Presentation

Shedule

Services

Options

Splendeurs du Japon avec l'ATC Routes du Monde

See the photo gallery

1/23

Splendors of Japan

Découverte

Circuit

A l'étranger

Japon

Presentation

Shedule

Services

Options

Set off on an exceptional journey to Japan, a fascinating immersion between ancestral traditions, spirituality and urban modernity. From sacred temples to vibrant metropolises, this comprehensive tour reveals all the richness and diversity of the Land of the Rising Sun.

Main advantages of the travel

Discover Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima.
Cultural immersion with temples, shrines and traditional quarters.
Visits to UNESCO sites, including Mount Fuji and the Kyoto temples.
Authentic experiences: tea ceremony, ryokan, onsen and local markets.
Accompanied by local guides to understand Japanese history, art and traditions.

A journey to the heart of traditional and contemporary Japan

This tour of Japan offers acomplete immersion in the Japanese soul, between millennia-old traditions, iconic landscapes and ultra-modern cities. From the historic west of the archipelago to Tokyo, this carefully paced journey lets you discover every facet of the Land of the Rising Sun, in a perfect balance of culture, spirituality and art of living.
Preserved historic towns full of emotion

The journey begins in the Japan of yesteryear, in Kurashiki, a charming merchant town with willow-lined canals, then continues to Hiroshima, a universal place of remembrance and symbol of peace. These landmark stops provide a better understanding of Japan's history and the resilience of its people, while discovering a remarkably well-preserved architectural heritage.
Temples, shrines and Japanese spirituality

The itinerary featuresthe country's spiritual highlights: the sacred island of Miyajima and its famous floating torii, the majestic temples of Nara, the shrines of Kyoto and the rare experience of Mount Shigi. Participating in Buddhist rituals, meditating with a monk and discovering sacred mountains offer a truly timeless interlude.
Gardens, castles and traditional skills

Japan is also revealed through its landscaped masterpieces and its feudal heritage. Zen gardens perfectly mastered, castles ranked among the most beautiful in the country,artisans' villages perpetuating the making of samurai swords: each stage reveals a unique know-how handed down for centuries.
Between spectacular nature and urban modernity

Iconic natural landscapes punctuate the tour, with unobstructed views of Mount Fuji, the lakes and the volcanic ssprings of Hakone. The contrast is striking with Tokyo, a fascinating megalopolis where tradition and innovation blend harmoniously, between futuristic districts, peaceful temples and scenes of everyday life.
An immersive and authentic tour

This trip stands out for the richness of its cultural experiences, itstraditional accommodations like the ryokan, and the discovery of Japan through its people, its markets, its gastronomyand its rites. An invitation to experience Japan intensely, far beyond the clichés

The day-by-day programme

Download the programme

Day 1

FRANCE - OSAKA

Flight to Osaka. Overnight on board.

Day 2

OSAKA - KURASHIKI

Arrival, welcome and transfer to Kurashiki, an ancient merchant town where several old rice warehouses bear witness to its past prestige.

Dinner included.

Day 3

KURASHIKI - HIROSHIMA

Visit Kurashiki. Time seems to have stood still in this small town: spared from wars and rampant urbanization, it has preserved its narrow streets lined with old wooden houses and canals adorned with graceful willow trees. Stroll through the old quarters, along the canals with their pretty stone bridges. Discover the historic old quarter of Bikan, and visit the Ohashi residence.

Depart for Saijo and visit a sake brewery for a tasting session.

Continuing on to Hiroshima, where you can explore the city's Peace Park and visit the Museum of Remembrance and Peace.

(Breakfast, lunch and dinner included).

Day 4

HIROSHIMA - MIYAJIMA - OKAYAMA

Ferry crossing to the sacred island of Miyajima, considered one of the archipelago's most beautiful landscapes. Visit the vermilion-red Itsukushima sanctuary, dedicated to the guardian goddess of the seas, and partly built into the sea. At high tide, with the Torii, it appears to float. Stroll along Miyajima's shopping street, Omotesando.

Lunch of Okonomiyaki or "Japanese pancake", Hiroshima's specialty.

Continuation to Okayama. Stroll through Korakuen Garden, considered one of the most beautiful gardens in the country, with Okayama Castle as a backdrop. This masterpiece, created in 1687, features immense lawns, ponds linked by canals, a superb maple forest and several tea pavilions.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Day 5

OKAYAMA - OSAFUNE - HIMEJI - MOUNT SHIGI

Depart for Osafune and visit the Osafune Token Village (closed on Mondays), where the famous samurai swords are still made. Visit the museum, featuring swords made by the greatest Japanese masters, and its workshop.

