Pre & Post Cruise Programme cruise "PETROPAVLOVSK - OTARU"

"From Hokkaido Island to Tokyo" PROGRAM

October 15 to 17, 2013 

Price per person: €1595/$2105/£1388

Single room supplement: €315/$416/£274

Airport taxes (subject to change): €20/$27/£18

Day 1 Otaru / Sapporo

After disembarkation procedures are completed, you will be welcomed by our local representative at Otaru port on Hokkaido Island.

After about an hour’s drive you arrive in the welcoming and dynamic modern town of Sapporo. Your first stop will be to see the town’s highly symbolic wooden clock tower. Built in 1878 for the agricultural college, the clock is similar to the one in a small school in New England. You then leave to visit the nearby historic village of Hokkaido. This impressive open-air museum is an authentic recreation of some 60 buildings from all over the island and documents its development. You will be touring the site by horse-drawn tramcars. After lunch visit the Sapporo beer museum, in the brewery learn about the process and taste this local brew that is only served on the island. At the end of the day you can take a cable car up Mount Moiwa. There is a superb view from the observatory (1742ft) of Sapporo, Mount Eniwa Dake and Isikari Bay magnified by the town’s lights as night falls.

Transfer to the Sapporo Grand Hotel (or similar) where after settling into your room you will have dinner and spend the night.

Day 2 Sapporo / Tokyo 

After breakfast, you will spend the day exploring the surrounding areas before catching the plane to Tokyo. You will be amazed by the Moerenuma Park in Higashi-ku. The sculptor Isamu Nogushi drafted the designs in 1988 which would be implemented posthumously when the park opened in 2005. Several of the metal structures scattered about the park are works of art in their own right and were designed to create a recreational area. You then leave for a meeting with the Ainu people, who were the island’s earliest inhabitants. When you visit the recreated Porotokatan village in Shiraoi, the different facets of their culture will be revealed through various demonstrations. You will also enjoy the beauty of all these places. 

Transfer to Shin-Chitose Airport for an internal flight to Tokyo. 

Sapporo Shin-Chitose / Tokyo Haneda Airport economy class on a scheduled flight: times and airline to be confirmed 11 months before departure. 

Welcome at Haneda Airport (Tokyo’s domestic airport) and transfer to the Prince Park Tower Hotel (or similar). Settle into your room, before dinner and the night at the hotel. 

Day 3 Tokyo 

After breakfast, your day will be spent exploring Tokyo, a city which harmoniously combines the modern with the traditional. Your first experience will be in one of the trendiest districts in town, Roppongi Hills, built from scratch in 2003 by the developer Mori. Clustered round the Mori Tower, a giant glass and steel cylinder are numerous luxury boutiques and gourmet restaurants. From the observatory on the top of the tower you have a truly grandiose view of Tokyo. You will then be at leisure to explore the prosperous Ginza district which is famous for its big stores.

After lunch, there is a traditional tea ceremony in the peaceful Happo-en Japanese garden. The aesthetics and spiritual art of the tea ceremony was very popular with the warrior class in the past. This will also be an opportunity to stroll round the many winding paths to see 200-year-old bonsai trees and a stone lantern dating back over 800 years. You then head for the city’s historic centre of Asakusa which is the most colourful and traditional part of Tokyo. A massive “Thunder Gate” marks the entrance to the Senso Ji Buddhist temple which has been on this site for well over a thousand years. According to legend, it was founded in 628 when three fishermen caught a small gold statue representing the goddess Kannon in their nets – incidentally the founder of Japan’s legendary capital was one of those fishermen. Almost destroyed by bombing during the Second World War it was later rebuilt and is a credit to the original. Incense is burned all day in a bronze cauldron in the courtyard, as the smoke is said to protect you from misfortune and disease.  Before leaving you will be at leisure to explore the Nakamise shopping arcade, one of the best spots for artisanal Japanese souvenirs.

You will be taken to Tokyo Narita airport in time for the flight selected by Compagnie du Ponant. 

The scheduled arrival time at the airport is 10:00pm.

We recommend you choose your flight at least 2 ½ hours after scheduled arrival time.

Your hotels:

The Prince Park Tower Tokyo

In the middle of Shiba Park, the Prince Park Tower Tokyo Hotel (5* local standards) is in the heart of Tokyo near to temples and historic sites. The hotel offers: restaurants, bars, 24h/24h reception, fitness room, clothes pressing service, boutique and bowling. 

Sapporo Grand Hotel

Centrally located in the business district the Sapporo Grand Hotel (4* local standards) offers the following: restaurants, bars, 24h/24h reception, fitness centre, garden, sauna, clothes pressing service and boutique. 

What is included:

• 1 night in the Sapporo Grand Hotel (or similar) 4* local standards

• 1 night in Prince Park Tower Tokyo Hotel (or similar) 5* local standards

• Internal Sapporo / Tokyo flight on a scheduled airline

• Beverage package during meals (mineral water + 1 soft drink + 1 tea or 1 coffee)

• Transfers, visits and entrance to the sites and monuments mentioned in the programme 

• Services of a local English speaking guide

What is not included:

• Personal expenses 

• Excess baggage charges

• Other services not mentioned in the programme

Note:

• The local currency is the yen. We recommend that you plan in advance how much you will need for the trip or you can use your credit card to withdraw yen from the cash machines (note that only City Bank machines accept foreign credit cards). 

• The temperature in Tokyo and Sapporo in October varies between 10°C and 15ºC. Autumn is the ideal time to see the glorious autumn colours in the forest and avoids the rainy season. You also need to bring warm clothes, as it can be very windy at this time of year, and comfortable shoes.

• You will have to take off your shoes before entering any of the temples.

• It is not customary to tip in Japan.

• Baggage allowance: 2 items of 23kg per person.

Contacts for your hotels:

The Prince Park Tower Tokyo Hotel

4-8-1 Shiba-koen, Minato-ku – TOKYO 

105-8563- JAPAN

Tel: +81-(0) 3-5400-1111

Website: http://www.princehotels.co.jp/parktower-fr

Sapporo Grand Hotel

Nishi 4-chome 1-jo Kita Chuo-ku – SAPPORO, Hokkaido

060-0001-JAPAN

Tel: +81 – (0) 11-261-3311

Website: http://www.grand1934.com/english