Explore the rich heritage and traditions of two vastly different legacies - South Korea and Japan - as this tour takes you to the best attractions these two destinations have to offer. Enjoy 15 days of discovering the highlights of Japan and South Korea with our fully guided Small Group Tour.

Your journey starts in South Korea, a country full of beautiful landscapes and 5000 years of culture. Immerse in the bustling Seoul city, travel through the idyllic countryside, visit the island of Jejudo, and experience the infamous DMZ zone. South Korea has so much more to offer.

Travel to Osaka, Japan to unveil the best this country has to offer. With ancient traditions, impeccable hospitality, amazing cuisine, and striking scenery - Japan has it all! Traveling from city to city on the iconic shinkansen bullet train, we plunge into the cultural metropolis of Tokyo and Osaka, Hiroshima, and Kyoto and visit the iconic Mt. Fuji.

Your fly and tour package includes:

• Flight to Seoul, return from Tokyo
• 15 day Japan & South Korea Discovery Tour, Seoul to Tokyo
• Includes 14 nights accommodation at hand-selected 4-star hotels with daily breakfast
• Selected lunches and dinners, including a welcome and farewell dinner
• English-speaking local tour guides and airport meet and greet
• All land and air transportation during the tour
• Comprehensive sightseeing with all entrance fees at monuments
• All local government fees & tax

***Rate is based on twin share for travel 15 to 29 October 2023***

***Departures also available on 11 November 2023, 17 August, 13 October and 5 November 2024***

Itinerary

Day 1: Seoul
Welcome to Seoul, the city that "never sleeps". Upon arrival, you'll be transferred to your hotel. The rest of your day is at your leisure. After a short tour briefing, your tour guide will take you out for a Welcome Dinner in the evening.

Day 2: Seoul City Tour
Today you will take a tour of New Seoul City. Your first stop is the beautiful Gyeongbokgung Palace (built over 500 years ago), a prime example of the Joseon Dynasty Style. You will also enjoy the Traditional Royal Guard Changing Ceremony. Afterward, make a quick stop at Gwangwhamun Square & Cheonggyecheon stream park. Then you will glimpse traditional Korean life at the Namsan Hanok Village. The village has five restored traditional Korean houses, a pavilion, a traditional garden, a performing arts stage, and a time capsule plaza. The park is very popular with locals and tourists to take a leisurely walk away from modern life. Drive to N Seoul Tower revolving deck and Love Lock Wall. Namsan Seoul Tower was the first of its kind in Korea. The top of the tower is 480m above sea level. The building is also one of the tallest towers in the Orient, standing 236.7m.

Day 3: Seoul
Today we will make our way to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), located on each side of 38th parallel. This infamous border was established at the end of the war in 1953 at the signing of Panmunjom’s armistice in order to separate North and South Korea. You must bring your passport to access the site. Upon arrival, proceed to passport security control, followed by a short introduction at the United Nations’ camp. Visit Dora observatory and Dorasan railway station. Discover Imjingak Park , Liberty Bridge and the bell of unification. Late morning, visit the 3rd tunnel dug into the rock at a depth of 73m and is able to allow the movement a full division per hour with their weapons. Afterward, you will make your way to Insadong Cultural Street, one of the most memorable sites in Seoul. It is the focal point of Korean traditional culture and crafts. Stores in Insadong specialise in a wide variety of goods that can only be purchased in Korea.

Day 4: Seoul & Suwon
This morning, we visit the Hwaseong fortress, a perfect example of traditional Korean architecture and a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. Then visit Haenggung Palace. The palace was built in 1789 but was expanded between 1794 and 1796 to house 600 compartments and became the largest haenggung in Korea. Afterward, you visit a Korean Folk Village located in Yongin city. You join a DIY Kimchi-making class and take photos in a traditional Korean outfit - Hanbok.

Day 5: Fly to Jejudo Island
After breakfast, you head out to Gwangmyeong Cave, the largest themed cave park in South Korea. Back to the hotel and check out, you will fly to Jejudo Island, also known as the “Island of Gods”. The volcanic island has scenic natural beauty, unique cultural traditions, and a temperate climate. In 2007, the Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes were listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site in South Korea. On arrival, we will visit Yongduam, Dragon’s Head Rock, and check in at your hotel.

