Temples and shrines galore

Duration: 12 days/11 nights
Stages: Ôsaka (KIX) – Shodoshima – Izumo – Tottori – Himeji – Kishiwada – Ôsaka (KIX)

from €2,100

Services & Rates  Option photo album

Day 1 – Ôsaka (KIX) – Kobe – Sakate

• You are welcomed at Ôsaka airport by your English-speaking tour guide
• Journey to Kobe where you visit the city centre
• Ferry crossing from Kobe to Sakate (on the island of Shodoshima)
• Evening meal and overnight stay at a traditional guest house/hotel

Day 2 – Yasuda & Sakate

• Start of the “mini 88-temple pilgrim trail”!
• Visit to a small soy sauce factory, one of the few brands still doing the fermentation in wood casks
• Visit to a somen maker and tasting
• Bus trip and first trek on the pilgrim trails above the bay of Sakate
• Evening meal and overnight stay at the same location as the previous day

Day 3 – Heart of the island and Kankakei gorge

• Start on foot in the mountains, with splendid views on the Seto inland sea
• Visit to troglodyte temples at the centre of the island
• Ascent by cable car through the spectacular Kankakei Gorge,
  particularly beautiful in the fall
• Trek to the peak of Mount Mikasa
• Descent on foot in the gorge
• Evening meal and overnight stay at the same location as the previous day

Day 4 – Olive and relaxation

• Relaxing day near the sea
• Journey to the olive park, unique spot where Shodoshima looks like a Greek island
• Stroll around the surrounding area, while admiring the splendid seascapes and relaxation in the baths of an onsen
• Evening meal and overnight stay at the same location as the previous day

Day 5 – The Tonosho peninsula

• Journey to Tonosho, the biggest town of Shodoshima
• Journey by bicycle to the “Angel Road” (3 small islands that can only be reached at low tide)
• Bicycle trip around the Tonosho peninsula, with mini treks to visit temples and sanctuaries overlooking the sea
• Evening meal and overnight stay at a traditional guest house/hotel in Tonosho

Day 6 – The kind giant and terrace cultivation

• Journey to a gigantic statue (almost 50 m high) of Kannon, the godess of compassion
• From there, trek to Nakayama, a mesmerizing place home of 800 terraced rice paddies
• Journey back to Tonosho
• Evening meal and overnight stay at the same location as the previous day

Day 7 – Tonosho – Okayama – Izumo – Hinomisaki

• You have completed your “mini Shodoshima pilgrimage”, time to move on to Shintoism!
• Ferry crossing from Tonosho to Okayama
• Journey by train to Izumo and then to the wild cape of Hinomisaki
• Evening meal and overnight stay at a traditional guest house/hotel

Day 8 – Hinomisaki & Izumo

• Stroll around the coast to the lighthouse of Cape Hinomisaki
• Journey to Izumo Taisha, one of the most ancient and important Shinto shrines in Japan
• Contemplation walk on this sacred ground
• Visit to the other holy sites of Izumo
• Return to Hinomisaki
• Evening meal and overnight stay at the same location as the previous day

Day 9 – Hinomisaki – Izumo – Matsue – Tottori

• Journey from Hinomisaki to Matsue
• Visit to Matsue Castle and stroll in its big and beautiful garden
• Visit to a museum dedicated to Lacfadio Hearn, an European author who emigrated to Japan and wrote several books about the country
• Journey from to Tottori
• Evening meal and overnight stay at a traditional guest house/hotel

Day 10 – Tottori – Himeji

• Stroll along the coast on the huge sand dunes of Tottori
• Journey from Tottori to Himeji
• Visit to Himeji Castle, the biggest castle of Japan
• Evening meal and overnight stay at a traditional guest house/hotel

Days 11 & 12 – Himeji – Kishiwada – Ôsaka (KIX)

• Journey from Himeji to Kishiwada, a 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, however, has been taken from Wikipedia Commons. It is titled “Wikipedia” and is subject to the licence CC BY-SA 3.0.
Owners of the rights: The picture of Kobe, © 663highland, Himeji Castle © Bernard Gagnon.