10-day TRIP OVERVIEW: The activities in this 10-day trip are the foundation for both the 14-day and 21-day trip activities. As this trip will be taking place during the sakura cherry blossom season, the highlight that we’ve chosen for it is a hanami picnic on Mt. Yoshino, which is basically a mountain that is completely covered in cherry blossom trees!
TNE Annual Tours
10-day, 15-Day adn 21-Day Trip Plans For Schools
Day 1 (3/26): Tokyo
Activities:
- Tokyo SkyTree visit
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes:
Day 2 (3/27): Tokyo
Activities:
- Food etiquette lesson
- Ikebukuro Bosaikan Center (Disaster Response/Prevention Learning Center)
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes:
Day 3 (3/28): Nikko
Activities:
- Toshogu Shrine
- Edo-Wonderland Open-air Museum
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: Bus rental on this day is an absolute must.
Day 4 (3/29): Tokyo
Activities:
- Sensouji Temple visit
- Sumo stable visit experience
- Kendo Martial arts lesson at a dojo
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: a bus may be needed for this day
Day 5 (3/30): Tokyo
Activities:
- Visit to Odaiba the man-made island in Tokyo Bay
- MIRAIKAN
- TeamLab Planets exhibit (or similar experience)
- Lunch at Diver City
- Dinner arrangements: dinner on Tokyo Bay (yakatabune experience)
Planner's Notes:
Day 6 (3/31): Kyoto
Activities:
- Sakura Hanami day at Mt. Yoshino
- Chambara action film stunts workshop
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: a bus will be needed for this day
Day 7 (4/1): Kobe + Himeji
Activities:
- BridgeWorld (Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge visit)
- Himeji Castle visit
- Himeji Castle town exploration
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: a bus will be needed for this day
Day 8 (4/2): Kyoto
Activities:
- Japanese public school visit
- Tea ceremony experience
- Japaneses calligraphy lesson
- Day 1 of homestay experience (starting in the evening)
- Dinner arrangements: at homestay
Planner's Notes: a bus may be needed for this day
Day 9 (4/3): Kyoto
Activities:
- Day 2 of homestay
- Cooking lesson at homestay
- Dinner arrangements: at homestay
Planner's Notes: a bus may be needed for this day
Day 10 (4/4): Return
Activities:
- Return to Mexico (preferably via a Kansai airport)
- Dinner arrangements: N/A
Planner's Notes: a bus may be needed for this day to get everyone to the airport together. A flight later in the day (or at night) would be best.
14-day TRIP OVERVIEW: As this trip is happening during both the winter season and Japan’s biggest holiday (New Year’s), I thought that it would be best to try to make the best of that time period. The highlight of this trip, in my opinion would be the Shoureisai Matsuri. I don’t think that even most Japanese people are aware of this event, as it is an event that is centered around a very small region in Japan, that is sacred to a belief system that is wholly Japanese, called Shugendo. In addition to this, the homestay that is planned for this particular trip is special as it is happening during New Year’s which is a very family-oriented holiday, thus it’s the perfect opportunity to spend quality time with a host family. I hope that this highlight sheds an intimate light on on not only Japanese culture, but also typical Japanese home life.
Day 1 (12/20): Tokyo
Activities:
- Tokyo SkyTree visit
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes:
Day 2 (12/21): Tokyo
Activities:
- Food etiquette lesson
- Ikebukuro Bosaikan Center (Disaster Response/Prevention Learning Center)
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes:
Day 3 (12/22): Nikko
Activities:
- Toshogu Shrine
- Edo-Wonderland Open-air Museum
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: Bus rental on this day is an absolute must.
