this beautiful city with its many canals and religious sites
• Evening meal and overnight stay at a traditional guest house/hotel

Days 11 & 12 – Omi-Hachiman – Kishiwada – Ôsaka airport

• Quiet morning in Omi-Hachiman then journey to Kishiwada,
  former fortress city south of Ôsaka
• Visit to the castle, historical jewel of the city
• Evening meal at a traditional sushi restaurant in the middle of a zen garden
• Overnight stay at an hotel in center of Kishiwada
• Journey to the airport
• Return flight (not included in the tour)

Photo credits

Most of the photos that appear in this description are the property of Fukuchan Ryoko Olivier Baubrand. All rights  reserved.
A few photos has been taken from Wikipedia Commons. They are titled “Wikipedia” and are subject to the licence CC BY-SA 3.0.
Owners of the rights: all photos of Omihachiman by 663highland.
A few photos were shot by my clients. They are used with their permission. Photos in question: Kanazawa_Omicho_F, Kanazawa_Nomura_House_F, Kanazawa_Kenrokuen_F, Takayama_Yatai_Kaikan_F, Matsumoto_Kimono_F, Izu_Ferry_F, Takayama_Sanmachi_Suji_B, Takayama_Sake_B, Matsumoto_Azumino_Wasabi_B