We will be welcoming you with a big flag “KLUCHI” and crispy white rice smiles at the Land of the Rising Sun!
 
A real geisha will be pouring sake into your glasses and taking photos. If she doesn’t disappear again. Just joking. They are too modest to do so; the sake will of course follow. That’s why, traditionally, we will first have fruit, bubbly and awesome vibes!
 
We begin conquering the East with its capital Tokyo. We will be staying in the heart of the metropolis, where we will find an incredible park amongst high rise buildings. Japanese love to relax there in the shadow of red maples, while composing haiku and drinking sake. The view will make you want to start rhyming as well :)
 
We will finish the evening high up. Literally:) The panoramic windows of the Hyatt Park hotel offer the full view of Tokyo. Evening lights of the city are almost as bright as the daylight.
By the way, have you watched the movie “Lost in Translation?” Spoiler alert: We have booked exactly the same table, where the main characters of Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray met each other in the movie. How cool is this? The band is playing jazz, time to dance and enjoy fine cocktails.

We have our breakfast with a view of Tokyo and off we go to…. the market! Yes-yes, to the market. To the legendary and one of the largest markets in the world – the Tsukiji Market. This is not your typical market. This is a whole world of fish and seafood directly from the depths of the sea. This is the freshest you can get!
 
Whatever you will find on the counters, can be prepared and cooked right there on the spot. Sashimi from selected tuna? And oysters, of course. Japanese oysters are rich in minerals and iodine. They are filling and delicious and are nature’s mineral complexes, good to eat and to strengthen the immune system.
 
Our next stop is the cooking class. Here we will create sushi under the guidance of the master chef. We will eat our masterpieces and drink plum sake with ice. Itadakimasu! (what Japanese say before having lunch)
 
We are in Ginza. The heart of shopping, culture and entertainment.  It is packed with upmarket boutiques, trendy art galleries, night clubs and restaurants. Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Louis Vuitton are all over the district on flashy ad boards…
 
We stop off at the Imperial Palace’s Oriental Garden: yellow, orange and red maples are absolutely everywhere.
 
Astounding myriad of glitter, neon and rainbow lights that reflect in massive mirrors hanging on two parallel walls. We are at the robot restaurant!
The vibes here are totally cool and futuristic, definitely the place to enjoy your cocktails…

We say goodbye to Tokyo, there is no time to be sad about it as we will be back. We are off to the Yamanashi Prefecture to enjoy the vineyards.
 
Omotenashi is a Japanese philosophy of hospitality and the practice of "soulfulness" with the aim of providing "extraordinary" service. You will experience this philosophy at the wine tasting of Magrez Koshu, whom we regularly visit in Bordeaux.
 
He has a different project here, a well-known Margez Aruga Koshu, which is made out of Japanese grape variety Koshu. Wow, its taste is clean, delicate and mineral. A bottle of this wine would cost around $150 in Russia. This wine awaits you at the wine tasting :)
 
Our next stop is the Marufuji Winery. It is almost 130 years old and its wines are regular nominees for the most prestigious awards.
 
We immerse ourselves deeper into Japanese culture – a very unique experience awaits us! Today we will learn what it means to live like a true Japanese: to sleep on the floor (do you have your sleeping bags ready?), wear a kimono and to walk in geta.
 
Tonight we stay at a ryokan, a traditional Japanese hotel, which hasn’t changed for many centuries.
 
The ryokan, which we hand-picked, is located right at one of the famous hot springs. Immerse yourself into hot waters, close your eyes and listen to the sound of water... Relax…

Did you spot Fujiyama yesterday evening? If not, no worries as today Mount Fuji will be much closer. Today we are at the Honshu island.
 
We begin admiring the volcano from a distance, from Lake Kawaguchiko. It is one of the Fuji Five Lakes and the most scenic, surrounded by red lights. However, the best view is from above….from the bird’s eye view. Shall we take a ride on the cable car and enjoy this magnificent view?
 
We will visit the “house of ramen” to taste the most delicious ramen soup in the whole of Prefecture.
 
Our next stop is the Mishima Skywalk, Japan’s longest suspension bridge. Hopefully, you are not afraid of heights. Fujisan looks perfect from any angle.
 
