EL SOL TRAVEL & TOURS SDN BHD - 54B, 1st Flr, Jln Desa Bakti, Tmn Desa, 58100 KL

Tel: 603 7984 4560 Fax: 7984 4561 david@elsoltravel.com www.elsoltravel.com

1945 - 2020: 75th Anniversary of End of Second World War

8D6N APR 12-19 …from War to Peace & Friendship Tour

Hiroshima, Kure, Itsukushima, Sasebo

& Nagasaki …plus Iwakuni, Shimonoseki & Fukuoka

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS: Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, commemorating victims of the 1st atomic bombing,

including the UNESCO World Heritage Atomic Bomb Dome Memorial

Kure, former Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) wartime port and currently a base for JMSDF

(Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force); visit Yamato Museum (with 1/10 scale 86 feet

model of Yamato battleship) & JMSDF Museum Kure (main exhibit, submarine Akishio)

Nagasaki Peace Park, commemorating victims of the 2nd atomic bombing

Nagasaki’s heritage from initial trading & religious contact with Western countries:

Dejima Island, Glover Garden & Oura Cathedral.

Sasebo, former Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) wartime port and currently base for the US

Navy and JMSDF; visit JMSDF Museum Sasebo (historical coverage of Japan’s navy

including during Second World War) & enjoy Sailor’s Beef Stew and Bean Soup (once

served aboard IJN warships), plus the current American influenced Sasebo Burgers!

Itsukushima Shinto Shrine (UNESCO World Heritage) with its famous Floating Torii Gate

Iwakuni’s Kintai Bridge; Japan’s most beautiful wooden arch bridge

Walk under the sea from Honshu Island to Kyushu Island via the Kanmon Straits Tunnel!

D1 APR 12 SUN: KLIA2 airport / Don Muang airport departure

11.50pm departure from KLIA2 (AirAsiaX) or Don Muang (Thai Lion Air), bound for Fukuoka.

D2 APR 13 MON: Fukuoka - Iwakuni - Hiroshima (L)

7am/7.30am Fukuoka airport arrival. Meet tour guide and transfer (about 4hr), from Kyushu

island across Kanmon Straits to Honshu island; to Iwakuni city, of Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Arrival Iwakuni for lunch. Then, a photo stop at statue of Kikkawa Hiroyoshi (a leader of

the Kikkawa Samurai Clan that controlled Iwakuni in the past), walk past some old samurai

family residences and then visit and walk on the Kintai Bridge (this 5 arched wooden

bridge, built in 1673 and rebuilt in 1953 after a typhoon, is considered the most beautiful

wooden arch bridge of Japan).

2pm, transfer to Hiroshima, arrival about 3pm. Hiroshima city, the capital of Hiroshima

Prefecture, was an important industrial and port city since Emperor Meiji’s time.

Visit Hiroshima Castle Park grounds for a photo of the castle from outside (Ticket to enter

castle excluded; you can visit if time is available). Hiroshima Castle, also called Carp Castle,

was constructed in the 1590s as the home of the local feudal lord. After destruction by the

atomic bombing, it was rebuilt and is now a museum of Hiroshima's post-war history.

Transfer to Hondori Arcade, the biggest shopping street (577m from east to west) in

Hiroshima. (Dinner on own budget here). Transfer to check-in hotel. Overnight in Hiroshima.

D3 APR 14 TUE: Hiroshima - Itsukushima - Hiroshima (B/L/D)

After breakfast, transfer to visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park which is dedicated to the

legacy of Hiroshima as the first city in the world to suffer a nuclear attack (on Aug 6, 1945),

to the memories of the bomb's direct and indirect victims (of whom there may have been as

many as 140,000) and to advocate world peace.

At the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, you will visit:

a) Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Atomic Bomb Dome), the skeletal ruins of the former

Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall after it was destroyed by the atomic bomb.

