Saturday, 2 February 2008
I just can't wait for our Japan tour of 29 March 2008. When you consider the meals you are going to get on this trip, you will see how value for money it is. Have you had a full meal at a Japanese restaurant before? Have you seen the bill? Now, imagine eating at a Japanese restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner, for one whole week. The food alone is worth the entire trip. Unlike cheap tours that offer you third rate food, here, we will dine on Japanese local specialties every day. Some of the vegetables and pickles, you might not even get at the Japanese restaurant back home. If you love Japanese food, this is just the trip for you. If you can't stand Japanese food, this is NOT the trip for you!
Contact First Name, come and join me on this tour, and we'll have a good time together. The tour is taking place on 29 March, 2008, and we'll be flying there on Malaysia Airlines. It will be an experience that you won't easily forget!
Just look at the food we had on our previous tour:
Here I am with our lunch at Kyoto.
Close-up of the lunch box at Kyoto.
What a lot to eat! Our lunch in Nara was at a Japanese restaurant at Kasuga Shrine, a Unesco World Heritage Site.
A closer look at the meal.
Our breakfast in Wakayama.
So many little plates and saucers in the room! Just look at the arrangement, aren't they neat?
There's a little bit of this, a little bit of that, but at the end of the meal, you are incredibly full!
My wife and I, dinner at Wakayama. Just look at those crabs! They're bigger than any we can get back home, and we can eat all we want, without paying anything.
The lunch at Wakayama. And that's just for one person.
The lunch we had before we visited the Grand Shrine of Ise.
The lunch we had at Hakone, before taking the boat ride around the lake.
My wife Chooi Yoke enjoying her food.
Here I am again, with more food.
My wife and I at our lunch in the Ginza shopping district, Tokyo.
Now tell me, isn't that great value for money? It's meals like these that make me want to go back to Japan again and again.
Itinerary
Day 1: In Flight (Meal on board)
Assemble at your check in counter two hours before departure at the Penang and Kuala Lumpur International Airports for your flight to Osaka, the second largest city in Japan.
Day 2: Kyoto (Lunch and Dinner provided)
Morning, have a great view of the famous Osaka Castle (Out View), situated in the eastern part of the city. During the sakura season in March, the garden is blooming with cherry blossom. Followed the tour of Osaka Castle, we proceed straightaway to Kyoto. For one thousand years, Kyoto was the capital of medieval Japan, before it moved to Tokyo. As a result, Kyoto retains some of the most treasured sites in Japanese history. All the sites we are visiting have been honored by Unesco as Historic Sites of Ancient Kyoto. Upon arrival in Kyoto, we tour the famous Golden Pavilion, one of the best-recognized icons of Japan. Also on our itinerary is the Ryoanji, the most famous rock garden in Japan. We also visit Kiyomizu Temple, perched daringly on a steep hill side, possibly the most beloved temple in the nation. After that, tour to Hei-An Shrine, a scaled down replica of the first imperial palace in Kyoto built by Emperor Kammu in 794 and dedicated to him, was constructed in 1895 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the founding of Kyoto. The rear garden is outstanding. Next, tour visit to Golden Pavilion. After that, proceed to Arashiyama visit Ryu-Temple. Dinner and overnight in Kyoto.
Day 3: Nara (Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided)
After breakfast, proceed to oldest city in Japan - Nara. Upon arrival, tour visit to Todaiji Temple - a temple complex in the city of Nara in Nara Prefecture, was built in the year 743. At that time Buddhism was at its height, and served as a state religion. Next tour to Nara Deer Park. After that, tour visit to Kasuga Shrine, is considered one of the Three Great Shinto Shrines of Japan. Founded in 768, it is actually four shrines consecrated to different Shinto deities. Tour continue visit Koufukuji Temple & Horyuji Temple. Overnight in Nara.
