09:00 – In the morning you will be met by a guide in the hotel lobby and you will go on an excursion to the city Kamakura!
Located on the picturesque coast of the Pacific Ocean, Kamakura is ancient capital Japan, this small town with a lot of ancient Buddhist temples, quiet and picturesque. Kamakura is one of the oldest cities in Japan, founded in 1192.
10:00 – Daibudu Statue - Great Buddha
This Buddha statue is the second largest in Japan (the first is in Nara). The height of the statue is 11.4 m, weight - 93 tons. Buddha sits under open sky, green hills create a wonderful backdrop. The statue was cast in 1252. The statue was probably made by Ono Goryomon or Tanshi Hisatomo, the leading Japanese bronze sculptors of the time. At a certain period of time, the statue was gilded. There are still traces of gilding near the ears of the statue.
11:00 – Temple of Haseder
The temple was built in 736. You will marvel at the statue of the 11-headed goddess Kannon, 9.5 meters high. Another attraction of the temple is a giant bell cast in 1264, the oldest in Kamakura. It is declared the most important cultural value of Japan. You will completely immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the 12th century, feel like a part of the great past
13:00 – Lunch at a restaurant (Japanese cuisine).
14:00 –Hachimangu Temple
Hachimangu Shrine is an important shrine in Kamakura. It was founded in 1063 by representatives of the Minamoto family. The temple is dedicated to the god of war, as well as the memory of the legendary emperor Ojin Hachiman. Here Yoritomo warriors practiced yabusame - archery from a horse. In order to get to the temple, you need to go from the embankment through the entire city center along a long, wide passage with several tory gates along the way. The main hall stands on a terrace at the top of a wide staircase. The main hall houses the temple itself and a museum where shrines such as swords, masks and documents are kept.
15:00 – Departure for Yokohama.
Yokohama is a metropolis, largest port Japan, get ready for reality to exceed your wildest expectations.
16:00 –Landmark Tower
Tallest building in Yokohama and third tallest building in Japan. The height of the building is 296.3 m. The construction of the building was completed in 1993. The skyscraper is the tallest observation platform in the country.
17:00 – Future Port Minato Mirai
The most famous area "Minato Mirai" is located in the central part of Yokohama and in Japanese means "port of the future". There are multi-storey office buildings, luxury hotels, shopping centers, restaurants, conference halls, exhibition complexes.
19:00 - Return to the hotel in Tokyo.
*Overnight at 3-star Tokyo hotel “Toyoko Inn Tokyo Shinagawa-eki Konan-guchi Tennozu”.
Tour operator for Japan KMP Group offers you a wide range of different tours to Japan, from excursion tours and leisure in Japan, to business and yacht tourism, spa tours and treatment, as well as family tours with a visit to Disneyland.
Japan- one of the most mysterious countries and it is worth visiting at least once in a lifetime. Despite the fact that the culture of the Land of the Rising Sun was once very strongly influenced by Chinese culture, it is distinguished by its originality and strikes with special aestheticism.
Location and climate of Japan
In many ways, this originality is due to the location of this country. Japan consists of more than four thousand islands, the most important of which are Hokkaido, Ryukyu, Shikoku, Honshu and Kyushu. The country has access to several seas: from the west, its coast is washed by Sea of Japan and the Korea Strait, from the east - Pacific Ocean, from the north - by the Sea of Okhotsk, and South coast washed by the East China Sea.
A fairly large part of the territory of Japan is made up of mountainous regions, and on its territory there are enough a large number of volcanoes, several of which are still seismically active.
The climate of Japan is also highly dependent on the region. The north of the country has a temperate climate: in the summer months, the air temperature here warms up to +30 C, while winters are quite severe here: the thermometer can drop to -15 C.
A tropical and subtropical climate prevails in the south, which causes high summer temperatures: up to +38 C (in winter about +16 C) and a large amount of precipitation per year.
Popular resorts
Tours to Japan will take you to a special world. This world lives according to its own laws, which have existed for several centuries.
