Geography Trip to Japan

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Japan is a country shaped (and reshaped) by the Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide, earthquakes are a lived reality, and volcanoes dominate both landscapes and lives. 

For students, this turns abstract processes into something tangible, immediate and memorable.

Picture your group standing in Tokyo, one of the world's largest cities, learning how the Japanese prepare for seismic risk at the Rinkai Natural Disaster Prevention Park. Students don't just hear about hazard management. They experience it. They see how planning, engineering and education reduce risk in a high-pressure urban environment. 

Then there's Mount Fuji. Iconic. Powerful. A perfect case study of volcanic processes, hazards and human interaction with the physical environment (geography doesn't get much more vivid than this). 

In Fukushima, students engage with recent history at the Great East Japan Eathquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum. It's a thoughtful, carefully curated visit that brings together tectonics, energy, decision-making and long-term impacts on communities. 

Geography Trip to Japan

From

£2999PP

8 days, 6 nights

Need something bespoke?

Suggested Itinerary

Day 1

Evening

Flight to Japan

Day 2

Morning

Arrive in Tokyo and transfer to your accommodation. 

Afternoon

Explore Shinjuku, one of Tokyo’s lively districts, famous for its neon-lit streets, bustling atmosphere, and skyscrapers.

Visit the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and enjoy panoramic views of the city from its observation deck, with the chance to see Mount Fuji on a clear day.

Evening

Evening meal at hotel or local restaurant.

Day 3

Morning

Visit Meiji Jingu, a Shinto shrine providing a peaceful escape and a glimpse into traditional Japanese culture.

Continue to Harajuku, Tokyo’s hub of eclectic fashion, stylish boutiques, and youth culture, including the famous Takeshita-dori and nearby Cat Street.

Stroll along Omotesando, a stylish tree-lined avenue known as the 'Champs-Élysées' of Tokyo.

Afternoon

Experience the bustling energy of Shibuya Crossing, one of the world’s busiest pedestrian intersections, illuminated by dazzling neon lights.

Finish your day in Asakusa, home to the Kaminarimon Gate, Sensoji Temple, and the Nakamise shopping street.

Evening

Evening meal at hotel or local restaurant.

Day 4

Morning

Visit Miraikan, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, exploring exhibits on Earth’s future, robotics, space exploration, and sustainable technologies.

Explore Odaiba, a futuristic waterfront district known for its shopping malls, entertainment complexes, and views of Tokyo Bay.

Afternoon

Visit Rinkai Disaster Prevention Park Headquarters, a unique facility featuring interactive exhibits and realistic simulations that teach disaster preparedness.

Immerse yourself in TeamLab, a digital art experience where interactive, large-scale installations seamlessly blend art and technology.

Evening

End the day in Akihabara, Tokyo’s famous electric town, renowned for its tech shops, anime culture, and gaming scene.

Evening meal at hotel or local restaurant.

Day 5

Morning

Visit Oishi Park, where you can enjoy views of Lake Kawaguchi with Mount Fuji rising in the background on a clear day.

Continue to Arakurayama Sengen Park, home to the Chureito Pagoda and Arakura Fuji Sengen Shrine, with one of Japan’s famous panoramic views of Mount Fuji.

Afternoon

Stroll along Honcho Street, lined with local stores and cafés and distant views of Mount Fuji.

Visit Oshino Hakkai, a picturesque village celebrated for its eight crystal-clear spring ponds fed by Mount Fuji’s snowmelt, offering a glimpse into traditional rural life.

Evening

Evening meal at hotel or local restaurant. 

Day 6

Morning

Take an express train to Futaba (Tourist Class, reserved seats, approx. 3 hours) through scenic Japanese countryside.

Begin Fukushima sightseeing with a tour in Futaba, a town deeply shaped by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, offering insights into its past, ongoing recovery, and hopes for the future.

Afternoon

Visit The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum to learn about the 2011 disaster, explore stories of resilience, and gain insight into ongoing recovery efforts.

Continue to Ukedo Elementary School, a preserved disaster heritage site.

Stop at a 150-year-old traditional Japanese home where you can learn about black garlic production and the region’s Samurai heritage, including the famous Soma Nomaoi festival.