The building was originally designed by the Czech architect Jan Letzel and completed in Apr

1915. It is the building closest to the hypocenter of the atomic bomb blast that remained at

least partially standing. Because the explosion was almost directly overhead, the building

was able to retain its shape. It was listed as UNESCO World Heritage on Dec 7, 1996.

b) Peace Memorial Museum, established Aug 1955, is dedicated to educating visitors about

the role of Hiroshima in the war up to the bombing, the bombing and its effects.

c) National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, was built in 2002 to

remember and mourn the atomic bomb victims; and as an expression of Japan's desire for

genuine and lasting peace. Near the entrance is a clock frozen at 8:15am, the time the bomb

went off. The Hall of Remembrance, contains a 360-degree panorama of the destroyed

Hiroshima recreated using 140,000 tiles (the estimated number of victims by end of 1945).

d) Memorial Cenotaph, built Aug 6, 1952, is a concrete, saddle-shaped monument that

covers a cenotaph holding the names of all of the people killed by the bomb. The monument

is aligned to frame the Peace Flame and the A-Bomb Dome. The arch shape represents a

shelter for the souls of the victims.

e) Flame of Peace, another monument to the victims of the bomb, with a flame that has

burned continuously since it was lit in 1964. The flame will remain lit until all nuclear bombs

on the planet are destroyed and the planet is free from the threat of nuclear annihilation.

f) Children Peace Monument, a statue dedicated to the memory of the children who died as

a result of the bombing. The statue is based on the true story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl

who died from radiation from the bomb. She is known for folding over 1,000 paper cranes as

in Japanese culture, a 1,000 paper cranes are often given to a person who is seriously ill, to

wish for the person's recovery.

g) Korean Atomic Bomb Memorial, decorated with Korean national symbols, is intended to

honour Korean victims and survivors of the atomic bomb (estimated 45,000) and Japanese

colonialism.

After lunch, go on a cruise to Itsukushima Island (also known as Miyajima Island “Shrine

Island”, due to the famous shrine on the island). On arrival at Itsukushima island, visit:

a) Itsukushima Shrine, is a Shinto shrine complex, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage

site and famous for its "floating" torii gate. Said to be first erected in 593 A.D. with many

changes through the passage of time, the shrine complex now consists of two main

buildings: the Honsha shrine and the Sessha Marodo-jinja, as well as 17 other different

buildings and structures.

b) Senjo-kaku, literally "Pavilion of 1000 mats", is the largest structure on the island.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, started construction of Senjokaku as a Buddhist library in which the

chanting of Senbu-kyo sutras could be held for fallen soldiers. He was the Japanese warrior

commander who completed the military unification of the country in the late 16th century and

undertook two invasions of Korea in the 1590s. However, he died in 1598 and the building

was never fully completed. After the Meiji reformation, the structure was converted into a

Shinto shrine dedicated to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

c) Daishoin Temple, a historic temple of the Omura branch of Japanese Shingon Buddhism

and the 14th temple in the Chugoku 33 Kannon (Avalokitesvara / Guan Yin) Pilgrimage list.

d) Mt. Misen, take a return ropeway trip up to the highest point of the island (535m height).

e) Enjoy sunset overlooking The Great Floating Torii Gate and the Inland Sea. The view

from the Itsukushima shrine looking towards the Torii Gate and the Inland Sea is one of

"The Three Best Views of Japan" named by Japanese scholar Hayashi Gaho in 1643.

Transfer back to Hiroshima for dinner. Overnight in Hiroshima.

D4 APR 15 WED: Hiroshima - Kure - Shimonoseki (B/L/D)

After breakfast, transfer to Kure, a port and shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea

in Hiroshima Prefecture. With a strong industrial heritage, Kure hosted the Kure Naval

Arsenal (established 1895), the second-oldest and largest naval dockyard in Japan that was

of crucial importance for Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second World War (oldest is at

Yokosuka, established 1866). Today, Kure is a base for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense

Force (JMSDF).

