Travel

AACI Strictly Kosher &
English Speaking Travel

AACI’s Fascinating Japan – In depth!   

November 10 – 25, 2025

Osaka – Kobe – Hiroshima – Nara – Kyoto – Mount Fuji – Hakone – Tokyo – Nikko

Japan – More than any other country has managed to integrate ancient traditions and leading-edge technology harmoniously into their daily lives, with a perfect mix of new and old.  In this excellent tour to Japan, you will not miss anything a first-time visitor to Japan should see.

Japan consists of four main islands: Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. There are another thousand smaller islands all lying to the east of the Asian mainland in the northwest of the Pacific Ocean. This archipelago curves across 3000 km, linking Russian’s Sakhalin Island in the north to Taiwan in the south.  We will visit the biggest Island: Honshu, the most culturally significant of these islands.

AACI’s in-depth trip entails the best that Japan has to offer. You’ll enjoy colorful mix of large cities like Tokyo and Osaka,  the historically significant ancient shrines and temples of Kyoto and Nara, the testament to peace of Hiroshima, the natural beauty of Hakone, the thermally heated valley of Owakudani and much, much more.

Program

Day 01 –  Monday, November 10, 2025
Arrival (Kansai Airport) and the city of Osaka Arrive at Kansai International Airport, built on an artificial island in Osaka Bay.
Transfer to Kobe for Dinner and Overnight.

Day 02  – Tuesday, November 11, 2025 –  Kobe – Miyajima – Hiroshima –Kobe.
This morning, we will board the Shinkansen, the famous Japanese bullet train, which will ‘fly’ us westward to the city of Hiroshima. We cross the strait to the holy island of Miyajima and its famous giant torii red gate located in the sea waters.. Continue with a visit to the peace park and peace museum where the tragedy of the atomic bomb dropped on the city is commemorated in a special unique Japanese way.

Back on the Shinkansen to Kobe for dinner at Chabad and overnight.

Day 03 – Wednesday, November 12, 2025 – Kobe – Osaka -Kyoto
After Tefilla and breakfast at the hotel, we will have a bus ride to Osaka.  We will visit Umeda Sky building, an architectonic marvel, to get a panoramic view of the city.

From Osaka we will drive to Nara, which was the capital before Kyoto. We will stroll in the Nara Park, where deer have roamed freely for more than 1,000 years as the messengers of the gods.

Todai ji is a great Buddhist temple and is the largest wooden structure in the world. Inside we will see the largest bronze statue of Buddha in Japan. We will return to Kyoto where we will visit one of the most important Shinto shrines, Fushimi Inari, known for its hundreds of orange colored torii gates.

We will finish the long day with dinner at Chabad Kyoto and overnight.

Day 04 – Thursday, November 13, 2025 –  Kyoto.
After Tefilla and breakfast at Chabad then we will drive to the Golden Temple, the icon of the city where the Japanese emperor held his court for 1,000 years.  The we move on to Arashiyama, Including Tenryuji, Bamboo Forest.  Lunch today will be on a traditional boat (Yakatabune) followed by a visit to lNishiki market and Kyoto Arcades.

Dinner at Chabad Kyoto and overnight.

Day 05  – Friday, November 14, 2025 – Kyoto – Hiashiyama area, Kiyomizu Dera, Sanjusangendo – Kodaiji
This morning, after a short drive, we will visit Hiashiyama area, Kiyomizu Dera, Sannenzaka. From here we will enjoy a tea ceremony in Kodaiji, an important part of the refined Japanese culture.  Our next Japanese experience will be a Kimona celebration dressing in traditional costumes.  We will then walk to Sanjusangendo, a Buddhist temple with thousands of statues.
Back to the hotel to get ready for Shabbat and Shabbat dinner at Chabad with overnight in Kyoto.

Day 06 – Shabbat, November 15, 2015 – Kyoto.
We will have Shabbat lunch and Seuda shlishit at Chabad. We will also have a walking tour in the vicinity of our hotel and visit the beautiful Heian shrine.
After dinner we will have an option to visit Pontocho area (downtown Kyoto)

Day 07 – Sunday, November 16, 2025 – Kyoto – Seki – Yaotsu – Tokyo.
After Tefilla and breakfast in Chabad, we’ll make our way to Kyoto station and then board the Shinkansen toward Gifu-Hashima. Upon arrival, our coach will take us to the town of Seki, known for hundreds of years for the quality katana swords that the local blacksmiths produce. We will visit one of these establishments and have a chance to take a close look at the traditional process.