We arrive in Kyoto in the evening and finish the day off with an authentic tea ceremony. The tea master of the largest tea school in Japan, Urasenke will show us how to correctly brew and drink tea to relax and increase our internal resources.
 
As we know, our internal resources directly impact on our external capabilities :)

Kyoto is the spiritual and historical capital of Japan. Buddhist temples, sacred lands and imperial palaces make Kyoto truly remarkable. It is here, back in the XX century, where the tradition of admiring red maples started. Prepare to be blown away!
 
First, we visit the two gems: the Golden Pavilion Kinkaku-ji and the Ryoanji Monastery Rock Garden. Nobody has so far deciphered the philosophical message of the 15th stone. Do you think we will be the first to do so? :)
 
The costume party is next. We will try on samurai armour and fashionable kimonos at the Gion Quarter. Take photos. The memories will last for generations to come.
 
Gion is the geisha district in Kyoto. There are plenty of geishas here. No jokes. Both real geishas and actresses dressed as geishas. There is a rock solid method of distinguishing a real geisha from an actress: take out a camera and film one. If she is smiling and posing – this one is definitely an actress. If she is hiding and slowly walking away, this is a true geisha!
 
Kyoto is not only the spiritual capital of Japan, but also the capital of sake. Now is the time to find out how sake is made. And what kind of drink it is. Is it a rice wine or vodka? This question is with a twist, so don’t rush with your answers:) Actually, there is no right answer, as it is neither. Yes, its basic ingredient is rice; however neither fermentation, nor distillation is used in the process. The secret is…
…well, you will find out for yourselves!
 
We finish our day off at the famous crab restaurant, which was established more than half a century ago. Hundreds of dishes with crab: from soups to appetizers!! Which crab claw will you choose for dinner?

Hello Nara, the oldest Japanese capital. It is here where you can hand feed deer! Let’s fill up our pockets with biscuits and off for a walk. Just imagine: you are surrounded by baby deer and we slowly backtrack, throwing them crackers. No, not that way:) They are affectionate and almost tame, so we hand feed them!
 
Let’s get familiar with the huge Buddha statue. Would you like to improve your karma? Then you will be challenged to climb inside his nostril. Japanese believe that the ritual helps to cleanse and reset the “debt” meter. This is not an easy task, but karma is important!
 
We relax on the banks of the lake, full of carps and then we continue our trip.
 
After we indulged ourselves with food, now it is time to pamper our soul. We are off to the Fushimi Inari shrine, dedicated to the Fox God. Thousands of its arch-gates blaze with vermilion colour overlooking the bamboo forest and create a network of kilometres-long trails behind its main buildings. It is here where we take the most scenic photos and make wishes, which come true. Checked at our previous trips!
 
Japan has maintained the accolade as one of the top countries in the world with the most Michelin-starred restaurants. It has overtaken New York and even Paris in terms of the number of mentions in the culinary guide! One of such restaurants awaits us for dinner. We enjoy the cuisine and share pictures and experiences of the previous day.

Well, hello again, Tokyo! We came back on a superfast Shinkansen to wander around the city.
Perhaps you want to stroll along the Rainbow Bridge and take a photo next to the Japanese Statue of Liberty.
Or visit a place, where technology and art meet. Teamlab Planets Toyosu took on a challenge and created a vast exhibition space (10,000 sq. meters) of light installations.
 
Or perhaps you want to shop at the Ginza District, take a ride on a high-tech roller coaster at the Tokyo Disneyland or become friends with a human-like robot Asimo?
 
Our trip began at the scene from the “Lost in Translation” movie and the final dinner will take place at the traditional Japanese izakaya. Exactly at the one, where Quentin Tarantino filmed “Kill Bill”.  Don’t worry, the izakaya was thoroughly cleaned from stage blood:)
 
Tonight, Tokyo shines bright especially for you with its neon lights!

We bargained at the Tsukiji Market, practiced Zen in Kyoto, cleansed our karma in Nara and immersed ourselves into a marvellous new world in Tokyo.
 
Time to say goodbye and no reason to cry.
 
The road home lies ahead, but we do not say goodbye.
 
Till we meet again on the next trip!