15 Nights Japan Highlights and Raja Ampat

Trip Itinerary

Day 1 - Tokyo

Day 1 - Arrive in Tokyo

Upon your arrival at the airport, meet our friendly representative who will welcome you. Enjoy a convenient, hassle-free transfer to your accommodation.

The Gate Ginza combines an excellent location with four-star level luxury. It is located a five-minute walk from the imperial palace gardens in the heart of the upscale Ginza district. Guests staying in the Luxe rooms have access to the exclusive ruse rooftop terrace the bar, and the restaurant, with its views of the surrounding cityscape.

Day 2 - Tokyo Metropolis Photography Private Morning Tour

This morning head out for a wonderful way to explore the city, on a photography tour. Start the adventure just before sunset to take advantage of the best light conditions. Meet the photographer at Shimbashi station and get acquainted with the necessary photography techniques for this adventure. Away from the usual touristy tracks, shoot the first half of the adventure in Shimbashi. You will learn how to create fascinating and ‘japanartistic’ images out of the mundane. Take a short train ride to the next station and change scenery completely. Capture life in the untidy and colourful eateries and other entertainment districts.  Finally, the adventure concludes on an observation deck in front of newly renovated Tokyo Station.

Surrounded by woodland, this upscale hot spring hotel has beautiful views of Mount Hakone. Amenities consist of 2 restaurants, a bar, and a spa in a garden setting, plus a gender-segregated, communal bathhouse offering indoor baths and an infinity pool with hot spring water.

Day 3 - Day at Leisure in Hakone

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​Today head out to explore Hakone National Park today at your leisure, using the mountain railway, cable cars, ropeways, ships across Lake Ashi and local buses. Tonight you will have a delicious dinner arranged at your accommodation this evening.

Relax in the Hakone hot spring baths  at your ryokan inn. Followed by a hearty Japanese breakfast, you’ll be well set up for a day of sightseeing around the national park. First, make your way to the outstanding Hakone Open Air Museum. Here dozens of world class artworks from greats such as Rodin, Moore and Miro are dotted around a beautifully landscaped park. All around are mountains and you may even be able to see the Pacific Ocean in the distance on a clear day.

From here, continue on the Tozan train or walk 10 minutes to Gora Station to take the funicular railway to Sounzan and then the Hakone Ropeway (cable car) up to the volcanic terrain of Owakudani, a fantastic spot on a clear day for views of Mount Fuji. Take the cable car down the other side to Togendai, from where you can pick up the pirate ship across magnificent Lake Ashi. Stand outside on the top deck for fresh air and the best views of the crater lake.  Walk through the old Edo Checkpoint gateways and up to Onshi Hakone Park for more great views across the lake to Mount Fuji.

Explore the volcanic terrain of Owakudani, a fantastic spot on a clear day for views of Mount Fuji. This area of the park is visibly alive, with fumaroles rising from the hillside and the strong smell of sulphur - reminders of just how seismically active Japan is.

Follow in the footsteps of samurai along the old Tokaido Road to the quaint thatched Amazakechaya Teahouse.  From here, you'll be taking succession of trains from Hakone to Yudanaka, where your journey around Japan continues.

Day 4 - Trip to Yudanaka Monkey Park: A Photographer's Paradise

 On this remarkable day trip to Yudanaka Monkey Park in Nagano Prefecture, you'll immerse yourself in the serene beauty of nature while capturing stunning photographs of Japan's famous snow monkeys. Your journey begins early in the morning, ensuring you have ample time to experience the magic of this unique destination.

As you wander through the park, you'll also have the chance to photograph other elements of the stunning landscape, including the dense forests, flowing streams, and picturesque snow-capped peaks.

Day 5 - Transfer to Tokyo

The Gate Ginza combines an excellent location with four-star level luxury. It is located a five-minute walk from the imperial palace gardens in the heart of the upscale Ginza district.

Day 6 - Transfer to Jakarta

Day 6 - Transfer to Jakarta

Today guests have a free meaning to explore Tokyo's 20th century through its museums. This morning, exploring two distinct museums that offer poignant reflections on the nation's past. Begin by taking a short train ride to Koganei Park, home to the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum.

Meet our travel representative in the lobby of your accommodation, you will be flying to Jakarta to continue your adventure where you will be met on arrival by a friendly travel representative and be transferred to your hotel for the night, Mandarin Oriental. Conveniently located in the financial and diplomatic district, Mandarin Oriental, Jakarta is the most luxurious hotel in this exciting city.

Day 7 - Fly from Jakarta to Sorong

After a relaxing evening, today you will fly to Sorong to start your Sea Trek element of your exciting trip.

