From Tokyo: 5-Day Chiran & Ibusuki Customizable Tour

Chiran, south of Kagoshima, has a samurai lane with stone walls and hedges. Seven gardens of old samurai homes are open to visitors. Several use clipped trees and the shape of the hills behind as part of the view.

In Chiran you also visit the Chiran Peace Museum. It remembers the young pilots who flew from Chiran at the end of World War Two and did not return. The museum shows their letters and photos. It is a calm, moving place. We visit with respect and take as much time as you need.

Then you drive to Ibusuki at the tip of the Satsuma Peninsula. Here hot spring water heats the sand on the beach. At the sand bath you wear a cotton yukata and lie down, and staff cover you with warm sand for about 10 to 15 minutes. After, you wash in the hot spring bath.

On the way you see Lake Ikeda and the cone of Mount Kaimon, often called Satsuma Fuji.

This is a private tour. Only your group. One van, 1 to 6 people, never shared. Your driver-guide speaks English, and also Hindi and Urdu.

If the sand bath at Ibusuki is closed or cancelled on your date, you can take a full refund of your booking, guaranteed. If you prefer, we can instead take you to an Ibusuki hot spring bath, and add Lake Ikeda with its view of Mount Kaimon.

DAY 1 Pickup at your Tokyo hotel and drive west to Okayama (about 8 to 9 hours with breaks).

DAY 2 Long drive to Kagoshima (about 9 hours with breaks).

DAY 3 Chiran samurai gardens and the Chiran Peace Museum, then on to Ibusuki.

DAY 4 Morning sand bath in Ibusuki and Lake Ikeda, then drive north to Fukuoka.

DAY 5 Drive back to your Tokyo hotel (a very long day of about 13 hours with breaks).