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SAKURA IN JAPAN
with Paganels
DATES
× group is full
26.03.2024 - 03.04.2024
1 GROUP
2 GROUP
04.04.2024 - 12.04.2024
× group is full
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Travel to fabulous Japan during the cherry blossom season. Get acquainted live with the life and traditions of the ancient country. Enjoy the ancient custom of khanami. Take a walk through the old and not very old streets and temples of the cities of Kyoto, Nara, Tokyo. Admire the legendary spring Fujiyama. Become Japanese even for a moment to bring a piece of the "Land of the Rising Sun" with you in your soul.
Japan is an amazing country that managed to preserve its originality, traditions and ancient customs in the era of the "advancing" Western civilization. At the same time, Japan is considered one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. Love for the ancient traditional ways and advanced technical achievements very much distinguish the Japanese from other peoples of Asia and our planet.
Many words immediately evoke associations with Japan in our minds. Samurai, ninja, geisha, karate, sakura, sushi and many other words that we already know well and, pronouncing, we immediately mentally move to a distant, mysterious island region.
Japan is, first of all, a country of traditions, and one of these national traditions is the cherry blossom season or hanami, as they call it. According to an old Japanese legend, the custom of hanami or admiring cherry blossoms extends life to a hundred years old.
At first, this custom of admiring sakura and contemplating its subtle beauty extended only to the elite and the imperial court. He soon became popular among the samurai, and by the beginning of the Edo period - among the common people. In those days, the blossoming sakura was a symbol of the harvest, and its flowering heralded the beginning of the rice-planting season. According to the beliefs of the Japanese, the nature was inhabited by spirits; therefore, offerings and libations were made to the sakura. Later, sake was drunk at offering rituals.
Today, hanami is one of the most beloved folk festivals in Japan. The Japanese believe that the most beautiful sakura grows in Kyoto, Nara and Fuji. We will visit all these places with you.
It is almost impossible to determine the time when sakura begins to bloom. Moreover, the Japanese islands are located both in subtropical and temperate latitudes. In southern Okinawa, sakura often begins to bloom late January - early February; in northern Hokkaido, sakura sometimes blooms only in May. In addition, the duration of cherry blossoms often changes. In a warm year, cherry begins to bloom a week or two earlier, in a cold year for the same period later.
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In the area of Tokyo, Himeji, Kyoto and Fuji - the places where Paganelli will go, the Japanese believe that sakura blooms from March 20 or so (early varieties) to the end of April (later varieties).
The celebration of hanami in Japan is universal. No Japanese would miss the cherry blossoms for any reason. Usually, families or in the company of relatives and friends go to admire the cherry blossoms. The same period is the highest tourist season in Japan, which can only be compared with the November season of red maples. At this time, hotels, local travel companies and other tourism-related organizations inflate prices by 3-4 times the usual.
Therefore, we began to prepare for this trip well in advance and have already booked hotels and everything necessary for us to ensure this trip.
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IN THE COST OF EXPEDITIONIT INCLUDES:
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tickets for high-speed trains;
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private comfortable buses;
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excursions with Japanese-Russian speaking professional guides;
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accommodation in 4* hotels in double occupancy (single accommodation on request for an additional fee);
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entrance tickets to museums and national attractions;
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tickets for the spring geisha concert in the Kamishitaken quarter;
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meals breakfasts and partly lunches;
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services of local guides and the Paganel Studio team.
EXPEDITION COST DOES NOT INCLUDE:
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a flight from your city to Tokyo and back;
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meals not specified in the program;
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supplement for single accommodation;
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additional excursions and transfers on free days.
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visa processing costs.
VISA:
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Price for citizens of Ukraine: 110 - 120 dollars
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Features of receiving: With a visa agency through a courier in Warsaw, Kishenev
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Other citizenships that do NOT require visas: USA, Great Britain, EU
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Other nationalities that require a visa: Moldova, Kazakhstan (to be specified)
PROGRAM
Day 1
26.03/04.04.2024
Most tourists begin their journey through Japan with an acquaintance with the capital of the country - Tokyo. For many, the fact that the city of Tokyo does not exist is a surprise: Tokyo is a special prefecture, the so-called Tokyo metropolis, a conglomeration of urban areas and adjacent settlements. In addition to the actual territories on the coast of Tokyo Bay, Tokyo also includes numerous small islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Today we take a stroll through the fashionable Ginza district, which illuminates an ocean of neon signs. Boutiques such as Louis Vuitton, Seiko, GR8 Boutique and many others are located here. After the tour, you will still have time to drive to the monument to the faithful dog Hachiko in Shibuya near the most famous intersection in Tokyo, where traffic is moving simultaneously from all sides and has an unrealistic speed and intensity.
