20 January 2020, 10:25
Be first off the starting line to share Japan’s Olympic year on Saga’s spectacular Land of the Rising Sun tour
Train rides, tea tasting and temple visits feature in this exploration of history, traditions, mountains and gleaming cities
- 12 nights from £3,799 pp includes flights and VIP chauffeur service
The eyes of the world will be on Japan this summer as Tokyo hosts the 2020 Olympic Games and Saga is offering the chance of an enthralling immersion in the country’s history and culture.
Temples and shrines, geishas and kimonos, sake brewing and tea ceremonies, colourful flora and breath-taking mountains are all part of the experience, as well as the buzz of hi-tech, modern life in gleaming cities and superb hotels.
Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium, International Forum and aquatics centre are among venues hosting Games events between July 24 and August 9, and the national capital is the starting point for Saga’s 12-night tour Japan: Land of the Rising Sun.
Highlights include tours of Tokyo and Matsumoto, a ‘Thunderbird’ rail ride to Kyoto, a lake cruise and a visit to an authentic teahouse, and there are options to see the capital from a different angle on the 35-kilometre loop of the Yamanote urban railway and to take a Bullet train to Hiroshima.
A visit to the religious centre of Kamakura takes in Shinto shrines, Buddhist architecture and a nine-metre, 11-headed statue of Kannon, Goddess of Mercy, as well as beautiful gardens – possibly with spring cherry and plum blossom, the coppers and reds of autumn, or summer lilies, hydrangeas and irises.
In the Hakone region, overlooked by iconic Mount Fuji, Saga’s guests can take a cable car to the summit of Mount Kamiyama, then enjoy a leisurely cruise on Lake Ashi, while Takayama retains many 16th century wooden houses and features a picturesque morning market and an exhibition of elaborate festival floats.
Time in Kyoto will include silk weaving demonstrations and a kimono show, historic Shirakawago is a quiet, UNESCO-protected village with unique, thatched-roof houses, and Nara’s Todaiji Temple, believed to be the largest wooden building in the world, is home to the largest bronze Buddha ever cast and adjoins a vast park populated by sacred deer.
For details call free on 0800 056 0464 or visit saga.co.uk/Japan
Japan: Land of the Rising Sun, 12 nights (including 2 aboard aircraft) from £3,799 pp departing Heathrow on April 4, May 9, October 17 2020 plus March 27, April 10 and May 8, 2021.
Price includes VIP door-to-door chauffeur service, return flights, airport taxes, accommodation, 10 breakfasts and three dinners, porterage, tour manager, optional travel insurance and additional cancellation rights, or a discount if passenger has own insurance.
Notes to editors
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