Highlights
- City sightseeing tour of Tokyo
- Cherry blossom viewing at Ueno Park
- Cherry blossom viewing at Chidorigafuchi and Hamarikyu Garden
- Flower arranging class
- Japanese etiquette lesson
- Sushi making lesson
- Dinner Cruise on Tokyo Bay
- Cruise Lake Yamanaka
- Visit Fujiyama Tower
- Visit Kubota Itchiku Art Museum
- Experience "tea massaging" (preparing tea) and ceremony
- Q&A with women divers at Mikimoto Pearl Island
- See Todaiji Temple and the local deer in Nara
- Visit the Golden Pavilion - a World Heritage Site
- Kimono fitting experience
- Kimono fabric dyeing experience
- Cherry blossom viewing at the World Heritage Site of Nijo Castle and Heian Jingu Shrine
- Bullet train experience
- Visit to the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima
- Visit Miyajima Island
- 1 night stay in a traditional Japanese Ryokan
Inclusions
- Fully Escorted Tour - Your Sisterhood Tour Hostess is on hand to assist with making your holiday a memorable one
- Return airfares ex Melbourne including taxes (Other departure cities and upgrades available upon request)
- Specialist English-speaking guide
- Private transportation throughout
- All meals as described in the itinerary
- All sightseeing as described in the itinerary
- Quality accommodation as described in the itinerary
- Willing to share option
- Meet & Greet via Zoom
Notice
Moderate Fitness Rating - A moderate level of fitness will be required for these tours due to the length and/or overall physicality of our tour itinerary. You can expect to walk more than 10,000 steps daily on more challenging terrain and longer periods. You must be capable of boarding and disembarking coaches, trains and boats unaided and at times handle your luggage. For more information on our physical ratings please click here
This tour of Japan requires you at times, to sleep on mats on the floor, sit on the floor for meals and to step into bathtubs, so you need to be physically agile and fit enough to walk a fair distance and carry your overnight luggage on occasion.
For additional information on this tour, CLICK HERE
Itinerary
Day 1 - Saturday 28 March 2026
Melbourne - Tokyo (in-flight meals)
Welcome to Sisterhood Womens Travel. Your tour hostess and fellow travellers will meet you at the designated departure point at Melbourne Airport for our flight to Tokyo. Sit back, relax and enjoy the flight.
On arrival at Narita Airport, an English-speaking guide will meet us at the exit of customs. We will be assisted in boarding a chartered coach transfer to our hotel in Tokyo.
Tokyo is the capital of Japan, a city with 12 million residents and 3 million further commuters from neighbouring cities daily, for a total of 15 million people on most days. Famous for its spectacular architecture, futuristic displays, upmarket shopping and unique fashion sense, plenty of free time is allowed here to explore on your own.
A light dinner will be served at the hotel upon our arrival.
Overnight - Daiwa Roynet Hotel Nishi Shinjuku Premier Tokyo (or similar)
Day 2 - Sunday 29 March 2026
Tokyo Sightseeing (B, L, D)
Today, we will be taken on a full-day tour of Tokyo city.
Taking advantage of the season in a nation that explodes in brilliant, shimmering bobs of white and pink, we’ll be aiming to take in some of Tokyo’s best cherry blossom viewing spots, starting with Ueno Park.
Ueno Park is home to many art, history, science and technology museums, and is one of the best places in Tokyo to view cherry blossoms.
Later, we’ll have lunch at a local restaurant, followed by more cherry tree viewing along the river banks at Chidorigafuchi, and then the landscaped gardens of Hamarikyu at the edge of the Ginza shopping district.
We’ll return to our hotel to freshen up before heading out to our welcome dinner to officially kick off our tour of Japan!
Overnight - Daiwa Roynet Hotel Nishi Shinjuku Premier Tokyo (or similar)
Day 3 - Monday 30 March 2026
Tokyo (B, L, D)
Following our first day of sightseeing in Tokyo, we will have a Sushi-making lesson, conducted by a professional sushi chef, this morning. This is followed by a Japanese etiquette lesson to learn about various Japanese mannerisms and local customs.
We’ll also have time this afternoon to shop with our tour guide in the hidden backstreets of Tokyo city.
Late afternoon, we will be taken to dinner on board a Yakatabune (Japanese-style houseboat), with a cruise on Tokyo Bay.
Overnight - Daiwa Roynet Hotel Nishi Shinjuku Premier Tokyo (or similar)
Day 4 - Tuesday 31 March 2026
Tokyo - Lake Yamanaka (B, L, D)
We’re doing something a little bit more traditional this morning; taking part in a unique cultural experience of ikebana, the art of flower arrangement.
We’ll then be making our way to the stunning Fuji Five Lakes area, with a brief stop for lunch along the way, and then onward to Lake Yamanaka. Here at Lake Yamanaka, we’ll board a pleasure cruise on the lake to take in stunning up-close views of Mt. Fuji, before checking into our accommodation right on the shores of Lake Yamanaka.
This will be a traditional experience in Japanese style accommodation; though to ease you into this experience, we will still have western bedding.
Dinner is included at the hotel this evening.
Overnight - Hotel Mt Fuji, Lake Yamanaka area (or similar)
Day 5 - Wednesday 1 April 2026
Mt Fuji area (B, L, D)
We’ll be going on an adventure to explore the Fuji Five Lakes today, beginning with a trip to the ponds of Oshino Hakkai.
We then make our way to Fujiyama Tower at Fuji-Q Highland, a stunning photo spot for Mt. Fuji, and a great place to have lunch.
Our afternoon sees us heading to Kubota Itchiku Art Museum, dedicated to the remarkable works of master Kimono designer Kubota Itchiku.
