Day 1: Mt. Fuji & Hakone – Atami
Depart Tokyo for Mt. Fuji & Hakone area. Hakone is one of the best spots to enjoy Mt. Fuji. Cruise Boat in Lake Ashi will take you to unrealistic views of Mt. Fuji and the lake. Hakone Shrine is also a popular site among both Japanese locals and tourists from overseas. Mt. Fuji has been thought where gods are living and people have had their respect on the massive mountain. That is why there are shrines and temples around this symbolic mountain, and around Mt. Fuji area has a lot of traditional sites and cultural attractions.
After sightseeing around Hakone, we will take a train to Atami Onsen. Atami is loved by local people as a summer resort or hot spring destination. Atami Onsen is nowadays well-known for the history of this hot spring. The first Edo Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa loved this onsen so much that he made this area under his direct control. Until now, many loyalties or leading figures in every field have visited this onsen to heal their tired body.

Accommodation in Atami

Day 2: Mt. Fuji & Atami
In the morning, we will go sightseeing in Atami. As this area has prospered as a destination for holidays since the Edo era, there are lots of sites to visit. Atami Castle and Kinomiya Shrine are the most popular historical sites in Atami. In Kinomiya Shrine, you can meet a huge old tree with a legend that life will extend one year if you walk around the tree. Atami Castle has great views of the ocean and the cityscape of Atami as it is located on a small hill. From the castle tower, you can enjoy scenic views of Atami or Izu peninsula.
After that, we’ll go to Mt. Fuji from the other side than yesterday. Mt. Fuji is located on the border of Shizuoka and Yamanashi Prefecture. Each has different attractions of culture and nature. The top tourist destination from the Shizuoka side would be Shiraito Waterfall or Sengen Taisha Shrine.

Accommodation in Atami

Day 3: Hamamatsu
We will move to Hamamatsu this morning. Most Japanese people traveling to Hamamatsu visit Hamamatsu Castle and Lake Hamana. Hamamatsu Castle was built by Ieyasu Tokugawa, the first Shogun of the Edo samurai government, when he was still young. He built this castle as a base for battles, and he beat powerful samurai lords one by one. In the end, he unified the entire country and built a government in Edo (now Tokyo). After he moved to Edo, his children were assigned to the castle lord and they were active in significant roles of the government. Then this castle started to be called the “castle of promotion.”
Foods in this area having a unique landscape and climate are also popular. Unagi eels from Lake Hamana are a local specialty, you can enjoy real unagi don here and some snacks with eels would be the best souvenirs. In addition, Lake Hamana has many attractions such as a ropeway across the lake or a flower park.

Accommodation in Hamamatsu

Day 4: Nagoya
Transfer to Nagoya by train in the morning. Nagoya is the third biggest city in Japan following to Tokyo and Osaka. In terms of sightseeing around Nagoya, you’ll be satisfied with some Japan’s historical sites and pop culture as well. Today, we will visit Nagoya’s traditional sites, Nagoya Castle and Atsuta Jingu Shrine. While Aichi is known as an industrial city today, this area was also significant in the Sengoku era and the Edo era. The three greatest samurai lords of the Sengoku Era were born in Aichi and Nagoya Castle was built by Ieyasu Toyotomi, one of those three lords and the first Shogunate of the Edo era. Another traditional site in Nagoya, Atsuta Jingu Shrine also has full of history. Since Nobunaga Oda, one of the three greatest samurai lords in Sengoku era visited this shrine and made a wish before a big war with another powerful samurai lord, this shrine is known as a sanctuary of Sengoku history.

Accommodation in Nagoya.

Day 5: Nagoya
Nagoya is also known as a city of local foods. Among various local foods in Nagoya, I, as a specialist in Japan, recommend you try local miso in Nagoya. Misokatsu, tonkatsu with homemade miso sauce or miso udon noodle would be amazing. Other than that, there are so numerous local foods in Nagoya that you may not be able to try them all. For those who want to enjoy most of the local foods of Nagoya, Ekiben lunch box at Nagoya station would be the best option. Ekiben is bento lunch purchased at a station, and Nagoya station has a wide range of local Ekiben. Please try them when you use Nagoya station around lunchtime.
Today, we will travel to sites where Japan’s pop culture or cutting-edge technology can be experienced. Options for families would be Legoland or Ghibli Park, and those who are fans of Japanese cars and technology will be interested in Toyota Museum. Toyota, the top worldwide car maker has its headquarters in Aichi, and Toyota Museum displays the history of cars in the world and visions for the future of mobility.

Accommodation in Nagoya

Day 6: Shirakawa-go
We will spend today in Shirakawa-go, the World Heritage old Japanese village, around 3 hours away from Nagoya by train or express bus. The top highlights of traveling to this village would be the unique A-shaped thatch-roofed houses and the rural nature. Long ago, people moved to this area and built houses with those steep slope roofs to survive massive snow in winter. Until today, people have been living in this village harmonizing with the surrounding nature. Blending in with the village scape, different beauties show up each season, colourful flowers in spring, up-side-down houses reflected on the rice field in summer, leaves turned red in autumn, and snow on the thatch roofs in winter. This World Heritage village is also so admired by Japanese people that quite a few anime or manga, or video games are set in the village and one of the places where they want to visit at once in a lifetime.

Stay in Nagoya

Day 7: Nagoya – Ise Jingu
We will visit Ise Jingu Shrine today. Kotaijingu (Naiku Mie Prefecture) is the most venerable sanctuary in Japan. Here is a jinja (Shinto Shrine) dedicated to Amaterasu-Omikami, the ancestral kami (Shinto deity) of the Imperial family. She was enshrined in Naiku about 2,000 years ago and has been revered as a guardian of Japan.

Okage Yokocho Street is a tourist spot in front of Ise Jingu Shrine. The street reproduced the crowded Ise temple town during the end stage of the Edo era Okagemairi event. They also reproduced the special Ise Tsumairi style buildings as well as Western style buildings of Kuwanashi.
Meoto Iwa (husband and wife rocks) have been named as they look like a married couple standing next to each other. The place where they stand is said to be a sacred spot that the gods visit.

Accommodation in Ise or Toba

Day 8: Ise – Kyoto
The last day of this tour. Introducing the best local sweet in Ise of all local snacks in Japan, Akafuku. Akafuku is mochi sweet with smooth bean paste have been loved by Japanese people for 300 years. Now Akafuku is available in many places but the original shop with the traditional building is in Ise. Please visit if you have time and try the original Akafuku during your transfer to Kyoto.