Evening

Evening meal at hotel or local restaurant. 

Day 7

Morning

Visit the TEPCO Decommissioning Archive Centre to gain a deeper understanding of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident and its ongoing decommissioning efforts.

Participate in a workshop to hear a firsthand account from a disaster survivor, offering a personal perspective on their experiences.

Afternoon

Explore Okuma Nexus Strawberry Farm, a data-driven farm showcasing innovative agricultural techniques and the region’s recovery efforts.

Take an express train back to Tokyo.

Evening

Evening meal at hotel or local restaurant. 

Enjoy free time to explore more of the city at your leisure or relax at your hotel. 

Day 8

Morning

Return flight to the UK. 

Afternoon

Arrive back in the UK. 

  • 6 nights' half-board accommodation
  • Airport taxes and passenger duty at current rates
  • ATOL protected return flights from the UK
  • Coach and rail transfers
  • Detailed information pack
  • Free staff place ratio 1:10
  • Itinerary planning service
  • Public transport and private transfers with local guide
  • Vamoos travel app - giving you access to all your trip documents on your phone or tablet
  • VAT at current rates to tour operators

Curriculum

A Level
  • Earth structure and plate tectonics
  • Different types of volcanoes and volcanic eruptions
  • Human responses to natural hazards
  • Managing tectonic hazards - predictions and forecasting
  • Geohazards - seismic activity
  • Urban growth and change
  • Environmental and social challenges
  • Sustainable urban development
  • World trade and access to markets (TNCs)
  • Fieldwork
GCSE
  • Plate tectonics theory
  • Living alongside hazards in developed countries
  • Management of tectonic hazards and their effects
  • Monitoring, prediction and protection at plate boundaries
  • Fieldwork
  • Urban growth and change
  • Management of urban resources
  • Gaps in global development
  • Emergence of megacities

Accommodation

Tokyo Central Youth Hostel

Tokyo Central Youth Hostel occupies the 18th and 19th floors of a high-rise building in a very central location, so offers fantastic views over the city, something not usually offered by this style of accommodation. The hostel welcomes guests from all over the world and provides Japanese-style shared baths (separate for ladies/gents), a dining room, a meeting room, a lounge and tourist information centre, making this a great base for exploring Tokyo. Please note that the youth hostel has a curfew of 11pm. Individual room and locker keys provided at check-in.

Tour highlights

See Mt. Fuji

Still classed as an active volcano by geologists, despite not having erupted since 1707, Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan! Despite lying around 100km south-west of Tokyo, it can be seen from the Japanese capital on a clear day. Mount Fuji is one of the country’s ‘Three Holy Mountains’, along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku, and is sacred to both Buddhists and Shintoists. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a national symbol of Japan. Mount Fuji has inspired poets and artists for centuries, placing it right at the heart of traditional Japanese culture - no trip to Japan is complete without a visit here.
Did you know?

Mt. Fuji is actually three volcanoes in one – making it a stratovolcano! The bottom layer is made up of the Komitake volcano, the middle layer is the Kofuji volcano and the top layer, which is the youngest, is Fuji.

Tokyo Rinkai Disaster Prevention Park

Rinkai Disaster Prevention Park is a purpose-built urban space in Tokyo designed to educate people on what they should do when earthquakes and other hazards strike. Students explore how a megacity prepares for risk (from evacuation planning to resilient infrastructure) and see disaster management in action. Urbanisation. Plate tectonics. Climate resilience. All grounded in the real world. Learning sticks best when it’s tangible, and this is applied geography at city scale. Clear. Calm. Powerful.
Did you know?

Japan experiences around 1500 earthquakes per year (which works out at roughly 2-3 per day). The country is also home to around 10% of the world's active volcanoes. For these reasons, Japanese people regularly take part in drills to prepare them for natural disasters.

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum in Fukushima explores the human and physical geography of one of the world’s most significant modern disasters. Through survivor testimony, data and case studies, students examine earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear risk (and how communities respond and recover). The museum builds understanding of hazard management, resilience and long-term impacts in a way no textbook ever could.
Did you know?