In the evening, you can enjoy Japanese cuisine in one of the city's many restaurants. Perhaps on this day we will organize an evening of acquaintances and presentation of expedition T-shirts. If the program makes it convenient to hold the meeting on another day, the group leader will inform you about it additionally.
Free time.
We spend the night at the comfortable Daiwa Roynet Hotel Ginza Premier 4*.
Meals are not included.
Day 2
27.03/05.04.2024
We wake up in the morning. Breakfast in the hotel. There is also quite a lot of Japanese food, and there is European. Everything is very delicious.
We pack our bags and do a quick check out. With our suitcases on wheels, we cross the road to Shinagawa Station. We get on our high-speed shinkansen bullet train and transfer to Odawara Station. Today we have a date with Fujiyama, the favorite mountain of all Japanese artists and poets.
At this time of the year, it is still dressed in snow-white outfits and is dazzlingly beautiful in good weather. While we are riding the Shinkansen, we are actively conjuring for the weather.
Upon Odawara's arrival at the station, we throw our suitcases into our private bus and go to see the boiling geysers of the infernal Owakudani Valley!
In order to enjoy the local beauties, we will first sit in a gondola, take a ride on the cable car and admire the game of the violent elements unfolding below. And upon arrival, we will enjoy beautiful views and get acquainted with the history of this unique region. Lunch during the tour.
We will spend the night today in the company of the Great Mountain, which is also tired today and wants to rest a bit.
*Mount Fuji may not be visible during cloudy weather.
(Meals included: breakfast and lunch)
Day 3
28.03/06.04.2024
After breakfast, we collect our bags, take them to our private bus, load ourselves and go on a beautiful guided tour of the most picturesque areas of Mount Fuji. Ideal reflections of the mountain in local lakes often become the object of a photo hunt for Japanese who know good places.
Her graceful silhouette looks especially picturesque against the backdrop of cherry blossom petals near the Tureito Pagoda.
This is probably the most famous angle in the world with sakura and Fujiyama! Of course, you have seen him many times, but now you can take such a picture yourself. And if you are lucky with flowering, it will blow up your Facebook or Instagram :)
Very close to Fuji is the Shiraito waterfall, poetically called "White Threads". The streams of water merge into a single symphony that sounds different in clear and rainy weather. Against a dark background, the white strands of the waterfalls look even whiter and more elegant, the perfect place for great photos!
In the middle of the day, we have a delicious Japanese lunch.
After enjoying the extraordinary views of all these picturesque points, we get to the Shizuoka station, transfer from the bus to a comfortable Shinkansen bullet train and drive to the city of Kyoto. Check-in at the hotel where we will spend the next 4 nights. Dinner. Rest.
(Meals included: breakfast and lunch)
Day 4
29.03/07.04.2024
And we have a new beautiful spring day in Japan and in the program for today: the Golden Pavilion of Kinkakuji, the Rock Garden of the Ryoanji Temple, as well as the concert of the famous Japanese geishas of the Kamishitaken quarter.
After breakfast, we board a private comfortable bus waiting for us, meet with a local guide and set off to explore the amazing city of Kyoto.
Kyoto is the capital of Japan from the end of the VIII to the middle of the XIX century, the most important cultural and religious center of the country, a place of preservation of traditions and crafts. In Kyoto we will visit the most famous places that have become symbols of the Old Capital.
Kinkakuji Temple - "Golden Pavilion" - the most famous of the symbols of Kyoto. Built at the end of the 14th century and completely covered with a layer of pure gold, the temple is reflected in the water of the pond at its foot and sparkles in the sun like a real jewel.
The nearby Ryoanji temple attracts visitors from all over the world with the mystery of its "rock garden", promising enlightenment to those who solve it. Lunch during the tour.
After that, we go to see the famous Kamishitaken quarter, where geisha and young students - maiko - live and work.