KMP Group specialists have been studying Japan for many years, we travel to this country regularly, but even for us it continues to be a source of new discoveries and inspiration. Japan is a country with a special aesthetics, a special culture and history, here even nature is imbued with some special charm that makes you come here again and again to admire the red autumn maples or cherry blossoms.
The Land of the Rising Sun provides a huge selection of places and attractions. As part of our tours around Japan, we have tried to select for you the most interesting routes during which you will get to know this country, its culture, its past and present better. The Japanese have succeeded in realizing the Buddhist ideal of the "Middle Way": an amazing combination of opposites. Here you will see the harmony of technology and attention to the environment, incredible performance and relaxed detachment, respect for nature and the use of the latest scientific developments.
KMP Group offers you to choose exactly the tour to Japan that suits you. Traveling to Japan can be very different in terms of its excursion program and the duration of the tour. It can be only 3-4 days or several days, it can be different regions of the Land of the Rising Sun, but one thing remains unchanged - a special, incomparable "taste" of travel.
During tours to Japan, you are unlikely to resist the local cuisine, which has already won its fans around the world. An abundance of seafood, specially prepared vegetables and rice, and, of course, Japanese tea, which has become a real ritual - all this is an obligatory part of the program. All this makes it possible to understand how quite ordinary everyday things like making tea or contemplating cherry blossoms can turn into a special sacrament imbued with sacred beauty and timeless meaning.
Tours to Japan combine both traditional Japanese aesthetics with the concepts of "wabi-sabi" and modern metropolitan areas with the latest technology. Moreover, all this is available to you often in the same place.
And, most importantly, tours to Japan are the brightest impressions, positive emotions and touching the centuries-old wisdom of the Japanese people. We guarantee you all this!
Attractions
We recommend starting any acquaintance with Japan from its capital - Tokyo. Here you will see an amazing combination of modernity and tradition. The Japanese tend to respect their culture, nature and all living things in general. This is largely dictated by the influence of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, the combination of which created the amazing originality that Japan is so famous for.
In Tokyo, be sure to visit Shinjuku Gyoen Park, Samurai Museum, Odaiba District, National Museum advanced science and technology "Miraikan" and the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo, Senso-ji. However, the number of attractions Japanese capital is not limited to these places, and in addition to Tokyo, you should definitely visit Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nikko and Kanazawa.
Write to us, we will be happy to help you get to Japan!
Let's go on a Sakura cruise
Sakura is so popular in Japan that it could become a symbol of the Land of the Rising Sun. Hundreds and thousands of cherry trees of different varieties are planted in the gardens and parks of the main cities of the country. And every self-respecting village considers it its duty to have its own sakura alley. When the time comes, sakura blooms throughout Japan, moving from South to North, starting in late January in tropical Okinawa and ending in harsh Hokkaido at the end of May. Gently pink petals swirl in gardens and parks, along river banks, around Buddhist temples and samurai castles, paint the slopes of Mount Fuji and other Japanese volcanoes in their unique colors of spring.
The most common cultivar of Japanese sakura is the Somei Yoshino, a special cultivar that blooms much earlier than the leaves. In the midst of flowering, clusters of flowers appear on bare branches. And if you go into such a sakura grove, you get the feeling that you are in a soft pink cloud. Apparently this is exactly what the Japanese were striving for, planting sakura all over the country since the middle of the 19th century.
So it's hanami, cherry blossom time. It's time for a walk and a picnic under the most beautiful tree. And your Japanese Boss won't mind joining corporate travel, of course, with sake, sushi, sashimi and other delights of Japanese cuisine. Every Japanese knows where the most beautiful views nearby, in your district, city, as well as in the prefecture and throughout the country.
Sakura is ghostly and fleeting. The Japanese say that sakura reminds people of the fragility of everything around. Perhaps that is why, with his great love for nature and everything beautiful, it is very rare to find sakura in the private garden of a Japanese house. Much more often you can see a pine tree there as a symbol of strength and longevity.