We will return to our hotel late afternoon to rest and relax, perhaps try out the hot springs, for a brief respite before dinner this evening.
Overnight - Hotel Mt Fuji, Lake Yamanaka area (or similar)
Day 6 - Thursday 2 April 2026
Mt Fuji area - Lake Hamana (B, L, D)
A full day of cultural experiences await us today, as we head west through Shizuoka prefecture by coach, driving through Shizuoka’s famous tea fields. We’ll stop by a tea field known as “Chapia” or “Tea-pia”, to experience a practice known as “tea massaging”, the traditional method of preparing sencha tea. We will include a Japanese tea ceremony experience here.
Following this, we’re headed to Hokoji Temple to enjoy Buddhist monk cuisine for lunch, and then an afternoon course of “Zazen” meditation at this same temple.
We will then travel to our accommodation for the evening, on the shores of Lake Hamana. There will be an option today to explore the nearby Hamamatsu Flower Park, before dinner at the hotel. Depending on the season, we may be treated to a full nighttime illumination even at the park!
Overnight - Grand Mercure Lake Hamana Resort & Spa (or similar)
Day 7 - Friday 3 April 2026
Lake Hamana - Toba - Nagashima (B,L, D)
Today, instead of conventional rail travel across the mainland, we’re headed across the strait via ferry to the seaside town of Toba, famous for Mikimoto Pearl Island and its women divers (Ama).
We’ll have a short amount of time to stop and explore Mikomoto Pearl Island, before we’re treated to an exclusive grilled seafood lunch prepared by Ama women pearl divers, and our guide will talk us through a free-talk Q&A with the Ama while we enjoy lunch.
Later, we make our way up north to Nagashima Spa Land, where we’ll be staying the night.
An optional activity this evening will be to take in the awesome night lights of Nabana no Sato, before dinner.
Overnight - Hotel Nagashima, Nagashima (or similar)
Day 8 - Saturday 4 April 2026
Nagashima - Kyoto (B, L, D)
Today, we’ll be driving through Nara, the first permanent capital of Japan. Famed for the large Buddha hall at Todaiji Temple and the many polite bowing deer roaming around, Nara will certainly be a delightful experience.
We will enjoy lunch at a local restaurant in Nara, before continuing onward to Kyoto, where we’ll be staying for the next 3 nights.
We will have a couple of hours to freshen up before our exclusive banquet kaiseki dinner, where the food itself is presented as art; together with geisha accompaniment, a rare treat not often experienced by travellers in Japan.
Overnight - Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Shijo, Kyoto (or similar)
Day 9 - Sunday 5 April 2026
Kyoto (B, L, D)
This morning after breakfast, we travel to the Golden Pavilion, a World Heritage Zen temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf. Also known as Kinkakuji, it is an impressive structure built overlooking a large pond and is the only building left of Yoshimitsu's former retirement complex. It has burned down numerous times throughout its history, including twice during the Onin War, a civil war that destroyed much of Kyoto; and once again more recently in 1950 when it was set on fire by a fanatic monk. The present structure was rebuilt in 1955.
We then travel to the Arashiyama district for lunch, an area reminiscent of feudal-era Japanese films. A Kimono fitting experience has also been arranged for the group this afternoon, as befitting the theme of the region.
Dinner at a local restaurant this evening.
Overnight - Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Shijo, Kyoto (or similar)
Day 10 - Monday 6 April 2026
Kyoto (B, L)
We start today with cherry blossom viewing at the World Heritage site of Nijo Castle (former Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shogunate, ruling party of Japan prior to the current royal family).
Lunch is included today at a local restaurant, before we take in the cherry trees at Heian Jingu Shrine.
Later this afternoon, we'll have a unique kimono fabric dyeing experience.
Today’s touring concludes late in the afternoon, with our own arrangements for dinner.
Overnight - Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Shijo, Kyoto (or similar)
Day 11 - Tuesday 7 April 2026
Kyoto - Miyajima (B, L, D)
This morning, our main luggage will be couriered to our hotel in Osaka, while we take a detour to the historic regions of Hiroshima and Miyajima. An overnight bag will be required this evening.
We travel by bullet train to Hiroshima, and we’ll be heading to the sombre Peace Memorial Museum. Lunch is included at a local restaurant today, before we board a ferry across to Miyajima Island, an island famous for its natural scenery, many wild deer, and for Itsukushima Shrine. The view from Itsukushima Shrine is considered one of the best 3 in Japan.
Tonight’s accommodation will be a traditional ryokan experience - Japanese Rooms with tatami mat bedding.
Overnight - Miyajima Mori no Yado, Miyajima (or similar)
Day 12 - Wednesday 8 April 2026
Miyajima - Osaka (B, D)
After checking out of our ryokan this morning, we’re headed back to Osaka by bullet train, with some free time for lunch (own expense); we’ll be exploring Shinsaibashi and Namba, considered by many Japanese to be the gourmet heart of Japan. Famous for its “Eat-til-you-drop” food culture, the diversity of cuisine and shops are abundant here, the best way to finish up our tour of Japan!
A farewell dinner at a local restaurant will be included this evening.
Overnight - Del Style Shinsaibashi Hotel by Daiwa Roynet, Osaka (or similar)
Day 13 - Thursday 9 April 2026
Osaka - Home (B, in-flight meals)
After finishing up with any shopping today, we bid farewell to our guide and will be transferred by chartered coach to Osaka Airport, in time for our early afternoon departure flight.
Sit back, relax and enjoy the inflight entertainment of the airlines as we head towards home
Day 14 - Friday 10 April 2026
Welcome Home
Welcome Home!
Thank you for travelling with Sisterhood Womens Travel and we look forward to welcoming you back for your next adventure!