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- The Samurai, Sumo & Sake Tour (2021)
The Samurai, Sumo & Sake Tour (2021)
The Samurai, Sumo & Sake Tour
Nothing in the world has prepared you for this...
Join us in March 2021 for one of our most fun tours to date as we spend a week exploring the exciting country of Japan! Our journey will take us into the heart of this truly fascinating nation as we head off the tourist trail to discover the crazy stuff that you won’t find anywhere else in the world! Weird bars, strange restaurants, samurai lessons, sumo lunches, crazy cosplay, mysterious museums, ninja training, Geisha arm wrestling, traditional Japanese baths as well as plenty of wine, sake and whisky tastings!
Sunday 28 March 2021
- Guests arrive at leisure in Tokyo.
- For morning arrivals we will drop our bags off at the hotel and head to a very special Sumo experience!
- Learning out the ancient sport of Sumo we will also have a chance to challenge a wrestler and join them for a Chanko lunch scoffing down a big hot pot. You will soon find out how much food these warriors need to consume a day!
- After checking into our hotel, we will visit the Harajyuku area to discover the cosplay and fashion freaks in Yoyogi Park. Dressing up is optional!
- Visit to a Maid Cafe - you have to see it to believe it!
- After a few hours free time relaxing we head out for 'Tokyo By Night Photography Lesson'. Tokyo is photographers dream with the crazy neon lights so we will spend a few hours with a photographer learning about how to get the perfect shot.
- Dinner and bar hopping through Yurakucho, Shimbashi and Ginza.
Monday 29 March 2020
- Breakfast at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. At 230m, the views are dramatic.
- After breakfast we head out on a Ninja Tour! Dressing up as deadly assassins we will roam the neighbourhood of Asakusa learning about Ninja life and how deadly chopsticks can be...
- Lunch in Shinjuku where we can check out the Pachinko Parlours and try and work out what this strange game is all about. We try and avoid the parlours run by the Yakuza - look out for the tattoos!
- We can spend the afternoon on an "Adventurous Japanese Food Tour" or a "Tokyo Bay Cruise with All-You-Can-Drink Beer"...
- Dinner at the Harajuku Kawaii Monster Café.
- Koenji Izakaya and Bar Hopping Tour with a local guide.
Tuesday 30 March 2020
- We catch the Shinkansen Nozomi bullet train to Osaka.
- Drop our bags of at the hotel and enjoy a Kushikatsu (deep fried mystery meat) lunch in a local restaurant.
- City tour of Osaka with local guide.
- We spend the evening with an "Adventurous Evening Tour of Food And Drinks in Osaka.
Wednesday 31 March 2020
- Early morning train to Suntory Yamazaki Distillery for a whisky tour and tasting!
- Lunch at the Kizakura Kappa Country restaurant with copious amounts of beer and sake flights,
- Fushimi Sake District Tour visiting many sake breweries and sampling as we go!
- Check in to hotel
- Dinner and Maiko (apprentice Geisha) experience.
Thursday 1 April 2020
- Bullet train to Kobe.
- We enjoy a tour of Kobe with local guide and more sake tastings!
- Lunch enjoying the famous Kobe beef...
- Train to Tokyo.
- Dinner and bar hopping throughout Shinbashi.
Friday 2 April 2020
- An early start as we head to Fukushima for a guided tour of the tsunami and nuclear disaster area.
- We will see the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant from a distance and learn about how the tsunami damaged the nuclear reactor.
- Visit to an abandoned hospital and learn how severe the evacuation was for patients and caretakers
- We will meet some of the locals who have returned to the area and listen to their stories of the fateful day in 2011.
- Train back to Tokyo.
- Farewell dinner, drinks and dancing with cyborgs at Shinjuku's Robot Restaurant!
Saturday 3 April 2020
- End of tour.
- International flights home.
What's included
- Accommodations for 6 nights
- Local English guide (Day 2: Tokyo night tour / Day3: Osaka tour, Osaka night tour / Day 4: Kyoto tour / Day 5: Kobe tour / Day 6: Fukushima tour),
- Entrance fee mentioned in the itinerary,
- Transportation fee (mentioned in the itinerary)
- JR Pass
- Smiling Grape guides
What's excluded
- Drinks
- Meals