Few people know that in Japan, sakura is considered a male flower, a sign of courage and courage, a symbol of the samurai. After all, the petals of the Japanese cherry tree fall without withering when they are still full of life. Thus was born the metaphor of a Japanese samurai warrior ready to die in his prime. And that's why some of the best places for hanami (cherry viewing), these are the gardens and parks around Samurai castles such as Matsue Castle or Hirosaki Castle, where the first cherry trees were planted 300 years ago and where the famous cherry blossom festival, Aomori Port, is held annually).
Due to the huge public interest, the National Meteorological Agency of Japan, during the cherry blossom season, in addition to the usual forecasts, talks about the beginning of flowering and the stages of flowering of the Japanese cherry in various regions of the country.
Usually flowering begins in late January - early February in Okinawa, then moving along with the spring to the north of Japan. At the beginning of April, it is in full bloom on the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, at the end of March, sakura blooms in Tokyo, in the first decade of April - in Kyoto and Osaka, in Sakiminato and Matsuya - in mid-April. By the beginning of May, a wave of cherry blossoms "runs" to the island of Hokkaido, the city of Hakodate and Sapporo.
The whole country is watching the movement of sakura to the north. On TV, after the weather forecast, they will definitely say where the sakura is already in full bloom, and where it will bloom from day to day.
We too will be watching Sakura with you and our tourists who are going on cruises in Japan this spring.
Here we will keep updating the information following the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The forecast is preliminary and will be updated over time. Please note that cherry blossoms may begin earlier or later than the designated date. The exact timing will depend on weather conditions A: daily average temperature, winds, humidity and other conditions.
Kyushu, Shikoku, Chugoku
Kansai
Kanto and Chubu
Tohoku and Hokkaido
Cherry Blossom Cruises 2020
Our cruises with Princess Cruises cover all of Japan from South to North. Traveling on cruises, you can see cherry blossoms in the main cities and the most remote and inaccessible corners of Japan, where it is not so easy to get on land tours.
These days you can walk around Tokyo on your own, without haste, or take additional excursions for a fee according to your taste: museums, shopping, restaurants, pedestrian streets- we will tell you what you might like!
Shibuya Crossing, the fashionable shopping district and shops of Ginza, or maybe the area with the skyscrapers of Shinjuku: both in the evening and during the day, this area will give you a good idea of the real life of Tokyo in all its colors, from love houses and bars in the Kabukicho quarter to bars, for three visitors and luxury department stores. In the Harajuku quarter, you can be surprised by the creativity and courage of young boys and girls from Japan.
You can make a full day excursion to Kamakura and Yokohama, to the city of Nikko samurai and ride on a pirate ship overlooking Fuji. Take a full day trip to Hakone Hot Springs Resort with views of Mount Fuji.
For nature lovers: Tokyo's many cherry blossom parks. For lovers of gastronomy - a gastronomic walk from different regions.
And in the evening, you can look into the Alley of Memories or one of the izakaya - a kind of tavern that serves alcoholic drinks combined with delicious snacks at a reasonable price. Izakaya are popular not only among the Japanese themselves, but also among tourists.
Group tour to Japan. March. Sakura!
March 22-28, 2020 (7 days / 6 nights)
Tokyo - Nara - Kyoto - Kanazawa - Tokyo
Pink "snowfall"
When billions of petals fall from the cherry trees, it may seem that the earth is covered with pink snow. Suddenly the petals break away from the branches and fly in a graceful dance to the ground. A strong gust of wind picks up the "snow flakes", spreading them everywhere. The Japanese call this phenomenon sakura fubuki, or pink "snowfall". The earth is covered with a delicate pink carpet. Fallen sakura petals - a spectacle of rare beauty - give peace and tranquility.
"Hanami", cherry blossom viewing, is the most beloved tradition of the Japanese. But, despite the fact that literally "hanami" is translated as "admiring the flowers", it is no less strongly associated with a good snack and drink at a picnic with family or friends under flowering trees.