Visit JMSDF Kure Museum. The museum introduces the history of JMSDF (Japan Maritime

Self-Defense Force) as well as historical relationship between the city of Kure and JMSDF

through exhibits concerning development and current status of submarines; and military

history and operations of minesweepers. The main exhibit here is the Akishio (SS-579), a

diesel-electric submarine of Yushio-class that served with JMSDF from 1986 to 2004.

Visit Kure Maritime Museum, better known as Yamato Museum due to its star exhibit, 1/10

scale model of the battleship Yamato (86 feet long). Yamato and her sister ship Musashi,

were the largest battleships ever built and armed with the largest guns ever mounted on a

battleship (they fired a shell of 18.1-inch diameter). The Yamato was sunk by US Navy

aircraft on April 7, 1945, south of Kyushu island when she was en route to stop the US

invasion of Okinawa island. The museum was built at the spot where Yamato’s hull was laid

up on 4 Nov, 1937 and she was launched on 8 Aug, 1940. At the museum, there are many

Imperial Japanese Navy exhibits such as a Mitsubishi A6M7 Zero model 62 fighter aircraft,

a Kaiten manned suicide torpedo and a Kairyu-class midget submarine.

Proceed for lunch, which include Navy Beef Curry

with Rice, traditionally and still served on board

Navy ships (Alternative chicken or fish dish provided

for non-beef eaters). Then visit Alley Karasukojima,

the public park in Kure where JMSDF ships and

submarines at port can be seen up close.

Transfer to Shimonoseki, a city in Yamaguchi Prefecture, located at the southwestern tip of

Honshu island. Opposite, across the Kanmon Straits, is Kitakyushu city of Kyushu island.

The city was where the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed on 17 Apr 1895, between the

Empire of Japan and the Qing dynasty, ending the First Sino-Japanese War. It resulted in

China handing over Taiwan, Penghu islands and Port Arthur to Japan.

Short photo stop at Dan-no-ura Memorial, commemorating

the Battle of Dan-no-ura, a major sea battle that took place on

24 Apr 1185; where the fleet of the Minamoto clan defeated

the fleet of the Taira clan. The memorial’s statues depict

Yoshitsune (the victorious Minamoto general) and Taira no

Tomomori (the losing Taira general who committed suicide by

tying an anchor to his feet and leaping into the sea).

6.30pm, arrival for dinner and then check in hotel. Overnight in Shimonoseki.

D5 APR 16 THU: Shimonoseki – (Tunnel Walk) - Kitakyushu - Nagasaki (B)

After breakfast, visit Karato Fish Market. Shimonoseki is called the

"Fugu Capital" as the city is the largest harvester of fugu

(Japanese Pufferfish). Despite its highly toxic poison in its organs,

fugu has been eaten in Japan for hundreds of years. Fugu is

commonly available in restaurants and supermarkets throughout

Japan; but it must be prepared by a licensed chef and home

preparation is prohibited. The Japanese royal family is forbidden from eating it.

Then descent into the Kanmon Straits Pedestrian

Tunnel where you will walk under the Kanmon Straits

(780m distance), crossing from Honshu Island to Kyushu

Island. Halfway, stop to take a photo at the marker

indicating the midway point between Honshu and

Kyushu. Emerge on Kyushu Island at Kitakyushu city.

(for those not walking; transfer by bus to Kitakyushu)

Transfer to Nagasaki, capital of Nagasaki Prefecture, with lunch on own budget en-route.

Nagasaki is famous for being the place where early contact and trading between Japanese

and Westerners occurred (beginning with the Portuguese in 1543); and infamous for being

the 2nd Atomic Bomb target on 9 Aug, 1945.

Visit Oka Masaharu Memorial Nagasaki Peace Museum, which was set up by private

citizens despite opposition from many Japanese, to reveal the reality of aggression by the

Japanese Empire during the Sino-Japanese War and the Second World War.

Visit Megane Bridge, built in 1634 across Nakashima River

by the Chinese monk Mokusunyoujo of Kofukuji Temple.