They can often be found on the street here, dressed in traditional outfits and with traditional hairstyles and makeup. Kamishichiken is one of the five active geisha kartals in Kyoto and the oldest of them.
The quarter is located to the east of Kitano-Tenmangu Shrine, and at the end of March, geiko and maiko dances can be enjoyed on the stage of the Kamishichiken-kaburenjo theater during the Kitano-odori festival.
After the show, we return to the hotel. Free time. Dinner. Rest.
(Meals included: breakfast and lunch)
Day 5
30.03/08.04.2024
We wake up slowly. Breakfast in the hotel. We do not touch things and suitcases, but we only take cameras, jackets and umbrellas with us, just in case, and your best mood. Today we again have a very unusual and beautiful day; we will be able to communicate with perhaps the most interesting inhabitants of the Japanese islands - the cute deer of the ancient capital of Nara.
Meet our local tour guide in the lobby of the hotel. We sit down in a private bus waiting for us and go to Nara.
Nara is an amazing city. We have never seen a city before in which 1200 deer live instead of street dogs and cats. Once a year, the city authorities gather the deer together and cut their horns, because, begging for cookies and crackers from walking people, the deer strive to kick your ass. If the horns are not cut down, then instead of enjoying communicating with animals, you will be stabbed and injured.
Nara was the capital of Japan in the 8th century. The place from where the spread of Buddhism began throughout the country, and in our time is the most important religious center.
The Todaiji temple complex is considered the largest wooden structure in the world. Its heart is a bronze Buddha statue “Daibutsu”. Around the temple lies a park that combines the territory of Todaiji with other temples and shrines located nearby into a single complex.
Tame deer roam freely around the park; they can be fed with crackers sold there.
Adjacent to the deer park is Kasuga Taisha Shrine, one of the most important Japanese Shinto shrines. It is famous for ancient bronze and stone lanterns, installed and suspended throughout a rather large area.
- Lunch during the tour.
Return to Kyoto. Dinner. Rest.
(Meals included: breakfast and lunch)
Day 6
31.03/09.04.2024
Today we have a free and therefore very busy day, in which it is IMPORTANT to do everything.
Of course, you can spend this free day lying in bed and doing nothing, or you can use our advice and have time to see, feel, and photograph a lot. We take a camera, a jacket, beautiful clothes for pictures, and a good mood with us. We go to the station, independently buy a ticket for a local train (early) and go to one of the most picturesque areas of Kyoto - Arashiyama. We are going for the incredible beauty of the bamboo grove, known to many photographers. The main thing is to rush in early so as not to stand in the crowd of others eager to take a photo here.
Further, we do not lose pace and do not freeze; we go back to the station (it is not far from the grove) and rush by train to another iconic place in Kyoto and all of Japan - Fushimi Inari Shrine. It is just incredible.
Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto is one of the most beautiful places in Japan! It is known mainly for the myriad Torii Gates that were donated by the faithful. The gate is located along the road to the temple, which leads into the wooded mountain to Inari-san, where the main building of the temple is located. It takes about two hours to walk to the temple along this alley. On the way to the top, passing through the torii, you will see small chapels, graves and statues of foxes, which are the messengers of this god. To feel this place in full, you do not need to run to the very top.
An hour will be enough for you to take all the most successful pictures, take a walk, and then, without losing pace, go down to the railway station and return to Kyoto by train to sit by the flowering trees on the lawns, go to local cafes, buy souvenirs. And you can also have all the girls of our group to change into traditional Japanese kimonos and go for a walk along the ancient streets of the city with such an incredibly beautiful company.
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It is very beautiful, stylish and interesting. The process of dressing in a maiko takes place in a real salon run by geisha. All clothes (kimono, garters, jewelry, embroidered silk belt) everything is authentic and the process of turning from paganelka into a real maiko takes about an hour.
Photo cards will be the brightest for a lifetime about visiting Japan.
Dressing up in a maiko is a very interesting and fun activity. However, there are still some interesting alternatives for what to do on a free day in Kyoto. For example, get a lesson in playing the traditional Japanese drums "wadaiko" or learn the art of owning a Japanese sword - a katana. You will have to pick one ;)
We return to our hotel for the night. Dinner. Rest.
