Classic Car Tour to Japan

Day 1 Monday March 14, 2022 Departure
Today we board our flight to Tokyo.

Day 2 Tuesday March 15, 2022 Tokyo, Japan
On arrival, we board our luxury coach and visit the Honda Collection Hall, a transport museum housing a collection of Honda consumer- and racing-oriented artefacts. It is on the grounds of the Twin Ring Motegi race track located at Motegi, Japan. The Hall displays approximately 350 restored motorcycles, automobiles, power products and racing machines, and illustrates the history of Honda and the technologies that Honda has developed over the years. Later we arrive at our city hotel, our home for the next three nights.

Day 3 Wednesday March 16, 2022 Tokyo, Japan
There aren’t many places on Earth that blend ancient tradition and the ultramodern quite like Tokyo. Centuries-old gardens and cobblestone laneways live in perfect harmony with soaring skyscrapers and dazzling neon lights. We will visit the Asakusa district, well-known as a region of Old Tokyo, the Asakusa Kannon Temple, a Buddhist temple also known as Sensoji, built in 645 A.D with the finest Japanese architecture. We see the famous Ginza shopping district, renowned as the most expensive real estate in the world which also has several premium car showrooms. In the afternoon we visit the Toyota MegaWeb, an action filled mobility centre, comprising of the Toyota City Showcase, the History Garage and the Ride Studio. The History Garage Collection comprises of classic cars manufactured between 1950s and 1970s, the golden age of cars. This evening enjoy a welcome dinner at the fascinating Robot Restaurant in Tokyo.

Day 4 Thursday March 17, 2022 Tokyo, Japan
This morning we visit one of the Nissan plants and have a guided tour of the factory. Later we visit the Nissan Heritage Museum, a private car gallery located in the Nissan engine manufacturing plant in Yokohama. The facility houses more than 450 cars dating as far back as the 1930s and features a wide range of competition cars such as the R390 Le Mans race car and the Fairlady Z. The museum focuses on restoration and safekeeping of Datsun, Prince and Nissan cars, and is curated by former Nissan career employees. We then visit the Nissan Engine Museum. This evening we will enjoy the exhilarating experience of driving a Street Go-Kart (Mario style) on a pre-determined route on public roads in Tokyo… a unique experience.

Day 5 Friday March 18, 2022 Hakone, Japan
This morning we depart Tokyo and travel to the Tokorozawa Aviation Museum. The view when entering the main exhibition hall of the museum is breathtaking – it is crammed with vintage aircraft both from the U.S. and Japan, on the ground and suspended in the air. Biplanes, propeller planes, helicopters, flying machines wherever you look. We later travel to the Hakone area near Japan’s Fuji-Hakone- Izu National Park west of Tokyo. It is a mountainous region known for its hot springs resorts and views of the iconic volcano Mount Fuji.

Day 6 Saturday March 19, 2022 Hakone, Japan
This morning we enjoy one of the highlights of the tour. Today we will be driving a variety of classic and modern Japanese sports vehicles on open roads consisting of 7 mountain passes. During the driving tour we will be challenged by the intensive passes while enjoying the beautiful scenery of Mt Fuji, Izu Peninsula, Lake Ashi and the Pacific Ocean. A highlight of the tour.

Day 7 Sunday March 20, 2022 Suzuka, Japan
This morning we first travel to SCMAGLEV and Railway Park. It is a museum that shows the developments of highspeed railways in Japan including a Maglev track. Later we travel south to the Suzuka Circuit located in Ino, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture. On arrival we check in to our Suzuka Circuit hotel.

Day 8 Monday March 21, 2022 Suzuka Circuit, Japan
The Suzuka Circuit is an international standard motor racing circuit that hosts the Japanese F1 Grand Prix each year. It is more than just a Grand Prix circuit. We will have a guided Behind the Scenes tour of the circuit and feel the power of machines up close, learn how races are operated, and visit the high-tech facilities. We will also experience the Circuit Challenger and feel the exhilaration of driving in an electric car on the Grand Prix Circuit. We then visit the Racing Theatre where we experience the overwhelming speed and power that the racing drivers actually watch and feel using the sensory sound system that conveys the sound with the vibration, sound effects and the 19m-widescreen.

Day 9 Tuesday March 22, 2022 Nagoya, Japan
Today we will visit a Toyota plant for a guided tour. Later we will visit the Kaikan Museum. We also visit the Toyota Automobile Museum which not only contains an interesting collection of Japanese vehicles, but also European cars and a fascinating annex, which contains over 2,000 “cultural goods” detailing the social history of Japan from around the beginnings of the 20th century to the 1970’s.