Together with Edo's Nihonbashi and Iwakuni's Kintaikyou

bridges, it is among the oldest stone arch bridges in Japan. It

is called "Spectacles Bridge" because its reflection on the

river’s surface is like the oval lens of olden-style spectacles.

Then visit Dejima, a man-made island in the bay of Nagasaki,

constructed in 1636 to segregate Portuguese residents from

the Japanese population and control their missionary activities.

After the Portuguese were expelled from Japan, the Dutch

Trading Station in Hirado was moved to Dejima. The Dutch

were restricted to Dejima during Japan's two centuries of

isolation. Today, the island does not exist due to land

reclamation but a number of Dejima's historical structures remain or have been

reconstructed. (Dinner on own budget here)

Check in hotel and overnight in Nagasaki.

D6 APR 17 FRI: Nagasaki (B/D)

After breakfast, visit the area that was at the center of the 2nd atomic bombing:

a) Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall, built to commemorate those who lost their

lives in the Aug 9, 1945 2nd Atomic Bombing.

b) Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, which covers the bombing, events leading to it and

the development of nuclear weapons.

c) Nagasaki Peace Park, with Peace Statue by Nagasaki-born sculptor Seibo Kitamura.

d) Atomic Bomb Hypocentre marker, the point directly under the exploding bomb.

e) Urakami Cathedral, built by local Japanese-Christians from 1895 onwards and

completed in 1925. Until its destruction by the Atomic Bombing, it was the largest

Christian structure in the Asia-Pacific region. A new cathedral was completed by Oct

1959 on the original site while at the same time leaving some remnants of a wall from the

destroyed old cathedral was kept untouched for posterity.

Lunch on own budget at Shinchi, the oldest Chinatown in Japan

and the best place to eat Nagasaki's famous, Chinese-influenced

dishes, Chanpon and Sara Udon. During Japan's era of isolation,

like Dejima for the Dutch, Shinchi was the area where the

Chinese were allowed to reside and trade.

Visit Site of the Martyrdom of the 26 Saints. Nagasaki

was one of the earliest places where Christianity took hold

on Japan (St. Francis Xavier landed at Kagoshima on 15

Aug, 1549). However, from 1597 onwards, the Japanese

Shogunate government banned Christianity and persecuted

Christians. Japan evicted most foreigners and entered a

period of isolation from outside world, which was to last until 1853. 26 Catholics (four

Spaniards, one Mexican, one Portuguese from India (all of whom were Franciscan

missionaries), three Japanese Jesuits, and 17 Japanese Catholics were executed in

Nagasaki on 15 Feb, 1597. They were canonized on 8 June, 1862 by Pope Pius IX and on

June 1962, this museum and monument was built on the site of their martyrdom.

Then visit Glover Garden, an open-air museum

exhibiting mansions of several of the city's former foreign

residents and related buildings. It is located on the hill

where Western merchants settled down after the end of

Japan's era of seclusion in the second half of the 19th

century. Here you will visit:

a) Mitsubishi No. 2 Dock Building, a former dock house that has been moved to the top of

Glover Garden. During the Second World War, it presided over the city's important shipyard,

which was the intended target of the atomic bomb.

b) Walker House, which belonged to Walker brothers from England, Wilson (1845-1914)

and Robert (1851-1941), both ship captains and shipping industry pioneers.

c) Ringer House, has been in its original location since it was built in 1865. It was the home

of Englishman, Frederick Ringer (1838–1907), a British tea inspector turned entrepreneur.

