

March 20 - April 1
$7,093 pp twin share
$262 single supp.
SOLD OUT!
Prices ex Sydney
HIROSHIMA
KUMAMOTO
KYOTO
HAMAMATSU
TOKYO
Price will include return flight from Sydney to Tokyo, Japan Rail Pass, accomodation, breakfast and admittance to venues. Not included: lunch, dinner and drinks
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CONTACT IAN GREENWOOD
AT TRAVELMANAGERS
0404 841 038
ian.greenwood@travelmanagers.com.au


March 2025 itinerary (subject to small changes)
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March/April 2025
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Thur 20

We will meet at the gate lounge in Sydney International Airport about half an hour before boarding. Then we have our overnight flight to Haneda.
Friday 
21
We land at Haneda International Airport, Tokyo at around 0600. After we collect our luggage and get through customs, we need to wait until the Japan Rail Office opens at 0645 to exchange our JR passes (I will have all these). The wait will be diminished by baggage collection and customs but we will get in line for the passes as soon as we can because the line grows quickly once the office is open.
 When we have the passes, we have a little train hop. We take the Monorail to Hamamatsucho (about 15 minutes) and then a suburban train to Tokyo Station where we will be first in line to board the Shinkansen (bullet train). The unreserved cars on the Hikari Shinkansen are cars 1-3. We change to another Shinkansen at Shin Osaka and get to Hiroshima early afternoon. It’s a small cab ride to the hotel. Usually with luggage we get three in a cab - without luggage, four. I’ll have cash for each cab.
Our hotel is not far from the action and Molly Malone's Irish Pub has a happy hour from 5-7pm. It's a great way to unwind and get to know each other before heading out somewhere to eat. (Free night tonight)
Saturday 22
We’ll make a time to meet after breakfast and take a walk through the party street, Nagarekawacho and up past the university my Grandfather taught at and the cathedral where Mum and Dad were married- also Mum’s old school. Right nearby is Shukkeien Garden which is a beautiful traditional display of nature. There’s a cafe there as well. After that we’ll wander down to Hiroshima Castle, then on to the famous Peace Park. It’s easy to get back to the hotel from here . My groups often split up here as some go to the Museum and some go shopping.
Tonight I’ll be doing a gig with my old mate Hiroki Maeta at a venue that's new to me - a Tex Mex restaurant near the Peace Park.


Sunday 23
After breakfast we’ll cab or tram to Hiroshima Station and catch a train to Miyajima Guchi where we’ll get on the ferry across to Miyajima itself. Try to get a spot on the right hand side going over - it’s a great view - one of my favourite parts of my trips.
There's a lot to do and see here. Plenty of places to eat. I'll be heading to a beaut little outdoor eatery in amongst the maple trees where you can order beautiful local oysters and a cool beer, if anyone wants to join me - although, it mostly an uphill walk so it might not suit everyone. There’s also an aquarium and a ropeway to the peak of the island for anyone wanting to put more time in at the island. Because we have a free night, we’ll make a time to meet back at the ferry but if anyone wants to stay late, that’s fine, too.
Monday 24
Today we will get to the station a bit before our train ride to Kumamoto and buy some lunch to have on the train. There are food shops everywhere, as you will well know by now. We will catch cabs to our hotel. Tonight we're going to Good Time Charlie, an iconic Honky Tonk in Japan and it's close to where we're staying. 
Charlie Nagatani is 87 years old and has been playing in his bar Good Time Charlie every night (except for outside shows, including the Grand Ole Opry 29 times) for nearly 50 years. Our entry includes two drinks - just bear in mind, drink selection is limited here - it's Bud beer or Jim Beam, which is usually poured freehand (and soft drinks, of course). Charlie has his own Jim Beam labelled bottles with his face on it - about $50......a good souvenir.
Tuesday 
 25
Today we travel to Kyoto. We change trains at Shin Osaka for the quick hop to Kyoto, the old capital of Japan. We'll drop our bags at the hotel which is close by the station. A couple of happy hour options this evening and once the sun goes down, a trip up the multi escalators to the top of Kyoto Station is a good idea- amazing views of the city.
Wednesday 
26
No need to get going really early today. We'll meet in the lobby and take off to do some sight seeing in this iconic Japanese town. We have always visited Arashiyama and the bamboo grove but of late it has been so crowded. There is another bamboo grove further out that is much quieter I hear, so we'll aim for that.
Thursday 27
Activity TBA
There's a bluegrass jam tonight at Japan's oldest Honky Tonk right on the outskirts of town. We will take the subway to the end of the line and the Honky Tonk is about an 800 metre walk from there. In the past, Minoru has done a few trips in his own vehicle to get us to the venue, but in any case, it's a comfortable ten or fifteen minute walk. Food at the venue and they will split bills. The last subway leaves at 11:39pm.
Friday 28
Today we travel to Hamamatsu. This is a real music town. My mother did her training for working at Yamaha Hiroshima in this city. Near our hotel, there’s a musical instrument museum which is well worth a visit. 
Tonight we’ll take the Shinkansen half an hour up the track to Shizuoka where there'll be a very casual acoustic jam in a tiny little music venue. This will be one of those places where I'll pay in a lump sum at the end of the night, so if you keep a rough tab of your drinks (and I mean rough- ball park is fine- I'm not counting!) and fix me up in the next few days. The half hour trip on the train could be a good chance to eat, if you want to bring a bento box along.
Saturday 29

When we get on the Shinkansen today try to get a seat on the left side in case the weather is good enough to see Mt Fuji. We are staying at Oimachi and as we'll be there before check in, we'll drop our luggage and return at 3pm.
Bluegrass gig at Rocky Top.
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Sunday 
30
We’ll meet around 10:30 and head to Ginza where they usually shut the Main Street off after 12pm on a Sunday. There’s a great paper shop with all sorts of interesting items down the end.
The group often splits up at this point but there are things to see afterwards like Harajuku (and it's crazy main street or the exact opposite- a peaceful Meiji Shrine)
Tonight we will be country music with Dicky Kitano and band- in a venue that will be new to me as well - good solid country music from these lads.
Monday 31
After we check out of our rooms, we can leave our luggage at the hotel and we’ll head into Ueno Park where there are museums, galleries and yes, more shops! It’s a nice way to spend our last day here, although if anyone wants to go solo elsewhere, do that, by all means. We’ll meet up back at the hotel later in the day, get to the airport and check in for our overnight flight back to Australia.
Tue 1 (April)
Arrive in Sydney
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