Day 10 Wednesday March 23, 2022 Nagoya, Japan
This morning we will visit the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry & Technology. It gives you a complete history of the weaving machines and automotive technologies of the Toyota Group. We then visit the Mitsubishi Auto Gallery in Okazaki. The gallery showcases time-honoured cars, ground-breaking cars that have made great achievements in history, competition cars that have been active in motor sports, etc., and the concepts that have been handed down in Mitsubishi’s history of creating cars and the modern concept it introduces.

Day 11 Thursday March 24, 2022 Komatsu, Japan
This morning we travel to Komatsu. On arrival we will visit the Motor Car Museum of Japan with over 500 vehicles displayed in a 12,000 sqm exhibition hall. Cars from various countries and eras are exhibited, with sections dedicated to certain manufacturers or categories. In particular, there is a section dedicated to several Japan-made commercial vehicles on display. We then check in to our nearby hotel.

Day 12 Friday March 25, 2022 Kyoto
This morning we travel south to Kyoto. On arrival we meet our guide for an overview sightseeing tour before transferring to our hotel in Kyoto. We will visit the Philosopher’s Path, a pleasant stone path through the northern part of Kyoto’s Higashiyama district that follows a canal, lined by hundreds of cherry trees (we might see early signs of cherry blossom-cherry trees bloom in late April). Later we visit the Imperial Palace, which was the residence of the Imperial family until the capital was moved to Tokyo in 1869. Within the Imperial Palace grounds, which are enclosed by a roofed earthen wall, are the Seiryo-den (Palace Hall) and the Kogosho (Minor Palace) – reminiscent of the dynastic age.

Day 13 Saturday March 26, 2022 Kyoto
Today our sightseeing tour of Kyoto commences at Kinkakuji, better known as the Golden Pavilion, a Zen temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors are

Day 14 Sunday March 27 2022 Kyoto, Japan
Today we will attend the the Concorso d’Eleganza in the grounds of the Nijo Castle, a former Imperial villa and one of Japan’s most prominent World Cultural UNESCO Heritage Sites. The Concourse has an Italian name because the event focuses on Italian cars. Legendary vintage cars, award winners of many Concours events throughout the world, and precious cars which might only be seen once in a lifetime, will be exhibited at the Nijo Castle, a special location with more than 400 years of history. This Exhibition of Concours will take place in the areas of the Nijo Castle including the Courtyard of Ninomaru Palace, the Front Garden of the Kitchen, and the Kitchen; all these areas are normally closed to the public, but will be opened on the occasion of this exclusive event. A highlight of the tour.

Day 15 Monday March 28, 2022 Hiroshima, Japan
Today we are transferred to the railway station for our exciting Bullet Train ride on the famous Shinkansen train, travelling up to 270 kmph to Hiroshima, the largest city in the Chugoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. On arrival we enjoy an orientation sightseeing tour of Hiroshima including a visit to the Peace Memorial Park and see the Genbaku Dome, the surviving portion of a structure that crumbled in the explosion. We then check in to our hotel.

Day 16 Tuesday March 29, 2022 Hiroshima, Japan
This morning we take the short ferry ride and visit the Itsukushima Shrine, a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima, best known for its “floating” torii gate and Japanese gardens. The afternoon is free for independent activity.

Day 17 Wednesday March 30, 2022 Hiroshima, Japan
Today we visit the Mazda automobile manufacturing complex in Aki for a guided tour of the facility. Producing over one million vehicles each year Mazda is one of Japan’s leading automotive manufactures and is an innovative player in the Japanese auto industry. For instance, in 1991 Mazda became the first and only Japanese company to win the Le Mans Grand Prix. Continuing efforts to create more efficient vehicles include improving its version of rotary engines. The Hiroshima complex is also the global headquarters of the company. Following the tour of the plant we will visit the Mazda Museum. The museum offers an overview of Mazda’s history, a look into the technology of its automobiles and the prospects for its future developments.

Day 18 Thursday March 31, 2022 Departure
This morning, we travel to the airport for our flights back to Australia.

Day 19 Friday April 1, 2022 Arrival Australia
The group arrives in Australia and tour arrangements conclude. completely covered in gold leaf. Formally known as Rokuonji, the temple was the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and according to his will, it became a Zen temple of the Rinzai sect after his death in 1408. We then visit the Ryoanji Temple, the site of Japan’s most famous rock garden. Originally an aristocrat’s villa during the Heian Period, the site was converted into a Zen temple in 1450 and belongs to the Myoshinji School of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism. Later we visit Gion, Kyoto’s most famous geisha district made famous from the novel and film Memoirs of a Geisha. It is filled with shops, restaurants and ochaya (teahouses), where geisha and maiko (geisha apprentices) entertain. The afternoon is free for independent activity.