Yaotsu is the birth town of the single Japanese Righteous-Among-the-Nations, Sugihara Chiune, who issued lifesaving visas to many Jews while he served as a consul in Kaunas. We will visit his memorial hall and learn about this story. At the end of the day we will drive to Tokyo and have dinner at Chabad House and overnight in Tokyo.

Day 08 – Monday, November 17, 2025 – Tokyo – Nikko
Today we will begin our day after breakfast and tefillot with a drive to Utsunomiya, the largest city in Tochigi prefecture. We will then have a guided tour of the Oya History Museum, a massive former stone quarry open to the public. We will also tour around the Oya temple area, a temple built into a stone cliff, with an impressive 27m tall kanon statue carved out of the surrounding stone. Afterwards we will take part in a special Japanese Wagashi workshop, where a local chef will teach us about the art of Japanese dessert. From there we will continue to the Watanabe Sahei sake visit, a special tour at a sake brewery where we will learn all about the process of making Japanese rice wine.
In the evening, we will have kosher supervised dinner at a traditional sushi restaurant in Kanuma, and then finish the day at our hotel in Nikko.

Day 09 – Tuesday, November 18, 2025 – Nikko
Today after Tefilla and breakfast, we will begin with a tour at the Four Seasons Bamboo Forest Wakayama Farm, with about 24 hectares of fields set against the backdrop of the Nikko Mountain range. Later we will go back to Kanuma and split into two groups, to experience two different workshops. In the soba workshop, you’ll learn about making soba noodles and eat your own creation. In the Kiriko workshop, you’ll learn about the local Japanese woodworking technique in which pieces of wood are assembled without the use of nails. Don’t worry, everyone will experience both!

After the workshops we will visit the Chokoku Yatai tenji-kan nearby, an exhibition showcasing impressive festival floats. After this visit we will eat lunch at the soba restaurant, and continue to Kinugawa, where we will experience the Kinugawa line Kudari boat ride, a river cruise in a traditional wooden boat.  If time allows, we will also go for a short hike in Ryuokyo gorge, a 3km vista formed by the flow of the Kinugawa River with rocky cliffs and mountain streams.
Dinner at Chabad house.

Day 10 – Wednesday, November 19, 2025 – Nikko – Tokyo
Tefilla and breakfast.  This morning, we drive to Nikko. First to the beautiful Toshogu Shrine, the lavishly decorated final resting place of Tokugawa Leyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate.  Continue to the heart of Nikko National Park and view the scenic Lake Chuzenji. This area is so lovely that several embassies built their villas here, to house their ambassadors in the hot summer months. Here we find the Kegon waterfall, ranked as one of the three most beautiful falls in Japan.

We transfer to Tokyo to enjoy a Yakatabune: night cruise on Tokyo Bay in traditional boat with Geisha performance.
Overnight in Tokyo

Day 11 – Thursday, November 20, 2025 – Fuji Hakone
Today after Tefilla and breakfast, we will leave Tokyo temporarily and drive towards famous Mount Fuji and the 5 lakes at its foot. We will visit Kubota Ichiku Museum to see the beautiful products of the reconstruction of the old method of dying silk kimonos. Time permitting, we will visit the Oishi Park next to the lake and walk along its bank with views of Mount Fuji which is close by (if weather permits). Thereafter we will drive to Hakone to climb over mount Hakone using a ropeway to see the volcanic active area of Owakudani.  Following we will visit the open-air sculpture museum where human art and nature  blends.   In the afternoon, we will drive back to Tokyo for dinner at Chabad Tokyo.

Day 12 – Friday, November 21, 2025 – Tokyo.
After Tefilla and breakfast, we start our day at Tokyo Tower and view the huge city from one of its sky-high observatories. Continue with a visit Tsukiji market to see and feel the atmosphere.

One last stop at the Asakusa district, the center of Tokyo’s shitamachi (literally “low city”), where the atmosphere of the Tokyo of past decades still pulses.

