Since 2010, the North American Post and Hokubei Hochi Foundation have offered an
annual cultural tour to Japan for our readers and our local Nikkei community members. Our tour includes travel to Tokyo, Takayama, Shirakawa-go, Okayama, Kyoto, Nara, and Hiroshima and gives members unique local experiences and low tour rates for travelers.
*Availability is limited. We accept 22 maximum tourists per year.
Tour Fee
- $4180/person with double occupancy hotel rates
- $3,990/person with triple occupancy hotel rates
- $4879/person with single occupancy hotel rates
Rate includes
- International round-trip flights Seattle-Tokyo and Osaka-Seattle
- 10 nights Hotel stay with complimentary breakfast (4 nights at Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo, 2 nights at Takayama Ouan in Hida Takayama and 4 nights at New Miyako Hotel in Kyoto)
- One fantastic “Ryokan” dinner at Takayama Ouan
- JR pass that covers ground transportations including Shinkansen rides: Tokyo-Nagoya, Nagoya-Kyoto and Kyoto-Hiroshima
- ¥2000 prepaid PASMO for in-city transportation in Tokyo and in Kyoto
- Entrance fees at tourist’s destinations
Payment Schedule
- $150 non-refundable payment at the time of reservation
- $1500 down-payment is due on April 30th, 2019
- Remaining amount is due on July 1st, 2019
2019 Flight schedule:
Sep 30
- Japan Air Line JL67 Sea-Tac 2:15 pm – Narita Tokyo 4:25 pm (Arriving next day on October 1st)
October 11th
- Japan Air Line JL3006 Itami Osaka 240 pm – Narita Tokyo 4:00 pm
- Japan Air Line JL68 Narita Tokyo 6:05 pm – Sea-Tac 11:05 am (Arriving same day)
Internally:
| Day 1&2
(Sep 30 – Oct 1)
|
Seattle | Meet at Sea-Tac for flight to Japan | |
| Tokyo
(Shinagawa Prince Hotel)
|
Arrive in Narita | ||
| Airport Limousine Bus to Hotel | |||
| Day 3
(Oct 2) |
9am | Tokyo
West-side |
Depart for Yoyogi Station |
| 9:30am | Explore Meiji Shrine | ||
| 11am | Lunch at Shinjuku Takashimaya and free time | ||
| 1pm | Explore Nishi Shinjuku and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building | ||
| 3pm | Depart for Shibuya | ||
| 3:30pm | Explore Shibuya Crossing and Hachiko Dog Statue
Free time to explore Shibuya Return to hotel at leisure on your own |
||
| Day 4
(Oct 3) |
9am | Tokyo East-side | Depart for Hamamatsu-cho Station |
| 10am | Take Waterbus to Asakusa | ||
| 11am | Explore Asakusa Nakamise and Sensoji Temple | ||
| 12:30pm | Depart for Shibamata | ||
| 1pm | Lunch
Free time to explore Shibamata and Taishakuten Temple |
||
| 3pm | Depart for Tokyo Skytree | ||
| 4pm | Skytree Observation Deck and Soramachi Shopping Mall | ||
| Return to hotel at leisure on your own | |||
| Day 5
(Oct 4) |
9am | Tokyo &
Yokohama |
Depart for Yokohama |
| 10am | Arrive at Yokohama Japanese Overseas Migration Museum | ||
| 11:30am | Walk to Yokohama Chinatown
Stop at Yamashita Park to see Hikawa-Maru Ship |
||
| 12:30pm | Lunch and free time on your own in Chinatown | ||
| 2pm | Meet at Seiryu-Mon Gate | ||
| 3:00pm | Arrive at Tokyo Station and
Walk to Imperial Palace |
||
| 4:30pm | Visit Shin Marunouchi Building for great view of Tokyo Station | ||
| 5:30pm | Explore Yurakucho and Ginza Area on your own | ||
| Return to hotel at leisure on your own | |||
| Day 6
(Oct 5) |
8am | Takayama | Depart hotel |
| 8:30am | Shinkansen Bullet Train to Nagoya | ||
| 11am | Express Train from Nagoya to Takayama | ||
| 1:30pm | Arrive in Takayama | ||
| Free time to explore Takayama | |||
| Dinner at Hotel * Free Ryokan Dinner include for Day 6 | |||
| Day 7
(Oct 6) |
9:30am | Takayama | Depart for Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō by bus (arrive around 11am) |
| 4pm | Return to Takayama | ||
| Free time to explore Takayama | |||
| Day 8
(Oct 7) |
9am | Kyoto | Express Train to Nagoya |
| 12pm | Free time in Nagoya for Lunch/Break | ||
| 2pm | Shinkansen Bullet Train to Kyoto | ||
| 3pm | Arrive in Kyoto | ||
| Free time to explore Kyoto | |||
| Day 9
(Oct 8) |