(Meals included: breakfast)
Day 7
01.04/10.04.2024
We have a good breakfast. We collect our suitcases. Farewell to Kyoto. A guide and a bus are already waiting for us at the hotel. We load up and go on our way. Today we have beauty and beauty again!
On this day, we will visit the most beautiful castle in Japan, familiar to many from Akira Kurosawa's film "Ran". Opened after many years of restoration, the White Heron Castle, as it is often called, Himeji Castle is rightfully considered the most beautiful Japanese castle, where many historical films were filmed and filmed.
The castle was built at the end of the 16th century and has survived to this day in its original form, bypassed by military and natural upheavals. Now this labyrinth of walls and moats at the foot of the castle towers retains the atmosphere of the Japanese Middle Ages.
At the foot of the castle is a complex of gardens Cocoen. Each of its many gardens follows one of the traditional Japanese landscape design styles and emphasizes the perfection of the castle towering on the horizon with its thoughtful beauty and harmony. Lunch during the tour.
After the tour, we unload from the bus at the railway station and board the high-speed bullet train to Hiroshima. Upon arrival there, check-in at the hotel. Dinner. Rest.
(Meals included: breakfast and lunch)
Day 8
02.04/11.04.2024
Breakfast. We collect things. We check out at the hotel. We leave luggage at the hotel. We take cameras and a good mood with us. Meet our guide. We get to the port, and from there transfer by ferry to the island of Miyajima.
On the island of Miyajima, there is a Shinto shrine on the water - Itsukushima-jinja, a UNESCO world heritage site, whose large red torii gates rise above the water surface and can only be approached at low tide. The landscape of Miyajima is recognized in Japan as one of the three most beautiful.
Itsukushima Shrine is one of Japan's most famous Shinto shrines, located on Itsukushima Island, better known as Miyajima Island. The architectural complex of the sanctuary is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The grandiose torii gate, marking the entrance to the sacred territory of the temple, is set right in the sea and at high tide seems to be floating in the water.
At low tide, the waves clear the passage to the gate, allowing those who wish to come into contact with majestic building. Lunch during the tour.
It will also be interesting to walk around the territory adjacent to the temple, feed the clinging deer from your hands, they here, as in Nara, roam everywhere and everywhere. Watch a service in a Shinto shrine, sit in local cafes and restaurants, and enjoy the freshest oysters with traditional hot sake.
Having walked a lot, we return by ferry to the port, and from there we get to the hotel. We pick up our suitcases and from the Hiroshima station on the evening shinkasen we go to Tokyo.
Late arrival at the familiar Tokyo station. We check into the hotel, and then we run to the last joint farewell dinner at the nearest good restaurant, where we will taste excellent sushi or shabu shabu, or the famous A5 beef.
Overnight at the hotel. Rest.
(Meals included: breakfast, lunch)
THE COST
2890 Euro
Day 9
03.04/12.04.2024
Parting with spring Japan.
Unfortunately, everything comes to an end, and the time has come to return home. The suitcases are already ready, many hundreds of photographs have been taken, there are many pleasant memories of the country, new friends and the spring trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. Someone else will stay for a day or two to hang out in Tokyo. Everyone has a different departure time, so we have an independent transfer.
Shinkansen from Tokyo Station leave every half an hour for Narita.
We wake up in the morning. We have breakfast. We say goodbye to each other and guides. Tears of parting.
Sadness...
We will transfer to the airport on our own. Flight home.
(Meals included: breakfast)
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We are unique
For many years, we have been traveling the world to our small planet's most remote and unusual places. We do not use the services of domestic travel agencies. The trips we invent and carry out are always unique and have their unique zest, charm, and adventurous spirit.
WHY WITH PAGANEL?
Creation
The first thing that interests us is creativity in everything. During the expeditions, we shoot a lot of videos, take pictures, write stories, draw pictures. If you are interested in a creative approach to life and travel, then WELCOME... we are very happy to meet you!
Interest
By joining our team, you join a kind of club-family, which already consists of several hundred people who are interested in discovering the world with us.
Since most of the expenses for the organization of the trip are air tickets and travel documents for other types of transport, accommodation, excursions, services of local companies and guides, etc. are not refundable in case of your cancellation of the trip. We simply have no way to return it.
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Cherish Life! Love! Travel!
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