Back to hotel to prepare for Shabbat and Shabbat dinner at Chabad.

Day 13 – Shabbat, November 22, 2025 – Shibuya in the evening.
We will have Shabbat lunch and Seuda shlishit at Chabad. We also will have a walking tour in the vicinity of our hotel to visit a traditional Japanese garden (weather permitting). In the evening, we will experience the best public transportation in the world and go to Shibuya district with its famous crossing and nightlife.

Day 14 – Sunday, November 23, 2025 – Tokyo.
After Tefillot and breakfast, we travel to visit the Imperial Palace and Marunouchi, where the residents of the high ranked Samurai used to be, and now are the offices of the biggest financial companies. We will also visit the Tokyo international forum with its unique architecture.

We will continue to Ginza, the upper scale luxurious and beautiful district.

We will then take the Monorail to Odiaba artificial island, where we will have a short tour. Now to one of the modern wonders – The TeamLab digital art museum, a world of artworks without boundaries, a museum without a map created by an art collective.

Dinner at Chabad and Overnight in Tokyo

Day 15 – Monday, November 24, 2025 – Tokyo – flight back from Narita airport.
After breakfast we visit Akihabara, a district in central Tokyo that is famous for its many electronics shops and has also gained recognition as the center of Japan’s otaku (diehard anime fan) culture. Many shops and establishments devoted to anime and manga are dispersed among the electronic stores in the district.  We will travel to Meiji Jingu, a large shrine located in a quiet forest in the middle of the bustling city. It is dedicated to the emperor who in his time Japan developed into a modern state.

After your fill of last-minute shopping, we will drive to Narita airport, saying farewell to amazing Japan and flying safely back home. 

Price without flights:
$ 9,690   per person in a double room for AACI members
$ 12,290  single person in a room
Flights from Israel will be quoted upon registration.

$75 pp addition for non AACI member or join AACI

Flight details (not included in the above price):
NOTE: Flight plans are subject to change.Departure flight: EK 932 (Emirates) Sunday, Nov 9, 2025: Departing Ben Gurion, Tel Aviv at 18:15.
Arrival in United Arab Emirates (UAE) Airport, Dubai: 23:25
Connecting flight:
EK 316 (Emirates)Monday, Nov 10, 2025: Departing Dubai, (UAE) at 03:05.  Arrival Monday, Nov 10, 2025 in Osaka, Japan: 17:05
Return flight:  EK 319 (Emirates) Monday, Nov 24, 2025: Departing Tokyo Narita Airport, at 22:20.
Arrival in Dubai airport (UAE) at 05:30, Tuesday, Nov 25, 2025
Connecting flight:
EK 2369 (Emirates)Tuesday, Nov 25,  2025: Departing Dubai, (UAE) at 07:20.  Arrival Tuesday, Nov 25, 2025 in Tel Aviv at 09:10

Included in the price for this tour: 

  • 4 Bullet train journeys
  • 14 nights in four/five-star hotels
  • Kosher full board including provision to make sandwiches for lunch.
  • Sightseeing, activities, and attractions as mentioned in the itinerary.
  • Tips
  • Local tour guide, fluent in English and Japanese
  • AACI Escort
  • Whispers
  • Wi-Fi on bus
  • Multiple cultural specialty workshops
  • Tips

*Please note the rate of exchange used for this tour  is subject to change if there are currency fluctuations

Not included in the price:

  • Flights
  • Insurance
  • Personal expenses
  • Any items not mentioned in the above itinerary.       

Terms of payment:

  • Registration – $1,000 ($400 non refundable)
  • Second payment July 2, 2025 – 50%
  • Balance due: September 2, 2025

Cancellation:

  • From registration until July 2, 2025 – 400$ non refundable
  • From July 2nd until Sept 2, 2025  – 25%
  • From Sept 3rd-Oct 8, – 75%
  • From Oct 9th, 2025, full cancelation fee: 100%

Travel insurance is obligatory and should cover illness, luggage & cancellation. It can be purchased through your insurance agent, your Kupat Holim or Diesenhaus Tours.

REGISTER HERE

For further details please email: info@aaci.org.il or call 02-5661181 ext. 205