Winter Wonderland Tour
16 Days/14 Nights
The weather outside may be frightful, but touring Japan in winter is delightful. After you see how beautiful Japan is blanketed in snow, you'll be saying "Let is snow, let it snow, let it snow."
Destinations:
Tokyo, Sapporo, Abashiri, Kushiro, Yudanaka Onsen, Takayama, Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa, Kyoto
When you add the unique opportunities that only Japan winters offer with the small crowds, the result is an unforgettable travel experience. In the best that Japanese winters have to offer, you'll wander through the ice sculptures at the world-famous Sapporo Snow Festival, feast on all-you-can-eat grilled lamb and beer at the Sapporo Beer Garden, slash through the ice flows in a ice-breaker boat in the infamous prison town of Abashiri, contemplate the nearly-extinct, Japanese Red-Crested cranes, revered in Japanese culture, visit with the "snow monkeys" while they rest in thermally-heated mineral water to stay warm, explore quaint Takayama, stay overnight in a thatched-roof gassho-zukuri (praying-hand) home at a UNESCO World Heritage site, stroll through one of the best gardens in Japan made even better covered with snow, enjoy tea with a "Maiko" (Geisha in training), enjoy five gourmet Kaiseki-style dinners, and much, much more.
Every day you'll enjoy the friendliness, fun and flexibility of small group travel by experiencing sights, Japanese restaurants and family-run ryokans that are off-limits to larger groups. From start-to-finish, all group transportation, group admission fees, travel insurance, lodging, all breakfasts, four lunches, ten dinners, and more are included. All while our tour guide brings Japan alive with exceptional insights.
Winter Wonderland Tour Itinerary
Click here for a detailed itinerary.
| Day 01: | Leave for Japan |
| Day 02: | Arrive at Tokyo's Narita Airport, Stay overnight at hotel next to Narita Airport, Dinner at hotel |
| Day 03: | Transfer luggage to Sapporo, Fly to Sapporo's Chitose Airport, Express train to Sapporo, Sapporo Snow Festival, All-you-can-eat grilled lamb dinner at Sapporo Beer Garden |
| Day 04: | Sapporo - Sapporo Snow Festival |
| Day 05: | Travel to Abashiri - Transfer luggage to Kushiro, Express train to Abashiri, Ice Flow Museum |
| Day 06: | Abashiri, Travel to Kushiro - Ice Flow Boat Cruise, Express train to Kushiro |
| Day 07: | Kushiro Marshland Crane Preserve - Travel by bus to Crane Preserve, Crane Preserve, Return by bus to Kushiro |
| Day 08: | Travel to Yudanaka Onsen - Transfer luggage to Takayama, Fly to Tokyo's Haneda Airport, Bus to Tokyo Train Station, Shinkansen to Nagano, Express train to Yudanaka Onsen |
| Day 09: | Yudanaka Onsen - Bus to Jigoku-dani Snow Monkey Park, Jigoku-dani Snow Monkey Park, Return to Yudanaka Onsen by bus |
| Day 10: | Travel to Takayama - Express trains to Takayama, Sanmachisuji |
| Day 11: | Takayama - Miya-gawa Morning Market, Jinya-mae Morning Market, Takayama Jinya, Afternoon free |
| Day 12: | Travel to Shirakawa-go, Shirakawa-go - Transfer luggage to Kyoto, Bus to Shirakawa-go, Shirakawa-go Open Air Museum |
| Day 13: | Travel to Kanazawa, Kanazawa - Bus to Kanazawa, Kenrokuen Garden |
| Day 14: | Travel to Kyoto, Kyoto - Express train to Kyoto, Authentic tea ceremony and calligraphy lesson |
| Day 15: | Kyoto - Ginkakuji, Sanjusangendo, Ninenzaka, Sannenzaka, Higashiyama District, Yasaka Shrine, Kenninji Temple, Meet a Maiko, Gion Geisha District, Sayonara Dinner |
| Day 16: | Fly home |
Please Note: For all of our Specialty Tours, we use a mixture of Japanese-style ryokans and western-style hotels.