Japan Prestige - Special Departure

LUFTHANSA flights from Catania. Special departure 09 June 2025

Day 1 | Catania/Tokyo

Convocation at the airport, boarding formalities and departure for Tokyo the capital of the Rising Sun. Overnight stay and meals on board.
Day 2 | Tokyo

Morning arrival at Tokyo Airport and transfer by private bus to Tokyo. First sightseeing tour of the city, whose name can be translated as 'Eastern Capital', including the Imperial Palace Square with its gardens and picturesque moats, the International Tokyo Forum and the Ginza district, famous for its prestigious shops. Lunch in a restaurant and transfer to the hotel. Accommodation in reserved rooms. Evening at leisure. Tokyo, like all metropolises in the world, offers a countless number of restaurants to suit all tastes. From typical local to Western, European, Oriental and even Italian cuisine. Your guide will advise you where to have dinner according to your preferences. Overnight stay.

 

Day 3 | Tokyo

Breakfast at the hotel. A day dedicated to continuing the tour of Tokyo. We will start at the Metropolitan Government Building, where you can admire the immense metropolis from a height of about 200 metres. We will proceed to the Meiji Shinto Shrine, set in a lush evergreen forest of 700,000 square metres, considered a sacred and meditative place. We continue on to visit the famous Shibuya intersection, which is the most crowded in the world at rush hour. Lunch in a local restaurant. Visits continue to Sensoji, Tokyo's oldest Buddhist temple, which according to legend was founded by two fishermen who found a golden statue of the bodhisattva Kannon and decided to keep it in the village headman's house, which was converted into a temple. At the end of the visit, we will continue for a walk in the Asakusa district through the famous "Nakamise Dori" street crowded with typical stalls and colourful shops. Return to the hotel. Free evening and overnight stay.
Day 4 | Tokyo/Fujiyoshida/Mount Fuji/Kawaguchiko/Tokyo
Breakfast at the hotel. Full day dedicated to visiting Mount Fuji. We start with Oishi Park and Fujikawaguchiko, a town famous for its lake of the same name. Continue with a visit to the Kimono Museum, created and designed by the famous artist Itchiku Kubota, who revolutionised the Japanese textile dyeing technique in the 15th century. Lunch and on to the Arakura Fuji Sengen shrine famous for the Chureito pagoda, from which you can enjoy one of the most beautiful views most spectacular of the volcano. Return to Tokyo. Free evening Overnight stay.

Prepare the 23 kg main luggage for the shipment from the hotel in Tokyo to the hotel in Kyoto. Then prepare the 8 kg trolley with all the essentials for the two nights to Takayama and Kanazawa respectively.  

 

Day 5 | Tokyo/Takayama

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer by bus to Tokyo Station and departure by bullet train to Takayama via Nagoya (approx. 4 hours). On arrival, check-in at a traditional Onsen-type hotel. Departure for a walking tour of Takayama, a small town located in the heart of the Japanese Alps, where you can breathe in the historicity of the people. The city in fact dates back to the Edo period (1600 - 1868) and even today it is possible to admire some of the structures of the period, including the Takayama Jin'ya, the historical palace of the To- kugawa Shogunate. At the end of the visit return to the hotel and possibility of using the spa inside the Onsen, following and respecting local customs. In the evening delicious dinner typical Japanese style. Overnight stay.
Day 6 | Takayama/Shirakawa/Kanazawa

Breakfast at the hotel. Visit the morning market, a tradition that has been going on for almost two centuries, and visit the Kusakabe Folklore Museum, then depart by coach for Shirakawa. On the way, stop at the Yatai Kaikan, a museum of floats, used for more than 400 years for the town's parades. Departure for the historic village of Shirakawa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, formed by typical houses in the gasshozukuri style characterised by their steeply pitched thatched roofs reminiscent of two hands joined in prayer. Lunch in a local restaurant and on to Kanazawa. Arrival at the hotel, accommodation in the rooms and overnight.

 

Day 7 | Kanazawa/Kyoto

Breakfast at the hotel. A day dedicated to visiting Kanazawa. You will visit the Kenrokuen, one of three gardens most beautiful of Japan. Any description cannot express the beauty and colours of this corner of paradise. Then a visit to the former residence of the Samurai Nomura. Lunch in a restaurant and departure by train to Kyoto. Transfer to the hotel and overnight stay.
Day 8 | Kyoto

Breakfast at the hotel. A day dedicated to visiting the city. We will start at the Kinkakuji Temple, also called the 'Temple of the Golden Pavilion' as the building is covered with pure gold leaf, which is used to preserve the Buddha's relics. Lunch restaurant and then we will move on to the Kiyomizudera Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a finalist for the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. Then we will visit the famous Nijo Castle, a symbol of the power of the Shogunate of the Edo period and characterised by the 'nightingale floors', so called because when they are trodden on they produce a sound similar to the cry of a nightingale. The visit will end in the picturesque Gion district, the most famous in Kyoto, also known as the Geisha district, where it is possible to admire women in typical traditional dress strolling among the stalls and small shops. At the end of the visit, optional participation in the tea ceremony. Transfer to the hotel and overnight stay.
Day 9 | Kyoto/Nara/Fushimi Inari/Kyoto

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure by private bus to Nara, Japan's first capital. We visit Todaiji Temple, famous for housing the Great Buddha, a colossal bronze statue 14 metres high, and Nara Park, one of the most visited scenic spots in Japan. The park is famous for being home to Shika deer, considered sacred and Japan's National Treasure, which live freely within the park. The deer are now familiar to tourists and it is very easy to approach and pet them. Lunch at a local restaurant and on to visit Fushimi Inari, one of Japan's most famous and important shrines. The shrine is characterised by paths covered by more than 10,000 Torii, the famous red Shinto portals that mark the entrance to a sacred area. At the end of the visit return to the hotel. Free evening. Overnight stay.
Day 10 | Kyoto/Catania

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the airport and departure on a scheduled flight back to Italy. Meals on board.

 

The fee includes

- Lufthansa scheduled flight
- Allowance of one checked-in baggage item weighing up to 23 kg
- Accommodation in the hotels indicated, or similar hotels of the same category, with breakfast
- Treatment as per programme
- The tour programme indicated with private Italian-speaking guides (with private vehicles)
- City-to-city transfers by fast Shinkansen train in tourist class
- Separate luggage transport on day 5 from Tokyo to Kyoto, (1 piece of luggage per person)
- Entrance fees as per programme
- Italian-speaking escort/guide throughout the tour
- Airport taxes (450)

The fee does not include

- Drinks during meals
- Any meals not indicated
- Expenses of a personal nature
- Everything not included under 'The fee includes'.
- Insurance
- Entry fee

 

Lufthansa Flight Operations

Catania/Frankfurt P. 09.45 A.12.20
Frankfurt/Tokyo P. 14.00 A.09.50 (+1)

Kyoto/Munich P. 09.30. A. 16.35
Munich/Catania P. 21.45 A. 23.55

 

Hotels Provided:

TOKYO Keio Plaza
www.keioplaza.com

Grand Prince Shin Takanawa
www.princehotels.com/shintakanawa

New Otani Garden Tower
www.newotani.co.jp

TAKAYAMA Takayama Green Onsen
www.takayama-gh.com

KANAZAWA Ana Crowne Plaza
www.ihg.com

Kanazawa New Gran Prestige
www.new-grand.co.jp

KYOTO Rihga Grand Kyoto

www.rihga.co.jp/gran-kyoto/en

Kyoto Tokyu
www.tokyuhotels.co.jp