Japan

Highlights

Itinerary

This itinerary represents our plan for the program. However, we may implement changes if we identify opportunities to improve the experience, to take advantage of unexpected events, or to accommodate local schedule changes.

Departure • Travel Day • Meet your student travel group and one of your trip leaders in San Francisco and fly together to Tokyo, Japan. 

Tokyo • 3 days • Spend the first evening in Tokyo getting to know your group and leaders during an in-depth orientation, then dive into your program themes. Discover innovative approaches to urban planning, technical applications, and cultural evolution in what is currently the biggest megacity in the world, with a population of over 37 million. During the Meiji Restoration in the late 19th century, Japan’s capital was moved here from Kyoto, and Tokyo is now a sprawling city where skyscrapers and neon lights exist alongside ancient temples and historic botanical gardens. Emerge at Shinjuku Station, the world’s busiest railway station, and explore local shops. Stroll the grounds of the Imperial Palace and see treasures from Japan’s history at the National Museum. Visit the new Toyosu fish market, the largest in the world and recently relocated from Tsukiji, where you can taste the freshest sashimi possible. Explore issues of sustainability and how it relates to the world’s oceans and the livelihoods and traditional diet of Japan.

Kyoto • 4 days • Climb aboard one of Japan’s iconic bullet trains and travel to Kyoto, once the capital of Japan and one of the oldest municipalities on the island. Kyoto is a wealth of historical and cultural treasures, as well as a bustling modern city with a thriving information technology and electronics industry—including the headquarters of Nintendo. Photograph traditional wooden houses, Shinto shrines, and classical Buddhist temples. Try some traditional shimesaba oshizushi, watch a maiko or bunraku performance, and experience a traditional chadō tea ceremony. Hike the iconic row of 1,000 orange torii gates leading to Fushimi Inari Taisha and explore the International Manga Museum, and explore the history of the world’s most famous assassins at the Ninja Museum.

Hiroshima & Miyajima Island  • 3 days • Hiroshima, the first city in the world to sustain a nuclear bomb attack, has been widely renewed and is now known as a City of Peace, where many international visitors come to discuss social issues. Spend three days learning about imperial and military history, with a day trip to Miyajima, a small island off the coast with a world-famous “floating” torii gate. Visit the entrance to the Itsukushima Shrine, first built in the 12th century, then visit the nearby Museum of History and Folklore, full of artifacts dating back to the 1800s. Explore Hiroshima Castle, originally constructed in the 1590s, before winding your way down the street to explore the more contemporary Mazda automobile museum. 

Himeji & Naoshima • 1 day •  Hop the bullet train northeast toward the western Kansai region of Honshu to visit Japan’s famous “art Island” at Naoshima. See world-famous art by a global array of artists at the Chichu Museum and Benesse House, with legendary works such as Monet’s Water Lilies on display. Stroll sunny island beaches dotted with iconic sculptures and public art such as Yayoi Kusama’s “polka-dot pumpkins.” As you make your way onward, explore the UNESCO World Heritage site Himeji Castle in Himeji. See the grounds where Ieyasu Tokugawa and Hideo Toyotomi’s armies fought the Summer’s War, when the fate of the famous Tokugawa shogunate was decided, thus ushering in the Edo period of Japan’s history.

Osaka & Nara • 4 days • Make your way to the urban hub of the western Kansai region of Honshu and experience Osaka, also known as “The Nation’s Kitchen” for its vibrant food scene. Traverse Osaka’s famous Dotonbori street full of animated signs and famous neon for Japan’s major brands like Glico and Meiji. Try the delicious savory pancake okonomiyaki, which comes in endless varieties, and perhaps even try Osaka’s specialty: takoyaki, balls of dough filled with octopus and covered with a sweet sauce. With Osaka serving as your hub, your group take day trips to nearby Kobeand Nara. Visit Koreatown in Kobe for barbeque and watch the Hanshin Tigers play a baseball game. Feed the domesticated deer in Nara park and visit the first imperial capital, one of the world’s oldest wooden structures. Nara is also home to Japan’s oldest and most famous Giant Buddha, or Daibutsu, statue. Gather with your group for a special farewell meal and some karaoke before bidding sayonara to Japan and heading home.

Return • Travel Day • Fly from Osaka to San Francisco with your group and a trip leader, then continue on to your final destination.