Day 1: ARRIVAL IN TOKYO

You'll arrive today at New Tokyo International Airport (Narita). After clearing immigration and customs, our representative will be on hand to help you make your way to the shuttle van counter in the arrivals lobby on the first floor. Welcome to Tokyo! Your van ride will provide a first view of the Japanese capital, so modern and familiar, and yet so different. Streets are busy but orderly and neat, lights and signs glitter everywhere, alternating with serene green oases. You'll find a most comfortable room waiting at your hotel for the next two nights, the Crowne Plaza Metropolitan Tokyo. After you check in, it's time to get to know Tokyo on your own, and appreciate its urban life: spotless streets, a pace that's fast but always in control, bicycles left unlocked, vending machines dispensing superb hot coffee in cans (or whiskey, if you wish), and signs in English.

Day 2: TOKYO

You'll take a tour of Tokyo this morning, and you'll take in all of the essentials. You'll visit the Meiji Shrine and its surprisingly tranquil grounds so near the heart of the city, and pass by the Diet, Japan's parliament. You'll walk the grounds of the Imperial East Garden, now open to the public (except on Monday or Friday, when you'll visit the Plaza of the Imperial Palace). Then continue to the Asakusa Kannon Temple, for an understanding of Japanese spirituality, so closely tied to the physical environment. Of course, since this is Japan, you'll see the latest consumer marvels at the Nakamise shopping arcade. Then you'll conclude right in the heart of Tokyo's most exciting district, the Ginza, full of restaurants, electronic showcases, and avant-garde shops on every level of its glittering buildings. Continue your adventure in Tokyo on your own, and make your way back to your lodgings by taxi or the efficient subway system.

Imperial Palace East Garden

Day 3: TOKYO - MOUNT FUJI - HAKONE (L)

Your motor coach will pick you up in the morning, and before long, you'll be out past the suburbs and into the neatly tended countryside beyond. Mount Fuji with its perfect, snow-capped conical shape will hover into view, every more impressive as we approach. We'll continue right onto the slopes of Japan's highest mountain, and ascend to the halfway point at 2300 meters (7600 feet) for spectacular views of rolling fields, orchards, lakes, and streams. We'll take our lunch at the Highland Resort, then continue with a relaxing cruise on Lake Ashi, and a breathtaking ride on the Mt. Komagatake aerial tramway. A comfortable bed will be waiting in nearby Hakone at the Hotel Kowaki-en, where you can delight in a relaxing hot-springs bath.

Mt.Fuji & Komagatake Aerial cable-car

Day 4: HAKONE - TOKYO

Relax! The day is yours to enjoy the beauty and pleasures of Mount Fuji and the surrounding area, exactly as you wish. Soak up the naturally hot waters at the hotel, stroll around traditional Hakone and venture into a tea house, hike up the mountain, or take the tramway up and hike down. You'll take the local bus on your own to Odawara station to catch the Bullet Train for Tokyo at about 8 p.m., or earlier on a space-available basis. You'll continue on your own to the Crowne Plaza Metropolitan Tokyo.

Shinkansen

Day 5: TOKYO - FUKUOKA - BEPPU (L,D)

Most visitors limit themselves to Japan's main island of Honshu, but we'll be going further afield. We'll gather at convenient Haneda Airport in the morning to catch the flight to Fukuoka, on the southern island of Kyushu. Once we arrive, we'll head to Yabakei Gorge, to view an other-worldly landscape of rocks, peaks, and valleys formed by erosion of volcanic deposits. The vegetation is exotic even for Japan! We'll continue after lunch through the Kunisaki Peninsula, the heartland of Buddhism in Japan, where temples have been erected since the eighth century. We'll stop at statues of the Buddha, and view relief carvings on vertical rock walls. We'll visit Umi Jigoku (Sea Hell pond), whose blue waters boil up from the depths of the earth. Our stopping place for the night is Beppu Spa, where we'll find our dinner ready, along with comfortable rooms (Japanese- or western-style) at the Hanabishi Hotel, the Beppu Hotel Seifi, or a similar ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) where nothing distracts you from relaxation.