Day 4: Toba Peninsula (Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided)
From today onwards, we leave the main cities of Japan, and begin exploring rural Japan. Our journey takes us through Toba peninsula, visiting sites in Wakayama Prefecture. We experience a rustic landscape that resides in the most sophisticated culture in the world. Even in the smallest of hamlets, Japan is a unique justaposition of old and new. We stop to visit Koyasan, headquarters of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism, and recognized as a Unesco World Heritage Site. Our tour continues Kumano Kodo, a sacred place where the Japanese gods lived since ancient times. People traverse rugged paths through the wild nature to visit Kumano.
Due to the long distance travelled today, we will arrive late at our hotel, to a meal awaiting us, and a rest thereafter.
Day 5: Ise Peninsula (Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided)
We are now in the mountainous countryside of Central Japan. Our hotel is an inn in the mountains. After a buffet breakfast of local produce, we continue our journey. Today we visit the Ise Grand Shrine, the most important shrine in Japanese Shintoism. We will visit the outer shrines. The inner shrine, is so sacred that no one is allowed to approach it up close, but can only view from the outside. Today we will also be visiting the Mikimoto Pearl Island, a man-made island off the Pacific coast where lady divers continue to ancient craft of planting and harvesting cultured pearls. If we are lucky, we will get to see a demonstration. Later the same day, we visit the Wedded Rocks of Meotoiwa. These are sacred rock formations on the Pacific coast, linked together by a rope, and is one of the famous cultural icons of Japan.
Day 6: Mount Fuji (Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided)
Every day, a different scenery greets us, and its no different today, when we have the chance to ascend Mount Fuji. Our exploring of Japan takes us today to Hakone, where we will take a cruise of Lake Ashi, a lake formed when the massive eruption of Mount Hakone took place 3000 years ago. If we are lucky, the sky will be clear, and we will get a beautiful view of Mount Fuji (however, most of the time it is overcast). Next, we start our journey up Mount Fuji, arriving at the Fifth Station. There we can a glorious view of the cone-shaped mountain, weather permitting. Along the way, we will also stop at Oshino Hakkai, a village in at the foot of Mount Fuji famous for its clear waters and hot spring. We reture for to a traditional Japanese inn at Yamanakako, a resort on the slopes within view of Mount Fuji.
Day 7: Tokyo (Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided)
After a week of journeying across Japan, we finally arrive at Tokyo, a roaring city and capital of modern Japan. Our tour of Tokyo takes us to the Sensoji, also known as the Asakusa Kannon, the oldest temple in Tokyo founded in the 7th century. We will also tour the vast compound of the Imperial Palace and make a trip to Tokyo Tower, to enjoy a panoramic view of the city. We will visit the most expensive real estate in Japan, strolling down the elegant shopping district of Ginza. Having seen much of ancient Japan, today we visit Odaiba, a futuristic shopping mall built on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay, for a taste of Japan of the future.
Day 8: Home (Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided)
After an incredible journey, it is time for us to bid farewell to our tour guide, as we board our flight home. We have breakfast in the hotel. Thereafter we are free until our transfer to Narita International Airport for our flight home. Sayonara Japan.
Booking Details
Group Size: minimum 17 paying participants, maximum 24 paying participants.
English-speaking tour guide and tour leader throughout the tour.
All meals covered. Local Japanese specialties.
All entrance fees included.
Travel Insurance included.
All transfers included.
Accommodation in 4-star hotels included.
Tour guide tips included.
We will help you get the visa for Japan.
Flight by Malaysia Airlines from Penang and Kuala Lumpur.
Departure Date: 29 March, 2008
Tour Price: RM5208
Fuel Surcharge, airport tax, tour guide tips: RM880
Deposit of RM1000 to be paid upon registering
Single supplement: RM1200
To book this tour, contact Ms Pauline Teh at Mayflower Acme Tours Sdn Bhd, at pauline@mayflower.com.my or call +60-4-228 0260 or +60-16 443 9292.
 
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