You will be greeted by your SeaTrek tour leader at the airport in the morning and taken to the boat, and after settling into your new home for the next ten days we will set course for the southernmost islands part of the Raja Ampat National Park.

After an alfresco lunch, we will stop off for our first swim and snorkel of the voyage on a coral reef, before continuing on our way south. Pre-dinner cocktails will be served on the back deck as the sun goes down and brings an end to our first day as we cruise on through the night.

Days 8 - 15: SeaTrek

Day 8 - SeaTrek

Today we wake up at the eastern end of the Misool archipelago, a picturesque chain of jungle-covered limestone islets with spectacular corals reefs offering some fantastic snorkelling.

Spend the day exploring the many inlets and bays and beaches with some trekking, swimming and snorkelling. We will also break out the kayaks and paddle boards for some seaborne adventuring.

After our full day of island-hopping we will spend a quiet night at anchor under the stars.

Day 9 - Snorkelling through caves

After an early breakfast, the day starts with a swim and a snorkel through a giant dome-roofed sea cave filled with massive stalagmites and stalactites, undoubtedly one of the areas most memorable experiences.

We will then move on to the mysterious stingless jellyfish lake, one of only 20 in the world where these amazing creatures exist and swim amongst the many thousands of stingless animals.

Using our tenders, we will visit some mysterious skull cairns in sea-cave cemeteries, and prehistoric cave paintings, estimated to be anything between 3,000 to 5,000 years old and depicting various human figures and huge human hands, fish and flowers.

Day 10 - Birding Tour

Today we will try our best to see the Lesser Birds of Paradise in the wild, an unforgettable experience for anyone lucky enough to see them. We will rise early and walk through the forest to hopefully see the birds as they dance around in their ‘lekking’ trees.

In the afternoon, an underwater exploration will take place as we snorkel around one of the best coral reefs in the world. School of fish hanging out in the deep and colourful sea fans sticking out of the wall.

Late in the afternoon, we will be watching the sunset while sailing our way to Batanta island.

Day 11 - Explore Batanta Island

Today, the island of Batanta offers us a change of scenery and a chance to stretch our legs with an adventurous jungle trek filled with birds, butterflies and insects.

Begin at a local village, our guides will lead us through the forest on a short walk to the first of two waterfalls, where we can swim and cool off.

After getting back to the boat and having lunch, we will go snorkelling and get the paddle boards and kayaks in the water, before heading north later in the afternoon and overnight cruise to a beautiful group of islands.

Day 12 - Visit a Pearl Farm

In the morning, visit a pearl farm tucked away in a protected, deep water cove and tour the facilities to learn how this precious commodity is produced and harvested. Pearling is an important industry and provides employment for many people in the local area.

We will spend the afternoon snorkelling and kayaking amongst three small islands linked together by some pristine coral reefs, or you can simply choose to relax on the beach.

Day 13 - Explore Limestone Islands

This morning will explore a small group of limestone islands filled with coves and beautiful reefs.  After breakfast, we will go ashore for a short climb to a vantage point where we can survey our beautiful surroundings, before heading out to snorkel on the beautiful reefs.

During lunch we will head to a small island located between Gam and Mansuar where the currents bring rich nutrients to the coral reefs. The three famous jetties offer so much underwater life scenery – schools of fish, the shy black tip reef sharks, the elegant spadefish and the magnificent giant clams.

Day 14 - Yenbesir Village

Central Raja Ampat stores many magical underwater gems. Today, we will be exploring some of them. We start with an epic snorkel at Yenuba, home to the magical “Fishbowl”, where hundreds of species can be found along this fantastic reef and jetty that is simply teeming with fish of all sizes and a massive diversity of coral species.

Another underwater adventure awaits in the afternoon as we make our way to the eastern point of Mansuar, famous for its school of big fish and turtles. Later in the afternoon we will head ashore at Yenbesir village to see a replica of Alfred Russel Wallace’s jungle hut, built by local villagers out of wood and local plant materials with SeaTrek support. We access this via a narrow channel through the mangroves and may have the chance to see cockatoos, hornbills and other birds.

Day 15 - Forest Walk

Today sees a super early start as we head off into the forest in search of the incredible Red Bird of Paradise. The walk takes about 40 minutes, and as we arrive at the bird site at dawn, if we are lucky, we will see the incredible mating displays of these birds in the canopy of the rainforest. This is a David Attenborough moment if ever there was one.

Back on the boat we will head off for some more great snorkelling in the famous wall on the east of Gam Island before we sail overnight to an island nearby Sorong.

Day 16 - Departure

Today is the last day of our adventure and we will wake up anchored in Sorong and have one last hearty breakfast on board before saying farewell to our crew and your fellow travellers before making our way to the airport or hotel for the next phase of your journey.

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