Day 6: BEPPU - YUFUIN - UNZEN (B,L,D)

We'll take our breakfast at the ryokan this morning, then set out for Yufuin, a spa town almost completely enclosed by dramatic mountains. Then we'll follow the spectacular Yamanami Highway through Aso-Kuju National Park to Mount Aso, a collapsed volcano with five peaks where you'll behold the world's largest crater, still steaming and occasionally erupting. Spreading out into a plateau patchwork of neat fields, it's altogether a unique sight. After lunch at a local restaurant, we'll take the ferry across place Ariake Bay to Unzen Spa. We'll take dinner and have western or Japanese-style rooms at our disposal at the Yumei Hotel, Unzen Kogen Hotel, or a similar ryokan.

Day 7: UNZEN - NAGASAKI - FUKUOKA - TOKYO (B)

After breakfast at our hotel, we'll drive up to Nita Pass and gaze at Unzen Fugendake. A volcano that erupted as recently as 1990, it's bedecked in a natural forest of azaleas. Our visit continues on a somber note when we arrive at Nagasaki, an all-new city since the atom bombing of 1945. We'll take the tram to visit the Peace Park that commemorates the event. On our way to Fukuoka Airport, we'll stop at Imari, where traditional Japanese porcelain was made for the imperial household and is still manufactured. We'll fly into Haneda Airport near Tokyo late in the evening, and you'll continue on your own to the Crowne Plaza Metropolitan Tokyo, where you'll stay for the next two nights.

Day 8: TOKYO

You've learned many of the ropes during your stay in Japan up to now: how to manage the public transport system, order food, greet people, and communicate with just a very few words and gestures. Now you're ready for a day on your own! With guidebook in hand, you'll visit shopping areas filled with items both familiar and marvelous. You'll explore the parks of Tokyo, or perhaps ascend the Tokyo Tower for a farewell view, or visit shrines, or charming slow-paced neighborhoods surprisingly close to the city center. We also offer a range of optional tours to take advantage of your time exactly in the way you choose.

Day 9: DEPARTURE FROM TOKYO

We've arranged your transportation to Narita Airport in time to check in and catch your homeward-bound flight. By now you'll understand the traditional word of farewell: Sayonara.

This tour departs on :
January 16, February 17, March 6, 31, April 7, 14, May 8, 19, June 2, 16, 30, July 14, August 18, September 4, 22, October 2, 13, 23, November 3, 17 and December 18.

Rate per person in US$ :
$2246 in double occupancy.
$2199 per child 6-11 sharing parents' room.
Single occupancy is not available

Please note, this tour welcomes visitors from Japan and around the world. You'll be assured the services of an English-speaking guide on days 5 through 7.

Rate includes:

* All ground transportation as indicated, by motor coach, airport shuttle, and Bullet Train

* Hotel accommodations as described, including taxes and service charge

* Train transportation to Kyoto and back to Tokyo

* Tours as listed, including entrance fees and guide service

* 2 breakfasts (B), 3 lunches (L) and 2 dinners (D) as indicated

* Domestic air transportation in Japan from Haneda to Fukuoka and return

Not included:

* International air transportation

* Trip interruption and cancellation insurance (please see our insurance brochure ).

* Gratuities

* Meals or beverages other than those indicated

Concerning your visit to Mount Fuji, please note:

1. The ride on the Mt. Komagatake Aerial Cableway might be omitted, depending on traffic conditions.

2. Due to winter and spring road closures, we will ascend to the highest accessible point on Mount Fuji, and not necessarily the Fifth Station.

3. Weather and operational conditions could cause other changes or substitutions due to conditions beyond our control.

4. With advance notice, we'll be pleased to arrange audio tour tapes in French, German, Spanish, Korean, or Chinese at no charge.