Japan: Anime, Innovation & Tradition
Tokyo • Kyoto • Osaka | 9–10 Day Featured Program
Experience Japan through the contrasts that make it one of the world’s most fascinating cultures, from centuries-old temples and rituals to anime, gaming, digital art, and cutting-edge city life.
Students explore how Japan preserves tradition while continually reinventing itself, traveling from Tokyo to Kyoto and Osaka while engaging with food, arts, technology, religion, pop culture, and everyday life. Through hands-on workshops, community engagement, independent exploration, and conversations with local people, students gain a deeper understanding of contemporary Japan while building confidence navigating a culture different from their own.
Explore a Country Where Tradition and Innovation Meet
What Students Explore
TRADITION & CHANGE | Examine how centuries-old traditions, beliefs, and social customs coexist with one of the world’s most technologically advanced societies.
ANIME, MANGA & POP CULTURE | Explore the creative industries and youth cultures that have made Japanese media, design, gaming, and entertainment global phenomena.
INNOVATION & DESIGN | Experience digital art, transportation, urban environments, and design while considering how technology shapes everyday life.
COMMUNITY & EVERYDAY LIFE | Move beyond major tourist sites to experience neighborhoods, markets, rural communities, food, transportation, and daily life.
CULTURAL CONNECTION & INDEPENDENCE | Practice navigating unfamiliar environments, communicating across cultures, and engaging thoughtfully with local communities.
9-10 Day Itinerary
This itinerary explores Japan through a balance of contemporary culture, historical traditions, community engagement, and hands-on experiences.
Your school can customize the program around specific academic themes, student interests, program length, and learning objectives.
Activities listed below are examples and subject to availability and confirmation.
A Program, Built to Be Customized
Day 1 | Welcome to Japan: First impressions of Tokyo
Arrive in Tokyo and begin exploring one of the world’s largest and most dynamic cities.
Meet your EdOdyssey Program Leader, learn to navigate the city’s transportation system, and explore Japanese customs and etiquette before gathering for a welcome dinner.
Sample Experiences:
Tokyo orientation • Public transportation • Japanese etiquette • Neighborhood exploration • Welcome dinner
Day 2 | Old Tokyo & Contemporary Culture: Tradition Meets Modernity
Begin in historic Asakusa and Senso-ji Temple, exploring Japanese religious traditions and the ways historic neighborhoods remain part of contemporary Tokyo.
Then experience a dramatic shift in Akihabara, where anime, manga, gaming, technology, and consumer culture offer a window into modern Japanese identity and Japan’s enormous global cultural influence.
Sample Experiences:
Asakusa • Senso-ji Temple • Nakamise Street • Ramen • Akihabara scavenger hunt
Day 3 | Art, Technology & Contemporary Tokyo: How Japan Reinvents Itself
Discover contemporary Tokyo through immersive digital art at teamLab Borderless, considering how Japanese artists and designers blur the boundaries between technology, environment, and creative expression.
Continue into Shibuya and Harajuku to explore fashion, youth culture, public space, and the energy of modern Tokyo.
Depending on program dates, add a professional sumo tournament or sumo cultural experience to discover the rituals, discipline, and history behind one of Japan’s most recognizable traditions.
Sample Experiences:
teamLab Borderless • Shibuya Crossing • Harajuku • Youth culture • Digital art • Sumo experience
Day 4 | Tokyo to Kyoto: From Megacity to cultural capital
Board Japan’s famous Shinkansen bullet train and travel to Kyoto, experiencing firsthand the infrastructure and efficiency that connect modern Japan.
Explore Gion and Kiyomizu-dera before participating in a traditional tea ceremony, considering how ritual, hospitality, aesthetics, and mindfulness continue to shape Japanese culture today.
Sample Experiences:
Shinkansen • Bento lunch • Gion • Kiyomizu-dera • Tea ceremony • Japanese hospitality
Day 5 | Rural Japan & Community: Beyond Major Cities
Leave urban Kyoto behind for the rural landscapes of Keihoku and experience a side of Japan many visitors never encounter.
Spend the day participating in service learning alongside a local community, learning about rural life, the satoyama landscape, and the relationship between people and the natural environment.
Reflect on the demographic and environmental challenges facing rural communities while considering how service can be approached through listening, partnership, and cultural humility.
Sample Experiences:
Keihoku • Rural community • Service learning • Satoyama landscapes • Local connections • Reflection
Day 6 | Osaka: Food, Neighborhoods & Urban Life
Travel to Osaka and experience a city known for its distinct personality, street food, commercial energy, and neighborhood culture.
Working in small groups with faculty and EdOdyssey leaders, students practice navigating public transportation and exploring the city with greater independence.
Sample Experiences:
Dotonbori • Kuromon Market • Namba • Local food • Small-group exploration • Urban navigation
Day 7 | Arashiyama: Nature, Spirituality & Place
Explore Arashiyama’s bamboo grove, temples, shrines, and surrounding landscape, considering the role of nature in Japanese culture and aesthetics.
Hike to Iwatayama Monkey Park and spend time exploring the district before returning to central Kyoto
Sample Experiences:
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove • Iwatayama Monkey Park • Shrines • Togetsukyo Bridge • Outdoor exploration
Day 8 | Creativity, Food & Global Japan: From Taiko to Manga
Begin with an energetic taiko drumming workshop, experiencing how rhythm, discipline, movement, and teamwork come together in Japanese performance.
Explore Nishiki Market before discovering contemporary Japanese creative culture through manga, gaming, Pokémon, Nintendo, and other globally influential industries.
Finish with a Japanese-style karaoke celebration.
Sample Experiences:
Taiko drumming • Nishiki Market • Manga • Pokémon Center • Nintendo Store • Karaoke
Day 9 | Fushimi Inari & Reflection: What will you take home from japan?
Walk beneath the thousands of red torii gates at Fushimi Inari Shrine, connecting the program’s exploration of tradition, spirituality, landscape, and contemporary life.
Gather for a final reflection on the contrasts students encountered and how traveling through Japan challenged their assumptions about culture, community, technology, and tradition.
Sample Experiences:
Fushimi Inari Shrine • Cultural reflection • Final exploration • Farewell experience
Day 10 | Departure: Sayonara, Japan
Enjoy a final breakfast before transferring to the airport for the journey home.
Students leave Japan with a deeper understanding of another culture, greater confidence navigating unfamiliar environments, and new perspectives on the relationship between tradition and change in a global society.
Sample Experiences:
Breakfast • Airport transfer • Departure
Make this program your own
Start Here. Then Shape Around Your Course.
This itinerary is a starting point. Customize the program length, destinations, academic themes, activities, and cultural experiences to align with your students, course, group size, dates, budget, and learning goals.
Anime, Manga & Creative Industries
Anime • Manga • Gaming • Digital art • Design • Youth culture
Tradition & Japanese Culture
Temples • Shrines • Tea ceremony • Sumo • Taiko • Religious traditions
Technology & Innovation
teamLab • Shinkansen • Urban design • Transportation • Contemporary Tokyo
Community & Society
Rural Japan • Service learning • Community life • Cultural exchange • Sustainability
Food & Everyday Life
Markets • Ramen • Bento • Street food • Neighborhood exploration
Could this work for your students?
Experience the Japan students are excited to discover while going deeper into the culture, communities, traditions, and ideas behind it. Use this itinerary as your starting point or tell us what you'd change. We'll work with you to align the experience with your students, academic objectives, preferred dates, group size, and budget.
Have a different academic focus in mind?