From your base in Tokyo, you will visit some of the most impressive sights of Japan, including various ancient temples as well as some of its modern and natural wonders. Tour the 7th-century Sensoji Temple in Asakusa and visit the Odaiba Observation Deck, located in the headquarters of Fuji Television. Discover Tokyo’s fascinating Shogun history or Japan’s rich tradition of art at superb museums, stroll through beautiful gardens and during your leisure time, perhaps take in the high-energy atmosphere of Ginza, Tokyo’s premier shopping and entertainment district.

DAY 1

Upon arrival at either the Narita or Haneda International Airports in Tokyo, you will be met at the exit of the Custom’s area. Transfer to your hotel where the remainder of the day is at your leisure. Meals are on your own.

Please note that check in time at the hotel is at 4:00pm.

Although every effort will be made to have the rooms available before this time, this cannot be guaranteed. Should you have a very early morning arrival you may wish to book an extra night so that your room is available when you arrive.

NOTE: In general, hotel rooms in Japan are smaller than hotel rooms elsewhere around the world. Per Japanese culture, standard typical bedding is two twin beds. Although every effort will be made to obtain rooms with one bed for couples, this cannot be guaranteed. Should you require two beds, kindly make sure to advise this when booking your program.

DAY 2

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel. The morning is at your leisure and lunch is on your own.

In the afternoon, you will be met by your guide in the lobby of the hotel before heading out on a half tour of the city.

You will first journey to the Asakusa area – part of Tokyo’s Old Town. Visit the Asakusa Senso-ji Temple, which was founded in the early 7th century. Weather permitting, you will enter through a gate decorated with a huge red paper lantern to view the shrine.

The architecture is stunning, as this temple is the country’s oldest and one of the most revered. One of the highlights is a walk down Nakamise-dori, known as the “Street of Inside Shops,” an alley lined with vendors selling traditional food, souvenirs and handmade crafts.

Next visit the Edo Tokyo Museum. This is one of Tokyo’s premier museums, charting the rise of Tokyo from a small fishing village called Edo through to the thriving metropolis that you see today. Housed in a space-age building, exhibits include a wide range of historical artifacts, including collections of ukiyoe woodblock prints, kimonos and scale models of towns and buildings from the Edo, Meiji and Showa periods.

Return to your hotel where the remainder of the day is at your leisure and dinner is on your own.

DAY 3

Following breakfast at the hotel, you will begin yet another half-day tour of Tokyo, allowing you to see the city from a different perspective.

Your guide will take you first to the modern Odaiba area. When the sprawling metropolis, that is Tokyo nowadays, ran out of space, they inevitably turned toward the sea. Odaiba is a man-made island created by massive landfills, featuring many hypermodern and strange buildings memorably described as the result of a preschooler’s architecture class. Among the exhibition, pavilions, indoor shopping malls, game centers, cafes, restaurants, and surrealistic constructions of Odaiba, the visitor never fails to be intrigued by the structures on this landfill that seems to hail from the future rather than the past. You will have the chance to enjoy it from above, during a visit to an observation deck, located in one of Odaiba’s representative buildings: the headquarters of Fuji Television.

Your next stop will be Ginza area. This is one of the most luxurious shopping districts in the world. The streets in Ginza are lined with numerous departments stores, boutiques, restaurants and bars. Upon arrival you will enjoy some free time to browse, shop or perhaps visit some of the free galleries.

The tour concludes with a visit to the Imperial Palace Plaza (no interior visit), where Japan’s emperor and empress reside. Surrounded by a moat, the palace was formerly known as Edo Castle, and samurai warriors lived there in the 17th through 19th centuries. In the large plaza in front of the palace, you can view the famed Nijubashi—two bridges that form an entrance to the inner palace grounds. The stone bridge in front is called Meganebashi (Eyeglass Bridge) for its looks.

Upon return to your hotel, the remainder of the day is at your leisure with lunch and dinner on your own.

DAY 4

After breakfast and check-out, you will visit Meiji Shrine. Dedicated to the Emperor Meiji, the father of modern Japan, the beautiful shrine stands in a dense forest glade of some 120,000 trees of 365 different species, at the very heart of Tokyo. The setting symbolizes the separation of the spiritual from the worldly. You enter the shrine through twin 40-feet tall Torii gates, one of the largest in all Japan. This shrine is a popular place for traditional Japanese weddings, if you are lucky, you might get see one.

From the peaceful green oasis surrounding Meiji Shrine you will continue to the beautiful Hamarikyu Garden, an Edo Period Japanese garden surrounded by the Shiodome district’s futuristic skyscrapers. This provides a great example of how Japan is the land of contrasts. The garden was originally built as a feudal lord’s Tokyo residence and duck hunting grounds during the Edo Period, but later served as a strolling garden and as an Imperial detached palace before eventually being opened to the public in its current form.

After visiting the Hamarikyu Garden, you will be transferred to the cruise ship terminal for embarkation.

