Essence of Japan April 13, 2018 trip

travelingirl

Hello. Is anyone else going on this trip starting April 13, 2018? I am arriving a day early from Washington, DC. Is anyone else going on this trip and arriving a day early? Would be nice to connect with others on this trip. Thanks

sherry_schare

We are on this trip leaving for Tokyo this Wednesday, March 21 for the trip starting March 23. So far I think we are the only ones going because we have not seen any posts from fellow travelers. Say hello if you are out there, and maybe we can connect on our pre-tour day. Aside from sleeping in, our only plans for that day include authentic sushi at the Tokyo fish market. Sherry

AlanS

There will be people on both trips. There are a lot of people who either are unaware of the forums, do not participate (before and after), or like to wait until they meet people in person to begin socializing.

powersanguino

Hi, here Richard and Sandra, we are going on March 20 Essence of Japan, we will arrive a day early. We are from Florida

baypeople

travelingirl wrote:

Hello. Is anyone else going on this trip starting April 13, 2018? I am arriving a day early from Washington, DC. Is anyone else going on this trip and arriving a day early? Would be nice to connect with others on this trip. Thanks

We are leaving on May 2 for the trip that begins on May 4. Would love to hear from you when you get back with any tips, suggestions, etc.
Thanks

baypeople

shescha wrote:

We are on this trip leaving for Tokyo this Wednesday, March 21 for the trip starting March 23. So far I think we are the only ones going because we have not seen any posts from fellow travelers. Say hello if you are out there, and maybe we can connect on our pre-tour day. Aside from sleeping in, our only plans for that day include authentic sushi at the Tokyo fish market. Sherry

We leave next week for the Essence of Japan. Do you have any comments or recommendations that you wish to share? What did you do on the pre-tour day? We are still looking at some options. Also, what did you do in Kyoto on the free day?

PF606590

If you have free time, go see the Tokyo Fish Market, fascinating

joycesw

Baypeople,
We did Land of the Rising Sun tour, so I am not sure how much time you will have in Kyoto. If at all possible, a trip to Nara is outstanding! You can get a train from Kyoto Station and then we did two tours with Narawalks. That was a whole day adventure. If time does not allow, then you might want to go to the Silver Pavilion and then take the Philosopher's Walk. It is a lovely area and there are many temples and sights along the way. We are very sorry we did not get to the Bamboo Forest, so that might be something that fits into your schedule. In Tokyo we went through the Yanaka area, a piece of old Tokyo that is becoming very rare. You can check out these areas in many guide books which will enable you to maximize your time there.

baypeople

Many thanks.

sherry_schare

baypeople wrote:

We leave next week for the Essence of Japan. Do you have any comments or recommendations that you wish to share? What did you do on the pre-tour day? We are still looking at some options. Also, what did you do in Kyoto on the free day?

Sorry I missed you. We had a great time on the trip. Any place you walk in Kyoto and anywhere else you will find something interesting. During our free time in Kyoto we walked the Philosophers walk (just OK) and then had a fabulous lunch of really good RAMEN in the Okuara hotel basement, (I'm sure your tour director will point it out. We walked along the shopping end of Terrabachi street and found a delightful shrine and museum tucked away there. Even had a (free) picture of us wearing samurai armor and a kimono. Afterward we doubled back and walked in the opposite direction through a beautiful residential neighborhood. We took the subway back to our hotel (easy, once you figure it out) but on a different free afternoon we walked back to our hotel after a wonderful sushi lunch. The tiny (but great) restaurant is on street parallel to Terrrabachi and has a conveyor belt displaying p (plastic) sushi outside.

Hopefully you are reading this while on your tour and before you get to Kyoto. Have a great time.