Day 6: Jejudo Island City Tour
After breakfast, you will enjoy a full-day City Tour. You visit Sangumburi, and then Ilchul Land, a beautiful theme park with a flower garden including Bonsai Garden, Micheon Lava Cave. After that, travel to Seongsan Sunrise Hill, also called ‘Sunrise Peak’. It is an archetypal tuff cone formed by volcanic eruptions upon a shallow seabed about five thousand years ago. After lunch you will enjoy the women's diver show and Woman Diver’s Museum. The Jeju Haenyeo Museum also has an observatory from where visitors can see an excellent view of the Hado-ri area, which has a garden with various sculptures and a resting area. Before returning to your hotel, we visit Mysterious Road, also known as Dokkaebi Road

Day 7: Fly to Osaka
Today, after hotel check-out, you fly back to Seoul and transfer to ICN Int’l airport for your international flight to Osaka. Meet and greet by our local Japanese guide at the Osaka airport, then transfer to your hotel in Osaka. After a short tour briefing of your Japan itinerary, your tour guide will take you out for Dinner in the evening.

Day 8: Nara & Osaka Day Tour
In the morning, you will travel to Nara to see the city's most famous landmark - Todaiji Temple. The temple is at the corner of Nara Park, home to over a thousand free-roaming, adorable Sika deer. Stalls around the park sell special crackers to feed the deer, and some wild deer have even learned to bow when asking for food.  In Osaka, you will spend some time in Dotonbori, a popular shopping, entertainment, and food district. It is known for its streets' hundreds of neon and mechanized signs. Our group will also stop by Shinasaibashi, one of Osaka's oldest shopping destinations.

Day 9: Osaka to Hiroshima
After breakfast and check out of your hotel, you will visit Osaka Castle before transferring to Shin Osaka Station to experience a Shinkansen bullet train ride to Hiroshima. Upon arrival, travel to the Guchi Ferry terminal, where you will take a short ferry ride to the island of Miyajima. At high tide, the famed vermilion torii gate of the Itsukushima Shrine looks like it's floating in the middle of the sea. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Miyajima has been selected as one of Japan's three most scenic places (nihon sankei).

Day 10: Hiroshima to Kyoto
Check out your hotel and visit Peace Memorial Park and Atomic Bomb Museum before taking a bullet train to Kyoto. Arrive at Kyoto Station we visit historic Kyoto and the lovely vermillion-colored Fushimi Inari Shrine, home to an almost 2.5-mile-long (4 km) tunnel of scarlet torii gates that were part of the film 'Memoirs of a Geisha'. You will then participate in a once-in-a-lifetime experience – tea with a Geisha in training, known as a Maiko before check-in to your hotel.

Day 11: Kyoto City Tour
Today we will visit to the Nijo Castle and Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion). After lunch, we visit to Arashiyama to see Tenryuji Temple where you can have a glimpse of traditional Zen landscape garden design. Then proceed through a dense bamboo grove, past several small shrines, tea shops and private houses before arriving at the Togetsukyo Bridge over Hozu River. Lastly, we will visit Gion, the old Geisha Quarter, and Pontocho, whose cobblestone alleys vibrate with nightlife.

Day 12: Kyoto to Tokyo
Your morning is free to relax or do some last-minute shopping until your hotel departure time when you will be transferred to Kyoto Station and ride a bullet train to Shinagawa Station. Upon arrive at Shinagawa Station, you will move to your hotel in Tokyo.

Day 13: Tokyo Day Tour
Today is a sightseeing tour of Tokyo. We start the day at the Imperial Palace, the former site of Edo Castle and the current residence of Japan’s Imperial Family. Afterward, we will proceed to the Asakusa Kannon Temple, an active place of worship where you can see the largest paper lantern in Japan. You will also be able to explore the Nakamise Shopping Street. It is a traditional style shopping street. In the afternoon, we will visit Tokyo Tower, 333 metres high. You will take the lift up 150 meters to the observatory deck and get a bird’s eye view of the city. Then, travel to Shibuya where you will be amazed by the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing -Shibuya Crossing.

Day 14: Mt Fuji & Hakone Day Tour
Today we will travel to Mt. Fuji at 5th Station. On the way, we stop at Hakone Open Air Museum, is an outdoor sculpture gallery that plays with nature. And then climb aboard the Hakone Ropeway, an aerial cable car, for a breathtaking view* of Mt. Fuji. Proceed to Owakudani, located in an active volcanic zone. Then, back to Tokyo for dinner.

Day 15: Depart Tokyo
After breakfast, assemble at the hotel lobby and transfer to the airport for your flight home.