The first day is a standard affair. Your guide will pick you up at the airport and assist you with preparations for the tour. A private coach will take you to your hotel in the heart of the city. After the check-in procedures are completed, you will have the rest of the day to yourselves.

The appetizer to this tour is the great city of Tokyo. Like the sweets before the bitter matcha in the Japanese art of tea ceremony, the day is designed to offset the overabundance of nature in the next days by offering you a stunning array of man-made attractions. Starting the morning at Asakusa, known for its iconic temple gate and majestic 634-meter tower, you will take a cruise boat down to the artificial island of Odaiba.

Odaiba has it all -- a Statue of Liberty replica, the Rainbow Bridge, a futuristic TV station HQ, a Toyota showroom, and even a fully automatic monorail to take you back to the heart of Tokyo. Overall, you will experience the cutting-edge side of Japan. At the end of the day, you will have a pleasant drive around the Imperial Palace before returning to your hotel.

Leaving Tokyo in the morning, you will head to one of Japan’s most beautiful destinations in Tochigi Prefecture. The first half of the day will be used to visit the premier World Heritage Site in Nikko, whereas the second half will bring you to the picturesque nature deep in Nikko’s wilderness. You will appreciate the seamless transition from a lavish temple of a great samurai clan to an unadulterated lakeside landscape of autumn leaves as you slowly move toward the northwest. Indeed, Nikko is the epitome of harmony between human culture and Mother Earth.

We understand the catharsis in being attuned to nature, and our choice of food and lodging further emphasizes this aspect of the day. For lunch, you will be served quality vegetarian meal made from natural ingredients. And your place of stay for the night is a lakeside ryokan deep in the Oku-Nikko area, whose onsen features natural carbonated hot spring water that is very rich in sulphate. We encourage you to enjoy the beauty of Nikko your way!

They say that it is not the destination, but the journey that matters. We say it’s both! Checking out of Nikko in the morning, you will go on a 3-hour drive to a spectacular hidden onsen resort in Gunma Prefecture. On the way, you will be making periodic stops to stretch and enjoy the best momiji spots along the river. The serene view outside the window makes even the long drive toward the destination a pleasant one.

Arriving at Takaragawa Onsen, you will feast on a delicious lunch of local mountain harvest. After checking in, the rest of the day can be spent the way you want it. There are a variety of onsen baths that you can enjoy, both indoor and outdoor, separate and mixed-gender, and they are all very spacious. You can also take a walk along the creek to enjoy the mountain scenery -- who knows what you might find!

Going deeper into Gunma prefecture, you will be exploring the hot spring town of Kusatsu, known in Japan for the high quality of its water. Today is an exotic adventure in many senses. Taking the ropeway up Mt. Shirane, you will enjoy a pleasant hike to a nearby pond with patches of autumn colors around you. After the exercise, you will explore the onsen town in the afternoon. You will be wearing yukata and experiencing local Japanese life, including watching a yumomi performance and visiting the hot water field.

The water cooled using the traditional yumomi method will be available in your ryokan to bathe in. Enjoy a dip in the renowned water of Kusatsu Onsen, whose acidic nature gives it superb antibacterial properties. Reward yourself at the end of the active day with the relaxing atmosphere of the establishment, and savor the seasonal kaiseki dinner prepared in the ryokan.

Three days have passed since leaving the big city of Tokyo -- three days spent exploring the vast expanse of nature in the heart of Honshu. Today you will finally reach the other side of the island. You will be going on a drive on a highway that runs along the coast of the Sea of Japan. Your destination, Kanazawa, is where you will be reacquainted to the samurai culture that you have been introduced to during your excursion to Nikko.

Explore the great Kanazawa Castle, built by the wealthiest daimyo of feudal Japan, and Kenroku-en, a glorious attempt in capturing the beauty of nature. Late in October, in one of the most beautiful landscape gardens in the country, you will bear witness to the descent of autumn colors in the coastal city. As the day comes to a close, you will once again be staying in a modern hotel in a big city.

After the brief intermission in Kanazawa, once again you will be taken to the mountainous part of Japan, this time to the old settlement in Gifu Prefecture. Another adventure awaits as you drive through the scenic White Road. You will stop at a couple points to admire the chain of waterfalls along the road, and even make a short hike toward one of them. Naturally, the slopes around you will be impressively dyed in many shades of autumn colors.

Your destination, Shirakawa-go, is a peaceful village of tremendous history. You will observe the traditional lifestyle around the farmhouses, which feature an antiquated style of architecture. You will enjoy a serving of the local beef prepared on a magnolia leaf. To top it all off, you will be staying in a local family guesthouse called a minshuku. Amid the red leaves of the surrounding mountains, enjoy a peaceful stay in a peaceful village.

The apex of the tour is over; it is time to return to Tokyo. Checking out of the minshuku, you will once again be brought to Kanazawa to board the bullet train back to Tokyo. After a great sushi lunch in Tsukiji Fish Market, you will check into a hotel in either Haneda or Narita, from where it will be easy to access public transportation to the airport of your choice. Prepare for your flight tomorrow, and enjoy your last night in Japan!

You have completed the Blaze Trailer tour! We hope that you enjoyed your trip with ILJT! On the last day, you will check out of your hotel and conduct an independent transfer to the airport. Have a safe flight back home, and see you again soon!