16 DAYS AND 13 NIGHTS FROM LOS ANGELES -- Tokyo (3N) Hakone (1N) Kyoto (3N) Taipei (2N) Hong Kong (4N)
You depart on wide-body jet for Tokyo, crossing the International Date Line.
Arrival and transfer to hotel in Tokyo, capital of the first Asian nation to modernize successfully (from 1868) and now a prosperous and dynamic society of some 124 million -- all in an area about the size of California..
Afternoon city tour includes the plaza of the Imperial Palace, with its imposing stone walls and moat, the colorful, incense-filled Asakusa Kannon ('Goddess of Mercy') temple, site of numerous fairs and festivals, Nakamise arcade, glittering Ginza district and a Sumida river boat ride with visit to a pearl gallery. Also, attend traditional tea ceremony. known as Chanoyu: both an aesthetic cult for acquiring refined manners and a disciplinary training for mental composure, it has been called a "religion of the art of life." (The ceremony was incidentally also central to the accumulation of 3 magnificent private art collections: the Gotoh Museum, Nezu Institute and Hatakeyama Collection)
Day free for more sightseeing, museum going or shopping. Or take day trip to Nikko, famed for the grandiose yet graceful Shinto-Buddhist 17th century architectural wonders of the Shogun-era Toshogu shrine with its elaborately decorated Yomeimon Gate, Futarasan shrine (where young women perform the sacred Shinto Kagura dance) and Rinnoji temple alongside the natural beauties of spectacular Kegon Falls, Ruzunotaki (the Dragon's Head Cascade) and Lake Chuzenji, approached up the scenic and breathtakingly angled 2 and a half mile course of hairpin turns of tree-lined Irohazaka drive .
En route by motorcoach to the sylvan lake region of Hakone -- one of the most popular inland tourist resorts with Fuji-reflecting Lake Ashi and Owakudani or 'Valley of Greater Boiling' -- you stop in Kamakura to gaze on the mammoth 'Daibutsu' or 'Great Buddha,' erected in the 13th century, a much photographed, serenely powerful icon of spiritual enlightenment and an impressive testament (120 tons worth) to mediaeval Japanese bronze casting skills. Set amidst pine-clad mountains, Hakone boasts a serene atmosphere and nearly 100 hot springs bath houses (often with attractive restaurants attached) offering rest and reinvigoration for body and soul.
Drive to Odawara to board Japan's famous Shinkansen, or bullet train, an ultra-modern mode of transport into Kyoto, the ancient capital (AD 794-1868) and sacred center of Japanese culture. It was spared from American bombing at least in part due to the personal intervention at the highest levels of U.S. Secretary of War Henry Stimson, who had visited there in the years before what the Japanese call 'The Pacific War.'
Rest of day free to appreciate this city's unique character (so different from Tokyo's) symbolized in part by her still flourishing crafts: Nishijin silk weaving, Yuzen dying, Kiyomizuyaki ceramic ware, Kyoto dolls and lacquer ware.
Day trip to Nara, Japan's first capital (AD 710-784) and cradle of arts, crafts, literature and learning. Highlights are the Todaiji Temple with its surrounding deer park and its enormous Daibutsu (this is the world's largest bronze statue of Buddha) housed in world's largest wooden structure; the Horyuji Temple founded c. 1607 and thus the world's oldest extant wooden structure and graceful 5-storied pagoda, Kofukuji Temple, containing the statue of Asura.
Morning tour includes the harmonious Old Imperial Palace -- home of the Imperial Family for over 5 centuries, until they moved to Tokyo in 1868 -- Nijo Castle, the 'National Treasure' Kiyomizu Temple with veranda supported by 139 pillars 50 feet high, exquisite Kinkakuji or Golden Pavilion and Heian Shrine gardens. (Kyoto comprises 200 Shinto shrines and 1500 Buddhist temples.) Afternoon free for you to wander Kyoto's streets, shop for traditional crafts notable here (such as the silk, embroidery, ceramics, lacquerware, dolls) or just absorb the serene ambiance of Ryoanji Zen temple with its distinctive rock and sand garden.
By coach to Osaka, where you connect to flight to Taiwan's capital.
This city is on the cutting edge of a booming economy: Taipei is leading Taiwan into the 21st century as one of Asia's "tigers" of capitalist growth, while still steeped in the venerable traditions of Old China. Your morning tour includes a visit to the enormous and renowned collection of the National Palace Museum, featuring paintings over a 2000 year span, exquisite porcelain dating back to Sung dynasty as well as Chou dynasty jades and bronzes. Also visit Presidential Square, Lungshan (Dragon Mountain) temple , memorials to Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek, Confucius Shrine, Martyrs' Shrine and a handicraft center. Rest of day free to explore aspects of what Portuguese seacaptains dubbed "Ilha Formosa" -- "beautiful island."
Free day so the shopping-minded can head to Chunghua Bazaar (a.k.a. "Haggler's Alley") on Chunghua Road or the Chinese Handicraft Mart for ceramic ware, jewelry, furniture etc.or many items in new department stores and ultramodern hotel shopping arcades. Optional trip to explore parts of what the Portuguese sea captains of old dubbed "Ilha Formosa" or "beautiful island": morning flight to east coast city of Hualien, then proceed by motorcoach to fabulous Taroko Gorge to view the Eternal Shrine, Fuchi Cliffs and Tunnel of Nine Turns with their unbelievable natural scenery, rock formations and furious watery currents. Later return to Hualien for post-luncheon performance of Ami tribal dance.
Fly to Hong Kong, where rest of day is at leisure to contemplate this unique port and economic powerhouse which by the end of the 20th century had achieved a population of 6 million plus, the world's 8th largest trading economy, a total of 6,000 licensed restaurants, the world's greatest population density (Kowloon's apartment blocks) and the world's highest Rolls Royce per capita ratio.
Once described a century and a half ago as a "barren rock" by the British Foreign Secretary, Hong Kong's amazing transformation will be apparent during this morning's funicular tram ride (taking a mere 8 minutes) up Victoria Peak for one of the world's great views. Later visit the quieter, more rural and less crowded southern side of Hong Kong island to enjoy the attractive beaches of Repulse Bay, the irresistible bargain stalls of open-air Stanley Market and Aberdeen's "floating village" of junks and sampans, among which you may enjoy a Chinese banquet in seaborne splendor.
Optional local tours to the bucolic New Territories, Sung Dynasty Village, Yau Ma Tei walking tour in Kowloon, Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club, or visit islands such as Lantau's peaceful monasteries, Cheung Chau with its springtime Bun festival and a artists' colonies or Lamma island's seafood feasts.. Make a day trip by jetfoil to Macao, the 400-year-old, tiny (6 sq.mi.) enclave of Portuguese-administered territory of old churches, new casinos and fine restaurants serving the unique, cosmopolitan Macanese cuisine. For a glimpse of the PRC, visit neighboring Zhongshan -- or take the 2-day tour of Guangzhou (Canton) and Foshan, interesting and attractive cities combining capitalistic experimentation, fine handicrafts, scenery like Seven Star Crags and tasty Cantonese specialties like dim sum.
Fly back arriving the same day since you recross the International Date Line..
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