Tour Highlights

• During a three-night stay, see Tokyo’s important sites, including the Imperial Palace District and gardens, the Meiji Shrine, and the Tokyo National Museum.
• Visit the gallery of a preeminent calligrapher and observe her as she works.
• Marvel at views of iconic Mt. Fuji and take a cruise on scenic Ashi Lake at Mt. Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.
• Spend a night at a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn, enjoying a Japanese-style Kaiseki dinner.
• Stroll along the streets of historic Takayama with its attractive old-style buildings dating to the Edo Period (1600–1868).
• Visit Takayama’s lovely riverside morning market.
• Attend a traditional Japanese tea ceremony and take a hands-on cooking class with a local chef.
• Tour a sake brewery, sampling this national beverage and learning about the unique traditional brewing methods.
• Visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of Shirakawago Gassho-zukuri Village, featuring the unique Gassho architectural style.
• Explore culturally rich Kanazawa, including renowned Kenrokuen Garden and the Higashi Chayagai teahouse and geisha area.
• Tour a gold leaf museum and Kutani Kosen Kiln, where artists fashion the prized pottery.
• Experience Kyoto, a city that embodies Japan’s rich culture and complex history.
• See Kyoto’s lakeside Temple of the Golden Pavilion, one of Japan’s most famous buildings.
• Visit the otherworldly Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and the Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts.
• Tour extravagant Nijo-jo Castle, where shoguns once resided; the important Buddhist temple, Sanjyusangendo Hall; and the Fushimi Inara Shrine with its many red torii gates.
• Discover Hiroshima, the modern, cosmopolitan city reborn from the atomic destruction of World War II, on an optional 3-day/2-night post-tour extension.

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* Cal lecturer’s participation cannot be guaranteed and is contingent upon a minimum number of paying travelers.