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Insider’s Japan - WAITLIST ONLY!

sunset over water in japan with structure in water

Trip sold out! Please contact alumni.dartmouth.travel@dartmouth.edu to be added to the waitlist.

Saturday, March 22, 2025 to Thursday, April 3, 2025

It’s a fascinating land of delicate art and bustling commerce, of rich traditions and dizzying modernity – all revealed on this well-crafted small group tour. See Tokyo and Kyoto’s highlights, engage in local life, and head off the beaten path to the lovely historic cities of Takayama and Kanazawa.

The journey begins with three nights in amazing Tokyo, where, along with time to explore independently, touring includes a preeminent calligrapher’s gallery, the imposing Imperial Palace, tranquil Meiji Shrine, the famed Ginza district, and the impressive Tokyo National Museum. Japan’s pastoral side is on tap next in stunning Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park with majestic Mt. Fuji and a scenic cruise on Ashi Lake. After an overnight stay at a traditional ryokan inn, board an express train to Takayama in the Japanese Alps to explore this ancient town during a two-night sojourn. A traditional tea ceremony and a cooking class offer opportunities to experience Japanese culture firsthand. Visit historic Shirakawago Village, a UNESCO site. Reaching culturally rich Kanazawa for a two-night stay, tour famed Kenrokuen Garden, visit a gold leaf museum, and see the Higashi Chayagai teahouse area. The journey ends with three nights in Kyoto, Japan’s cultural center. Among many highlights here: the beloved Golden Pavilion temple, Ryoan-ji temple with its acclaimed Zen garden, and the extravagant 17th-century Nijo-jo Castle. Visit the otherworldly Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, the important Fushimi Inari shrine, and Nishiki Market, “Kyoto’s Kitchen.”

Mar 22, 2025 - Apr 3, 2025

Japan

Insider’s Japan - WAITLIST ONLY!

Land based

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Day 1: Depart U.S.

International flight to Tokyo, Japan

Day 2: Arrive Tokyo

Transfer (included with air package) to hotel
No planned activities or plans due to scattered arrival times

Day 3: Tokyo

Morning briefing to meet Tour Director
Tour Tokyo: Meiji Shrine, gallery of calligrapher Koshun Masunaga, Ginza
Afternoon at leisure
Welcome dinner

Day 4: Tokyo

Tour Tokyo: Imperial Palace, East Gardens, Buddhist Asakusa Kannon, Nakamise shopping arcade, Tokyo National Museum
Afternoon and evening at leisure

Day 5: Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park/Hakone

Depart Tokyo for Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park
Visit Mt. Fuji World Heritage Center
Cruise on Ashi Lake
Arrive in Hakone
Night in a ryokan after a Kaiseki dinner

Day 6: Takayama

Bullet train and Wide View Hida express train to Takayama
Tour the San-machi-suji district
Attend a traditional Japanese tea ceremony

Day 7: Takayama

Visit riverside Miyagawa Morning Market
Prepare lunch together
Walking tour of Takayama: Takayama Jinya, local sake brewery, Takayama’s old town

Day 8: Shirakawago/Kanazawa

Depart Takayama for UNESCO World Heritage site of Shirakawago Gassho-zukuri Village
Visit Gokayama Village
Arrive in Kanazawa

Day 9: Kanazawa

Tour Kanazawa: Kenrokuen Garden, Ishikawa Gate, Hakukokan museum, the Higashi Chayagai teahouse and geisha area
Visit Kutani Kosen Kilm

Day 10: Kyoto

Depart Kanazawa by train.
Visit Kinkaku-ji and Ryoanji
Evening at leisure

Day 11: Kyoto

Tour Kyoto: Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts, Nijo-jo Castle
Afternoon at leisure

Day 12: Kyoto

Tour Kyoto: Fushimi Inari shrine, Sanjyusangendo Hall, Nishiki Market
Afternoon at leisure
Farewell dinner

Day 13: Depart Kyoto

Transfer by motorcoach to Osaka for international return flights to U.S.

Plus: Discover cosmopolitan Hiroshima, reborn from its atomic destruction, with an optional 3-day/2-night post-tour extension.

*Note: Some details subject to change prior to program - travelers will be notified of significant alterations to program details.

Yusaku Horiuchi

Professor of Government and the Mitsui Professor of Japanese Studies in the Department of Government and the Program in Quantitative Social Science

Yusaku Horiuchi is a Professor of Government and the Mitsui Professor of Japanese Studies in the Department of Government and the Program in Quantitative Social Science at Dartmouth College. His research in political science applies experimental designs and statistical methods to a wide range of empirical questions. With substantive interests in foreign/global public opinion, Japanese politics, diversity, elections, political methodology, and more, Horiuchi has published two books and many articles in academic journals like the American Journal of Political Science, the American Political Science Review, the British Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, the Journal of Politics, Nature Communications, Political Analysis, Political Behavior, Science Advances, and World Politics. Yusaku uses observational and experimental data from Japan, as well as other countries, such as Australia, France, Israel, South Korea, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, and the United States, to study many topics. At Dartmouth, he teaches courses on empirical research design, statistics, and data visualization, as well as a course on politics of Japan. Yusaku earned an M.A. in international and development economics from Yale University in 1995 and a Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2001. He has also held visiting appointments at Keio University in Japan, the Australian National University in Australia, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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Insider’s Japan - WAITLIST ONLY!