Private Tour October 2018
Our first fully escorted private tour of 2018 was for a lovely couple from Perth, Australia. This tour was a 6 day tour which ran from October 16th to October 21st, 2018. The tour began in Japan's second largest city of Osaka and ended in the beautiful city of Hiroshima. We had a wonderful time exploring all that the ancient capital cities of Kyoto and Nara had to offer before traveling south to Himeji and Hiroshima.
We began the tour by exploring downtown Osaka, including the main shopping and entertainment areas of Umeda, Namba, and Shinsaibashi. Being a weekday the streets were not so crowded, which was great because the couple had requested not including Tokyo in the itinerary because of the crowds.
Our next stop was a real change of pace, the historic city of Nara. We often travel to Nara as a day trip on some of our small group tours, but on this occasion we stayed the night. Nara is a beautiful small city with a unique atmosphere. The locals are extremely friendly and willing to help out and offer advice and directions. While in Nara we visited Nara Park where we saw wild deer roaming freely, Kasuga Grand Shrine, Todaiji Temple (Giant Buddha), and climbed half way up Mt. Wakakusa where we took in magnificent panoramic views of Nara.
Our next stop was the ancient capital city of Kyoto where we spent 3 nights. While in Kyoto we visited some of this amazing city's most iconic places, including Fushimi-Inari Shrine, Kiyomiz-dera Temple, and the historic Nijo Castle. Being a fully escorted private tour means that you are free to change up the itinerary a bit, and that is exactly what our customers decided to do on this occasion. They decided to enjoy an afternoon at Kyoto Zoo, one of Japan's oldest zoos.
Next we traveled to Himeji to visit the magnificent Himeji Castle. This castle is widely considered to be the best castle in Japan, and it certainly lived up to this reputation. The weather this day was absolutely perfect, making the "White Heron Castle" look even more spectacular than it usually does.
Our last stop was the beautiful city of Hiroshima, where we visited the emotional Peace Memorial Museum, the A-bomb Dome, and the hypocenter. While in Hiroshima we also took a day trip to beautiful Miyajima Island where we explored the amazing Ituskushima Shrine, as well as the back streets where we saw traditional old houses and stores.
After their private tour this lovely couple then joined our next tour, the relaxing Island Hopper Tour 2018. We are always open to arranging private tours before or after our small group tours if customers would like to explore different parts of Japan. Please feel free to inquire about such tours if you are interested!
Please check out our Gallery Page to see photos and videos from all of our tours and our Testimonials Page to read testimonials from our happy, satisfied customers!
We look forward to seeing you on one of our fully escorted private or small group tours of Japan sometime soon!
A&C Tours Japan
