Protocol P-02, Japan
This is our cold-weather protocol. Snow lies deep in the mountains north-west of Tokyo from January, and the towns there were built around water that comes out of the ground too hot to touch.
Duration
7 days
Group
Up to 8
Season
Jan to Feb
Effort
Moderate
Meet at
Hotel hall, Mariánské Lázně
Indicative price
From CZK 98,900 per person
The price is indicative, per person in a shared double room. A manager confirms the final price when you send a request, because flights and hotel rates move with the season.
Expect short walks on packed snow and long hours indoors in wooden inns. The effort comes from the cold rather than the distance, which is why we keep the group to eight and the days to two transfers at most.
Effort profile
Day by day
Day 1
Departure
Breakfast in the hotel, then the drive to Prague airport for the evening flight to Tokyo.
Day 2
Tokyo
Arrival and a quiet day in the city. An evening walk through the old lanes of Yanaka, which escaped the fires of the last century.
Day 3
Karuizawa
The bullet train to Karuizawa, a summer resort that empties in winter. A walk in snowy larch woods and a night in a small inn.
Day 4
Kusatsu
By bus up to Kusatsu. Its centre is the yubatake, a wooden channel where the spring water runs and cools before it reaches the baths. We watch the old paddle ritual that cools the water by hand.
Day 5
Shibu Onsen
Over the pass to Shibu, a lane of inns with nine public baths numbered one to nine. A short walk to the valley where snow monkeys sit in a warm pool.
Day 6
Nagano
Down to Nagano and the great wooden temple of Zenko-ji. Those who wish can walk the dark corridor under the main hall.
Day 7
Home
The train to Tokyo, the flight to Prague and the drive back to Mariánské Lázně.
What we arrange
- Flights from Prague and back
- Rail and bus transport inside Japan
- Six nights in a city hotel and mountain inns
- Breakfast daily and four inn dinners
- Entry to the public baths of Shibu and Kusatsu
- Crampons for the monkey valley path, on loan
What we leave to you
- Lunches
- Ski passes or ski hire
- Travel insurance
- Extra nights in Tokyo, which we can arrange
What to bring
- A warm hat and gloves that can get wet
- Boots with a good sole for packed snow
- Thin layers rather than one thick coat, as the inns are warm
- A small bag for carrying a towel between baths
Kusatsu water is strongly acidic and smells of sulphur. Leave silver jewellery in your room and expect your towel to keep the smell for a day.