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Get Lost Escape
Japan 8 days ex Tokyo
Experience Japan like a local, away from the guidebook trail. From sumo tournaments, Tokyo karaoke bars, love hotels, a local baseball
game and sake dens to Kyoto's geisha area, white water rapids and Mt Fuji, we’re getting lost in Japan and finding our way out.
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Day 1 Tokyo
Arrival day - meet your leader and fellow travellers and enjoy an included welcome dinner at a Japanese style pub.
Known as an izakaya these lively eateries originally started out as a place to get some snacks with your drinks.
Day 2 Tokyo
Included Japanese breakfast and then some free time to explore some of Tokyo's many fascinating neighbourhoods.
For manga and electronics head to Akihabara, for high class (window) shopping and some traditional Kabuki theatre
head to Ginza. If you're interested in youth fashion Shibuya is your place and nearby Harajuku combines
punk/goth/cosplay fashion with Tokyo's most important shinto shrine.
Day 3 Tokyo
This morning we head to a sumo stable to see some of the big boys in action before tasting some of their traditional
dishes at a Chanko Nabe restaurant. A tasty combination of vegetables, meat, tofu and noodles in a big pot of broth the
meal is surprisingly healthy when eaten in smaller than sumo sized portions. I the evening we take a night walk around
the Shinjuku entertainment district, a sprawling collection of bars, restaurants, shady establishments and some "only in
Japan" businesses such as love hotels and host bars (for female clientele). We spend tonight in a capsule hotel nearby
so party the night away then retire to your 1m x 1m x 2m capsule for a truly unique overnight experience.
Day 4 Tokyo
Making use of the shared facilities for morning showers we check out of the capsule hotel and travel toward Mt Fuji to do
a day of mountain biking and white water rafting on the Fuji Gawa. At the end of the day a soak in a traditional onsen (hot
spring bath) soothes sore muscles and a Japanese style BBQ fills your empty stomach. We return to Tokyo for the night.
Day 5 Tokyo/Kyoto
An early morning visit to Tsukiji fish market, the largest in the world, where an incredible 450 different types of seafood
are on sale at any one time! After watching the early morning fish auctions and browsing the 1,700 small wholesale
stalls we indulge in some of the freshest sushi you are ever likely to eat. There are many non fish options if you want a
(slightly) more traditional breakfast.
We hop on the bullet train and speed down to Kyoto (2.5 hrs) at speeds of over 250km ph! Keep an eye out for Mt Fuji as
we race past but beware that it is a very shy mountain, often obscured by cloud. Once in Kyoto we visit Nijo castle,
previously the residence of the Shogun when he visited the imperial capital and then eat a meal of shabu shabu, a cook
it yourself dish where you boil meat and vegetables in a hotpot at your table.
Day 6 Kyoto
A city bike ride lets us explore the city from street level and visit Kinkakuji (the golden pavilion) and Ryan-ji Zen rock
garden. The afternoon is free time but in the evening we meet up again to take a walk through the Gion geisha district to
try to catch a glimpse of some of the many maiko (apprentice geisha) and geisha who live, work and study here.
Day 7 Kyoto/Tokyo
Returning to Tokyo we have a farewell dinner cruise on Tokyo Bay and make our own okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake
or Japanese omelette) as the lights of this amazing city reflect off the water.
Day 8 Tokyo
Departure day - we say our final sayonnaras to our travelling companions.
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Highlights
Neon lights of
Tokyo, Harajuku
girls, Karaoke,
Tsukiji fish
market, Love
hotel stay, White
water rafting,
Mountain biking,
Bullet train,
Fantastic food,
Zen temples,
Geishas
Trip code
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