NOTE:

*The day of the visit to Edo Tokyo Museum may vary, since the Museum is closed on Mondays.

*The day of the visit to Odaiba Observation deck may vary, since the observation deck is closed on Mondays.

Land Program Details Step by Step

•The order of sites visited may vary to avoid congestion. Program times are approximate, given here for general reference purposes and subject to change.

•Itineraries with the up-to-date details will be issued when you are emailed your final cruise documents 21 days prior to sailing. You will then receive a final itinerary from our ground operator with a Welcome Letter upon arrival or at your hotel. Please review the letter and your final itinerary carefully for further amendments.

•The hotels used for your land program will be the hotels listed in this document unless you have been advised otherwise in advance of the land program start date.

•Guests failing to arrive on Day 1 of a scheduled land program will be considered a no-show and their hotel space released.

Extra Nights

•If you book extra nights through the cruise line, you will be met as per the flight details provided and transferred to your hotel. Check-in is 4:00pm (subject to change). Meals other than breakfast, as well as activities, are on your own until day 2 of the program.

•If you have an early-arriving flight, you may wish to book an extra night as your room will not be ready for occupation until approximately 4:00pm.

•If you book extra nights on your own, transfers are not included.

DAY 1

Arrive at either the Narita or Haneda International Airports in Tokyo.

You are met near the exit of the Customs area and transferred to your hotel.

The afternoon and the evening at your leisure and meals are on your own.

Check in time at your hotel is 4:00pm. Although every effort will be made to have rooms available sooner, this cannot be guaranteed.

Overnight at Hilton Tokyo or similar hotel

Meet and Greet and transfers

•Final cruise documents will be emailed 21 days prior to sailing. The local ground agent’s telephone number will be on page 1, if you can’t locate the meet-and-greet representative upon arrival. Be aware that the representative may be assisting others and may not be in sight when you first exit Customs and the luggage claim area.

•Look for someone holding a sign with the cruise line logo and possibly your name. If in doubt, ask the airport staff to direct you to the meeting area for transfers or to page our representative.

•Meet and Greet and transfers are arranged for guests arriving on Day 1 of a land program or for extra nights booked through the cruise line and are arranged based on the flight details received by guests at least 14 days before sailing. Guests arriving independently before the program start date will not have a transfer included.

•If we have not received your flight details or your flights have changed, and the Destination Services Land Team has not been notified, then a transfer cannot be provided, and guests will be responsible for getting to the land program hotel at their own expense. Please immediately contact our Reservations Department for any flight changes before departure.

Day 2

AM Breakfast at your hotel

The morning is at your leisure, lunch on own

1:00pm Meet for a half day tour including Asakusa Senso-ji Temple and Edo Tokyo Museum

5:00pm Return to your hotel. Dinner is on your own.

Overnight at Hilton Tokyo or similar hotel

DAY 3

AM Breakfast at your hotel

9:00am Meet for a half day tour including the Odaiba and Ginza areas and Imperial Palace Plaza

1:00pm Return to your hotel

The afternoon is at your leisure. Lunch and dinner on own

Overnight at Hilton Tokyo or similar hotel

DAY 4

AM Breakfast at your hotel and check-out, settle any incidentals before departing

9:00am Half day tour including the Meiji Shrine and Hamarikyu Garden

1:00pm Approximate transfer time to the port for embarkation

Expected weather:

The average high in March in Tokyo is 9 C (48 F)

The average high in April in Tokyo is 14 C (57 F)

The average high in June in Tokyo is 21 C (70 F)

The average high in October in Tokyo is 18 C (64 F)

What to bring:

A warm jacket or sweater for cooler days and evenings, an umbrella, warm gloves for cooler months and comfortable walking shoes.

Local currency:

Japanese yen

USD are not widely accepted therefore you will need to change your money into local currency

Electricity:

100 volts. We recommend bringing your own travel adaptor for electronic devices

Documents and visa requirements:

Valid passports are required to embark the ship.

Please consult your local Japanese embassy for visa requirements for your nationality

Hotel Information:

Hilton Tokyo

6 Chome-6-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan

Phone: +81 3-3344-5111

*We will only source different hotels in unforeseen situations. If a similar hotel is required, it will be of equal ratings and standards and you will be notified of the change. If you are not notified of any changes before your departure, then you will be staying at the hotel listed in this program.

Program Includes for guests:

•3 nights in a standard room at the Hilton Tokyo (or similar hotel)

•3 Breakfasts

•Tours and entrances as listed in the itinerary with Local English-speaking guide

•Transfers

Please Note: Guests booking their own flights (independent of the cruise line) are responsible for ensuring that the cruise line has the updated arrival information, so your transfer can be arranged. If you book additional nights independently of the cruise line, an arrival transfer is not provided. If we do not receive flight details a minimum of 14 days in advance, transfers will not be provided.

Program Excludes for guests:

•Meals and beverages other than stated as included

•Gratuities to drivers and guides

•Hotel incidentals including mini bar and room service