He took over Thomas Glover's role as leader in the Nagasaki foreign settlement.

d) Alt House, built in 1865, this is the largest of the historic houses in the hillside Glover

Garden and one of the few still in its original location. It was the home of Englishman,

William Alt, another successful tea trader and active member of Nagasaki expat community.

e) Glover House (UNESCO World Heritage site and Japan's oldest wooden Western-style

building), former home of Thomas Blake Glover (1838–1911), the Scottish merchant and

industrialist whose arms-importing operations played an important part in the Meiji

Restoration. He built Japan’s first train line (between Tokyo and Yokohama), helped

establish Japan’s first modern shipyard and was one of the founders of Kirin beer.

f) Madame Butterfly Statue, which memorialises Japanese opera singer Tamaki Miura

(1884-1946) performance as Cio-Cio-san in Puccini's famous opera Madame Butterfly. The

opera’s story takes place in Nagasaki after the end of Japan’s period of isolation.

g) Nagasaki Traditional Performing Arts Museum, which has a display of dragons and

floats used in Nagasaki's colourful Kunchi Matsuri festival.

Then visit Oura Cathedral (or The Basilica of the Twenty-

Six Holy Martyrs of Japan). Said to be the oldest surviving

church in Japan, it was built by two French priests to honour

the 26 Martyrs of Japan; both had arrived in Nagasaki in

1853 right after Japan period of seclusion from outside world

had ended.

Transfer for dinner. Overnight in Nagasaki.

D7 APR 18 SAT: Nagasaki - Sasebo - Fukuoka (B/L)

After breakfast, transfer to Sasebo, a port city founded on April 1, 1902. The city was the

site of Sasebo Naval Arsenal (established in 1897), one of four principal naval shipyards

owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy (with 50,000 people employed here at

the peak of Second World War). Post-war, United States Fleet Activities Sasebo (to

support the US Pacific Fleet) was formally established on a portion of the former Sasebo

Naval Arsenal. The remaining portion of the shipyards was given into civilian hands with the

establishment of Sasebo Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. shipbuilding company.

A short photo stop at Tono-cho Air Raid

Shelters area, where bomb shelters were

dug into the ground during the war. Now

the bomb shelters are taken up by shops

to form the Tunnel Shopping Arcade.

Then a stop at Sasebo Seaside Park, to see which navy ships are in port.

Visit Sasebo Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces Museum, a

historical material museum, and exhibits materials related to the

Imperial Japanese Navy and the present Japan Maritime Self-

Defense Force.

Next, enjoy your Lunch (Part 1), included in tour package, of Sasebo specialities like:

a) Sasebo Lemon Steak is another cross-culture influenced dish; coming from an idea to

create a steak that was suited to the Japanese (who were not that fond of thick American

style steaks). The juicy, thinly-sliced beef, soy-based sauce and lemon flavour is surprisingly

a good match. Mixing the remaining sauce with rice is the way it's done in Sasebo.

b) Sailor Beef Stew was introduced by Admiral Togo Heihachiro (naval hero of the 1904-

1905 Russo-Japanese War) into the Imperial Japanese Navy cook book, based on his time

spent as a naval cadet student in Britain. Due to Sasebo's history as a naval base, the

Sasebo Beef Stew is a must sample dish for visitors.

c) Navy Port Arrival Azuki Bean sweet dessert is traditionally served on board Imperial

Japanese Navy ships as they return to port to celebrate their safe return home. This tradition

is continued by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. This dish is served at restaurants

around Sasebo city as “Kaigun-san Nyuukou Zenzai”.

*** Alternative Chicken or Fish dishes will be provided for those who don’t eat beef.

Then stopover at Hikari Burger, the Sasebo

Burger pioneer outlet and icon of Sasebo; to

take away your Lunch (Part 2), own your own

budget. To cater to US Navy personnel at

Sasebo base, Mr. Hidenori Fujitani opened the

first burger stall in Japan, Hikari Burger in 1951

(the first McDonald’s only opened in 1971 in

Ginza District, Tokyo!). He learnt how to make burgers from a Japanese-American friend

who worked at the base. More burger outlets appeared. Now a burger outlet is deemed

selling authentic Sasebo burgers only if it is a member of the Sasebo Burger Association!