Continuation to Himeji. Visit of the 530-year-old feudal castle, nicknamed "White Heron", built entirely of wood and completed in the 17th century as a masterpiece of military architecture. One of the oldest medieval monuments, it is considered the most beautiful in Japan.

Continue to Mount Shigi and visit the site. Mount Shigi, a magical place and sacred mountain, is a little-known and little-visited Mount Koya. It is inhabited only by monks, whose rites are extraordinary. A monk will introduce you to meditation.

Before going to bed, don't resist an incredible walk in the night along paths lit by thousands of lanterns.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Day 6

MOUNT SHIGI - NARA - KYOTO

Before breakfast, if you wish, you can attend the Fire Ceremony, the purpose of which is to burn, sublimate passions with the fire of Buddha's Knowledge, and recite the sutras.

Then visit the Reihô-kan, home to copies of the scrolls (Emaki) of the legends of Mount Shigi. These works are considered by some to be the true ancestors of the comic strip.

Early departure for Nara, cradle of Japanese culture and Japan's first cultural and historical capital.

On the edge of Deer Park, visit Todai-ji temple and Kasuga shrine. Todai-ji, completed in 752, is of exceptional architectural and historical interest. The main building, the Hall of the Great Buddha, is the world's largest wooden structure at 48 m high. It houses a statue of Dainichi Nyorai Buddha. The complex also contains numerous secondary temples, pagodas and gates, including the Nandaimon under which you will pass, the largest wooden gate in the country, measuring 19 m in height.

Kasuga Shrine, with its red-lacquered buildings, is one of Japan's most famous for its 2,800 stone and bronze lanterns. It lies at the foot of a hill on the edge of a park where sacred deer roam.

Continuation to Kyoto. Pass through the Nishiki market, where the people of Kyoto do their shopping, and where a festival of smells and tastes awaits you. In existence since the 14th century, the market today boasts some 100 stalls, many of them handed down from generation to generation.

Visit Nijo Castle, a former shogun palace built by Shogun Tokugawa Yayesu in the 17th century, which retains some fine original decorative features, such as coffered ceilings, painted doors, screens from the Kano school and "nightingale" floors, designed to betray intruders by emitting a sort of chirping sound at the slightest step.

Then on to the Yasaka Shrine and a stroll through the traditional Gion district, where you may come across the elegant maiko, the geisha apprentices.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Optional (extra charge): Gion Corner show followed by "yakitori" dinner, featuring skewers of various meats (mainly chicken) cooked on the grill & drinks: soft drinks, beer or sake.

Day 7

KYOTO - HAKONE

Departure for a visit to Ryoan-ji temple, the perfect and most famous example of Zen gardens composed of stones and sand. Remarkably, the 15 stones are arranged in such a way that no more than 14 can be seen at a time!

Visit the Kinkaku-ji, or Golden Pavilion, one of Japan's most beautiful temples, and an unforgettable part of any stay in Kyoto. Covered in gold leaf, it is reflected in the waters of a pond, in the heart of a peaceful, restful park. Burnt down in 1955, it was rebuilt identically the same year, then renovated in 1987. On to Hakone. The town lies at the heart of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. The superb scenery, lakes with breathtaking views of nearby Mount Fuji, and above all the many hot springs, or onsen, are famous throughout Japan.

Arrive in Hakone, where you'll spend the night in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn, a real immersion in Japanese culture and its most ancestral traditions.

Shabushabu dinner.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Day 8

HAKONE - KAMAKURA - TOKYO

Departure for Owakudani Valley, famous for its hot springs. This "valley of the great boil" plunges into the ancient crater of Mount Kamiyama. Clouds of steam rise from the crevasses, hot springs bubble up, with Mount Fuji as a backdrop.

Cruise on Lake Ashi, reflecting Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak (3,776 m) and the country's symbol.

Departure for Kamakura, the ancient capital of the Shoguns.

Visit the famous Great Buddha and Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu shrine.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Day 9

TOKYO

Visit the capital by public transport to see Japanese life up close.

Visit the Tokyo National Museum, dedicated to Japanese refinement from antiquity to the 19th century.

Stroll through Ryogoku, the sumo district.

Chankonabe lunch.

Visit Asakusa and its famous Senso-ji temple, very popular with its Nakamise street lined with boutiques.

Visit the Shibuya district, whose crossroads are reputed to be the most crowded in the world, before returning to the hotel.