Now in Japan there are more than 300 types of sakura, although no more than 10 species are natural. Cherry blossoms were also a favorite subject of many famous artists. They appear in countless paintings, poems, and later photographs and films, not to mention the fact that sakura is the most popular ornament on women's kimonos.
But not only the Japanese appreciate the beauty of cherry blossoms. Everyone who visits Japan during this time will be delighted to see flowering trees fluttering in the wind ("hanafubuki"), as well as cherry blossoms in the light of the moon or paper lanterns ("yozakura"). This impression will be remembered for many years.
March 21. Moscow - Tokyo.
Departure from Moscow to Tokyo by a regular flight of Aeroflot or JAL.
March 22. Tokyo.
Arrival at Narita airport.
Meeting with a Russian speaking guide.
Transfer to Tokyo.
14:00 Arrival in Tokyo.
Dinner.
18:00 Arrival at the hotel, accommodation.
March 23. Tokyo.
Breakfast at the hotel.
9:00 Tour of Tokyo.
Shinjuku Skyscraper District, Omoide Yokocho's "memory lane".
Meiji Jingu Shrine.
Harajuku Youth District.
Asakusa area, Sensoji Temple, Nakamise souvenir street.
Akihabara Electronics Quarter.
The fashionable district of Ginza is the "showcase of the city".
Square of the Imperial Palace.
During the tour - lunch.
18:00 Return to the hotel.
March 24. Nara.
Breakfast at the hotel.
8:00 Check out from the hotel.
08:30 Transfer to Kyoto by Shinkansen.
11:00 Arrival in Kyoto.
Transfer to Nara.
12:30 Tour of Nara.
Todaiji Temple with Big Buddha statue.
Shrine of Kasuga Taisha.
Deer park.
During the tour - lunch.
17:00 Transfer to Kyoto.
18:30 Arrival at the hotel, accommodation.
Hotel: HOTEL INTERGATE KYOTO SHIJO SHINMACHI, 4*.
March 25. Kyoto.
Breakfast at the hotel.
9:00 Check out from the hotel.
Tour of Kyoto.
Kinkakuji Temple ("Golden Pavilion").
Ryoanji temple with rock garden.
Temple " clean water"Kiyomizudera.
Thousand Buddha Temple Sanjusangendo.
During the tour - lunch.
17:10 Transfer to Kanazawa by fast train.
19:15 Arrival in Kanazawa.
Transfer to the hotel.
20:00 Arrival at the hotel, accommodation.
Hotel: "KANAZAWA TOKYU HOTEL", 4*.
26 March. Kanazawa.
Breakfast at the hotel.
9:00 Check out from the hotel.
Tour of Kanazawa.
Japanese garden Kenroku-en.
Kanazawa Castle.
District of old samurai houses.
Medieval tea street Higashi-chai.
Lunch during the tour.
16:00 Transfer to Tokyo by Shinkansen.
18:30 Arrival in Tokyo.
Arrival at the hotel, accommodation.
Hotel: MOXY TOKYO KINSHICHO, 3* or COURTYARD TOKYO STATION, 4+*.
March 27th. Tokyo.
Breakfast at the hotel.
Free day. For those who wish, additional tours will be offered.
March 28th. Tokyo - Moscow.
Breakfast at the hotel.
Meeting with a Russian-speaking guide in the hotel lobby.
Check out from the hotel.
Transfer to Narita airport.
Departure to Moscow on a regular flight of Aeroflot or JAL.
The cost of the program for 1 person in the group
Payment in rubles at the rate of the company at the time of payment.
In parentheses is the price calculated at the exchange rate of the Central Bank + 2% as of March 5, 2020.
Included in cost:
- hotel accommodation;
- excursions with a Russian-speaking guide;
- entrance tickets according to the program;
- meals: breakfasts in hotels and lunches during excursions;
- transport services according to the program, railway tickets for high-speed Shinkansen trains;
- visa application.
Additionally paid:
- air flight Moscow-Tokyo-Moscow;
- medical insurance.