Transfer to Fukuoka, Kyushu Island's largest city. Due to its

closeness to the Asian mainland (closer to Seoul than to Tokyo), it

is an important harbour city for many centuries. Today's Fukuoka

is the result of the 1889 merger of the port city of Hakata and the

former castle town of Fukuoka. On arrival, photo-stop outside of

the 1989 built Fukuoka Tower, which at 234-meters (768 ft) in

height, is the tallest seaside tower in Japan. The tower appears in the Japanese film Godzilla

vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994), where in the movie, Godzilla destroys the tower.

Visit Tenjin shopping street with the largest underground shopping mall in Kyushu. For

Plastic Scale Modellers, you can shop at the B’s Hobby outlet. (Dinner on own budget)

D7 APR 19 SUN: Fukuoka departure – KLIA2 / Don Muang (B)

After breakfast, transfer to airport for 7.55am flight to KLIA2 or 8.25am flight to Don Muang.

RATES: Ground Tour Package per person, twin sharing basis, minimum 14 persons group

Ringgit Malaysia (payment by cheque / bank in account): RM 6,990 per person

Thai Baht (payment by Bank Telegraph Transfer): THB 56,500 per person

US Dollar (payment by Bank Telegraph Transfer): USD 1,800 per person

Single Supplement (to occupy room alone): RM 1,260 / THB 10,200 / USD 325

Rate & itinerary subject to change due to Foreign Exchange Rate changes, unforeseen

surcharges, weather, local conditions, etc.

INCLUSIVE:

a) Airport transfers (single transfer for the whole group) and tour excursion using tour coach

on private basis from Apr 13 arrival Fukuoka Airport until Apr 19 departure Fukuoka Airport.

b) 3 star hotel accommodation with daily breakfast:

Hiroshima (2 nights): APA Hotel Hiroshima Ekimae Ohashi or similar

Shimonoseki (1 night): Washington Hotel Plaza Eki Nishi or similar

Nagasaki (2 nights): New Tanda Hotel or similar

Fukuoka (1 night): Nest Hotel Hakata or similar

c) 4 Lunch: Apr 13, Apr 14, Apr 15 (Navy Curry set lunch) & Apr 18 (Navy specialties)

3 Dinners: Apr 14, Apr 15 & Apr 17

d) English speaking licensed guide

e) Entrance fees for attractions as indicated per itinerary

f) Tipping for tour guide. No need to tip the driver as in Japanese custom, tipping the driver

is considered rude.

g) Daily bottle of drinking water per person (except on Apr 12 and Apr 19)

EXCLUDING:

a) Air tickets, airport taxes and any taxes related to airports & flights:

FLIGHTS from KLIA2, Malaysia using Air Asia X:

APR 12 SUN D7 538 KUL 2350 FUK 0700 (arrival Apr 13)

APR 19 SUN D7 539 FUK 0755 KUL 1255

FLIGHTS from Don Muang Bangkok, Thailand using Thai Lion Air:

APR 12 SUN SL 314 DMK 2350 FUK 0730 (arrival Apr 13)

APR 19 SUN SL 315 FUK 0825 KUL 1200

b) Malaysia passport: Visa Exemption for up to 90 days visit

Thailand passport: Visa Exemption for up to 15 days visit

Other nationalities to be advised. Travelers to arrange visa themselves with the

Embassy of Japan in respective home countries. Supporting itinerary with Japan tour

operator letter head will be provided if required.

c) 2 Lunch: Apr 16 & Apr 17

3 Dinners: Apr 13, Apr 16 & Apr 18

Apr 18: a stop will be made at historic Hikari Sasebo Burger outlet; food not included.

d) Optional activities not covered in tour package, such as entry into Hiroshima Castle (ticket

on own budget, subject to time available)

e) Travel Insurance – kindly arrange with your insurance agent to cover travel from the date

departing from your home country to the date you arrive back home. Kindly include coverage

for any additional countries that you are stopping over during your travel besides Japan.

f) Expenses of personal nature like drinks ordered during meals, hotel bellboy/porter tipping,

laundry charges, room mini-bar charges, etc.