What are some good Japan tour packages?

Some good Japan tour packages, as at October 2015, are Friendly Planet's 10-day “Japan Panorama‘‘ tour that flies from Los Angeles to Tokyo with Singapore Airlines and visits Kyoto, Osaka and Mount Fuli; and Laurus Travel's 15-day “Classic Japan Tour‘‘ that flies from a range of U.S. cities to Tokyo and visits Takayama, Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa in addition to Kyoto, Osaka and Mount Fuji. SamuraiTours.com, Trafalgar.com and BackyardTravel.com offer specialist escorted tours of Japan that do not include flights.

Friendly Planet's 2015/16 “Japan Panorama‘‘ tours include a guided tour of Tokyo, visiting the Tokyo Tower, Imperial Palace East Gardens and Sensoji Temple; a trip to Mount Fuji and the hot springs resort town of Hakone; a trip on the Shinkansen bullet train, to Japan's former capital city Kyoto, with an optional tour of Hiroshima; and a drive to Osaka, Japan's spiritual heartland. Laurus Travel's “Classic Japan Tour‘‘ follows the same route but visits additional towns and villages, and includes a range of activities such as a sushi-making lesson and a Sumida River cruise in Tokyo; a cruise on Lake Ashi and a ride on the Hakone Ropeway at Mount Fuji; a traditional kimono dinner in Nagoya; a sake brewery tour and tasting in Takayama and a traditional tea ceremony in Kyoto.

Trafalgar's 2016 nine-day "Splendors of Japan"" tour also travels from Tokyo to Kyoto and includes a visit to UNESCO-designated sites of Shirakawago and Gokayama, where travelers can learn how to make washi paper.

Samurai Tours and BackYardTravel offer a wide range of specialist escorted tours that focus on specific geographical areas, cities or themes. Samurai Tours also offers a number of “Grand Tours‘‘ lasting up to 22 days.