Day 4 (12/23): Tokyo
Activities:
- Sensouji Temple visit
- Sumo stable visit experience
- Kendo Martial arts lesson at a dojo
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: a bus may be needed for this day
Day 5 (12/24): Tokyo
Activities:
- Visit to Odaiba the man-made island in Tokyo Bay
- MIRAIKAN
- TeamLab Planets exhibit (or similar experience)
- Lunch at Diver City
- Dinner arrangements: dinner on Tokyo Bay (yakatabune experience)
Planner's Notes:
Day 6 (12/25): Kyoto
Activities:
- Fushimi Inari shrine
- Kiyomizudera temple
- Chambara action film stunts workshop
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: a bus may be needed for this day
Day 7 (12/26): Kyoto
Activities:
- BridgeWorld (Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge visit)
- Himeji Castle visit
- Himeji Castle town exploration
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: a bus will be needed for this day
Day 8 (12/27): Kyoto
Activities:
- Japanese public school visit
- Tea ceremony experience
- Japanese calligraphy lesson
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: a bus may be needed for this day
Day 9 (12/28): Hiroshima day-trip
Activities:
- Peace Memorial Park
- Atomic Dome Museum
- Miyajima Island
- Itsukushima shrine
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: -
Day 10 (12/29): Travel day
Activities:
- Travel to Tsuruoka or Tokyo
Planner's Notes: Leave on this day to go to Tokyo or Tsuruoka. The remainder of the day will be a rest day.
Day 11 (12/30): Tsuruoka or Tokyo
Activities:
- Day 1 of homestay
- Dinner arrangements: at homestay
Planner's Notes: -
Day 12 (12/31): Tsuruoka or Tokyo
Activities:
- Day 2 of homestay
- Dinner arrangements: at homestay
Planner's Notes: -
Day 13 (1/1): Tokyo
Activities:
- Travel back to Tokyo
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: -
Day 14 (1/2): Tokyo
Activities:
- Free day in Tokyo
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: -
Day 15 (1/3): Tokyo
Activities:
- Depart Japan
- Dinner arrangements: none
Planner's Notes: -
21-day TOUR OVERVIEW: Based on the dates that you’ve given us, this would be the only time of year in the Mexican school calendar that a three-week tour would be possible. I really put everything into this tour, but I think that it may be good to pull back a bit for the sake of cost. The matsuri festival highlight of this tour is Tenjin Matsuri in Osaka, which is one of biggest matsuri evens of the year. It would happen towards the beginning of the trip, and so I think it would be a great way to welcome the students to Japan. Other highlights for this tour would be the homestay, and the shukubo.
A shukubo is a stay with monks at a temple. Because Buddhism is such an integral part of Japanese culture and society, I thought that this would serve as not only an interesting experience for the students, but also one that is very educational as well. In its current iteration, I’ve tried my best to mostly focus on centering the students in the Kansai and Kanto regions of Japan, and for all other trips outside of these areas to be done as day trips from the major hubs here (Kyoto/Tokyo).
Something else that I’m looking forward to trying on this tour is possibly the creation of a short action film with the help and assistance of Japanese stunt actors. I’m going to include an example of one such film below in the day-to-day itinerary.
Day 1 (7/22): Kyoto
As today is the day that everyone arrives, I'm currently leaving this day open so that we can give people a chance to adjust and rest. Also, until we have flight information, we don't want to arrange anything.
Activities:
- Nothing planned on this day currently
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: n/a
Day 2 (7/23): Kyoto
Activities:
- Day trip to Nara
- Nara-style Tea ceremony
- Visit to Todaiji Temple
- Visit to Nara Park (where the deer roam freely)
- Cooking lesson (tentative)
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: a bus may be needed for this day
Day 3 (7/24): Kobe + Himeji
Activities:
- BridgeWorld (Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge visit)
- Visit to Glicopia factory (where they make Pocky and other famous Japanese snacks)
- Himeji Castle visit
- Himeji Castle town exploration
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: a bus will be needed for this day
Day 4 (7/25): Osaka - Tenjin Matsuri
Today will be completely dedicated to experiencing the Tenjin Matsuri in Osaka.
Activities:
- Osaka Tenjin Matsuri
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: a bus may be needed for this day
Day 5 (7/26): Hiroshima
Hiroshima is a must-visit place for students visiting Japan. It is actually an academic requirement for all elementary students.