8am | Kyoto | Day trip to Hiroshima |
| 10:30am | Arrive in Hiroshima | ||
| Hiroshima Peace Park | |||
| Free time to explore City | |||
| 4:30pm | Depart for Kyoto | ||
| Day 10
(Oct 9) |
8am | Kyoto | Half Day Tour of Kyoto (Ginkaku-ji, Kinkaku-ji, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, The Kyoto Imperial Palace etc.) |
| 1pm | Visit Fushimi Inari Shrine (known for the torii gates) & Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum | ||
| Free time to explore Kyoto | |||
| Day 11
(Oct 10) |
9am | Kyoto | Train to Nara visit Todaiji Temple/Deer Park/Kasuga Shrine area |
| 3pm | Return to Kyoto – Free time to explore Kyoto | ||
| Day 12
(Oct 11) |
Depart for Itami Airport | ||
| Return to Seattle |
*Destination may change
Hotel Information:
- 4 nights in Tokyo
Shinagawa Prince Hotel, 4 Chome-10-30 Takanawa, Minato City, Tokyo 108-8611, Japan
*Tokyo hotel stays include complimentary 4 breakfast
- 2 nights in Takayama
Takayama Ouan, 4 Chome-３１３ Hanasatomachi, Takayama, Gifu 506-0026, Japan
https://www.japanican.com/en/hotel/detail/5475041/?ref=takayamaOuan
*Takayama hotel stays include complimentary 2 breakfast and 1 dinner
- 4 nights in Kyoto
New Miyako Hotel, 17 Nishikujo Inmachi, Minami Ward, Kyoto, 601-8412, Japan
https://www.miyakohotels.ne.jp/kyoto-hachijo/english/
*Kyoto hotel stays include complimentary 4 breakfast
About Reservation and Payment Schedule:
We require $150 nonrefundable reservation fee at the time of reservation. $1,500 down-payment is due on April 30th 2019. Rest of the fee is due on June 30th 2019.
Our tour needs to be canceled if we do not have 15 minimum travelers by the end of April (which never happened in the past since the tour program started in 2010). In case of the tour cancellation, all payments will be fully refunded including the reservation fee.
All payment will be invoiced via email. We accept ACH (Automated Clearing House) electronic payment (Usually no fee. It is just like mailing a check online.).
Cancellation Policy:
- $150 reservation fee is non-refundable
- After April 30th 2019, $300/person is non-refundable in addition to the $150 reservation fee
- After May 31st 2019, $600/person is non-refundable in addition to the $150 reservation fee
- After June 30th 2019, $1800/person is non-refundable in addition to the $150 reservation fee
- After August 10th 2019, entire travel fee is non-refundable
Q&A:
Q. Why is your rate so reasonable?
A. We have been offering relatively lower rates as we have been running this tour as part of Hokubei Hochi Foundation non-profit programs with its mission promoting Japanese culture in the Seattle area. We also keep this rate possible by NOT using limousine bus. Most of our tour use public transportations. We have been working with Nippon Express Travel (https://www.tabi22.com/), who provide us with discounted group rates for flights, hotels and JR pass.
Q. Do you sell travel insurance?
A. Eeiither the North American Post Publishing (Hokubei Hochi Flundation) or the travel agency Nippon Express Travel sell travel insurance. Optional travel insurance needs to be prepared individually.
Q. Can I upgrade flights?
A. If you want to upgrade your flight, we will arrange by charging you actual upgrade fee from the air company. Availability may be limited. Current estimate upgrade fee for business class is $4100. We will have confirmed price in Mary.
2019 Tour Orientation
- Date&Time: Saturday, March 30th 2:30-4:00 pm
- Venue: The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington (JCCCW),
Please join our orientation on March 2nd 3:00-4:30 pm at JCCCW. Meet our two bilingual tour guides and learn more about this year’s North American Post Japan Tour. We will go through tour destinations, ground transportation, tour fees and more. Q&A session will be followed. The orientation is free and open to public.
If you are interested in our tour or just in joining the orientation, please contact: japantour@napost.com