The 2011 earthquake that caused the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown was the most powerful ever recorded in Japan. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake was so powerful it actually shifted the Earth off its axis and triggered a huge tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people.

Educational Activities

Lake Ashi

Lake Ashi (Japanese: Ashinoko) was formed in the caldera of Mount Hakone after the volcano's last eruption 3000 years ago.

Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, standing at 3,776 metres high about 60 miles west of Tokyo.

Owakudani Valley

Owakudani is the area around a crater created in the last eruption of Mount Hakone 3000 years ago.

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum offers students a powerful, up-close look at one of the most complex disasters in recent history.

Tokyo Rinkai Disaster Prevention Park

With thousands of earthquakes every year, as well as many active volcanoes and the risk of tsunamis, the Japanese need to be prepared when disaster strikes, and this park is at the heart of those preparations.

Arakurayama Sengen Park

Views of Mount Fuji, cherry blossom and traditional pagodas - you'll find them all in Arakurayama Sengen Park.

Okuma Nexus Strawberry Farm

Visit this cutting-edge strawberry farm in Fukushima.

TEPCO Decommissioning Archive Center

Step into the story of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.

Oshino Hakkai

Explore the 'Eight Springs' of Oshino Hakkai.

Oishi Park

Oishi Park sits on the northern shore of Lake Kawaguchi, offering one of Japan’s most iconic landscapes.

Cultural Activities

Asakusa Area

Asakusa is one of the largest downtown amusement centers in Tokyo and a must for visitors to Japan. It boasts

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Shinjuku is one of Tokyo's liveliest districts, and is famous for its neon-lit streets, buzzing atmosphere and towering skyscrapers.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

For the best views of the city, head up to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building's observation decks. 

Meiji Jingu

Enjoy a moment of serenity at this peaceful Shinto shrine. 

Harajuku, Tokyo

Explore Japanese street fashion and youth culture in buzzing, eclectic Harajuku. 

Odaiba, Tokyo

Explore the waterside area of Odaiba with all its brilliant leisure facilities. 

teamLab, Tokyo

teamLab is a Tokyo-born art collective that blends art, science, technology and the natural world into immersive, interactive environments that dissolve the line between observer and artwork.

Akihabara, Tokyo

Explore Tokyo's famous 'electric town', Akihabara. 

Miraikan, The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation

Step into the future at Miraikan, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.

Samurai Ninja Museum

The Samurai Ninja Museum in Tokyo is an immersive museum where the legendary worlds of samurai and ninja unfold through interactive experiences, storytelling and authentic displays. 

Supporting you every step of the way

Creating your perfect trip

Your quote will be put together by an experienced Tour Adviser who’ll be an expert in the subject area and will know the destination really well too. They’ll work with you to create a trip to suit your group’s needs and meet your learning objectives.

Launching your trip to parents and students

The next step is to get your trip approved and then get students signed up to it. Our ‘Trip Launch Pack’ will help you with this step. This is full of resources (all free to download) designed to make your life easier at this crucial point in the trip planning process.

After you’ve booked

Once you’ve booked, your dedicated Itinerary Coordinator will start work on the finer details. They’ll make sure your itinerary makes the most of your time and they’ll take on most of the admin tasks for your trip (freeing you up to do what you do best – teach).

Support while you’re away

From lost property to properly lost, we’ll always be on the end of the phone while you’re out on the trip. You’ll get a final info pack before you go, as well as access to all your trip documents via the Vamoos app.

After your trip

We’ll ask you for feedback, so we can improve our service. Let’s start planning your next trip too, so parents have plenty of time to pay (and so it’s less stressful for you). And don’t forget to head to our resources hub to continue the learning back in the classroom.

Let's chat!

Running a major school trip to Japan for the first time had the potential to be a highly stressful and exhausting experience. Halsbury Travel did everything that we could hope for and more to make the trip logistics manageable and help us to focus on making it a highly worthwhile and enjoyable learning experience for our young people. It was so reassuring to know Halsbury were only an email or phone call away at all times and they were always very quick and helpful when responding to any issues that arose on the trip. I would recommend them without hesitation.

George Heriot's School - Senior School

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Geography Trip to Japan | Halsbury Travel