- Peace Memorial Park
- A-Bomb Dome
- Peace Memorial Museum
- Ferry to Miyajima
- Itsukushima Shrine
- Daihouji Temple
- Mt. Misen Ropeway (time pending)
- Dinner suggestion: Okonomimura
Planner's Notes:
Day 6 (7/27): Kyoto
Activities:
- Chambara exhibition and short workshop
- Japanese public school visit
- Calligraphy Lesson
- Dinner arrangements: at homestay
Planner's Notes: a bus may be needed for this day
Day 7 (7/28): Kyoto
Activities:
- Shukubo overnight stay with Buddhist monks
- Zen Meditation lesson
- Dinner arrangements: shojin ryori at the temple
Planner's Notes: The students will stay at the temple overnight with the monks
Day 8 (7/29): Kyoto
Activities:
- Farm-to-table cooking lesson with a chef
- Day 1 of the homestay program
- Dinner arrangements: at homestay
Planner's Notes: depending on the availability of the chef, we may need to switch this activity to a fruit-picking and cooking activity, or a traditional sweets-making lesson.
Day 9 (7/30): Kyoto
Activities:
- Day 2 of the homestay program
- Dinner arrangements: at homestay
Planner's Notes: We've purposefully put the 2nd day of the homestay program on this day, since it is a weekend and we can allow the families to spend time and plan activities for the students on their own on this day.
Day 10 (7/31):
Activities:
- Day 3 of the homestay program
- Dinner arrangements: at homestay
Planner's Notes: We've purposefully put the 2nd day of the homestay program on this day, since it is a weekend and we can allow the families to spend time and plan activities for the students on their own on this day.
Day 11 (8/1): Takayama/Shirakawago/Gokayama day trip from Kyoto
Activities:
- Visit to a traditional Japanese village
- Learn traditional crafts at the village
- Have lunch in the Hiida region
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes:
Day 12 (8/2): Kyoto
Activities:
- Visit to Eigamura theme park
- Creating movie props at the movie studio there
- Creating a short action film under the direction of action choreographers
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: We've purposefully put the 2nd day of the homestay program on this day, since it is a weekend and we can allow the families to spend time and plan activities for the students on their own on this day.
Day 13 (8/3): Tokyo
Activities:
- Tokyo SkyTree visit
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes:
Day 14 (8/4): Nikko
Activities:
- Toshogu Shrine
- Edo-Wonderland Open-air Museum
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: Bus rental on this day is an absolute must.
Day 15 (8/5): Tokyo
Activities:
- Sensouji Temple visit
- Sumo stable visit experience
- Kendo Martial arts lesson at a dojo
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: a bus may be needed for this day
Day 16 (8/6): Tokyo
Activities:
- Visit to Odaiba the man-made island in Tokyo Bay
- MIRAIKAN
- TeamLab Planets exhibit (or similar experience)
- Lunch at Diver City
- Dinner arrangements: dinner on Tokyo Bay (yakatabune experience)
Planner's Notes:
Day 17 (8/7):
Activities:
- Food etiquette lesson
- Ikebukuro Bosaikan Center (Disaster Response/Prevention Learning Center)
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes:
Day 18 (8/8): Mt. Fuji area
Activities:
- Ice Cave
- Wind Cave (time permitting)
- Chureito Pagoda visit
- Onsen visit
- Dinner arrangements: at hotel
Planner's Notes: Initially I wanted to plan a trip to Mt. Fuji, however we decided against it as there may be issues with altitude sickness, and overall capability to climb the mountain, thus we chose to keep to the area around the mountain instead.
Day 19 (8/9):
Day 20 (8/10):
Day 21 (8/11):
OVERVIEW: We are so excited to plan these trips for students. We’ve tried to include some of the must-see spots while in Japan, and picked locations that will show you both the modern and traditional sides of the country. Additionally, a homestay and school visit will show the guests a glimpse of local life in Japan – something that not many get to experience!
Client:
TNE
Trip dates:
26 Mar- 4 Apr, 22 Jul - 11 Aug, 20 Dec - 3 Jan
Number of days:
10 day, 15 day and 21 day
Seasons:
Spring, Summer and Winter
Locations:
Tokyo / Nikko / Kyoto / Hiroshima / Tsuruoka
Inclusions:
Accommodations, Activities, Meals (where stated), Guides (where stated), Transport
Exclusions:
Flights, Visa Applications, Personal Expenses, Private Taxis, Optional Activities, Travel Insurance
Guided:
Yes
Accommodations:
Hotel / Homestay / Shukubo temple lodging