Medicine and Health Care in Japan with the Royal Society of Medicine

Itinerary at a glance

• Day 1: Tokyo (Mon, 8 Nov) Arrive in Tokyo, a vast city encompassing a multitude of distinctive personalities, and transfer to the hotel Villa Fontaine Shiodome before dinner with the group.
• Day 2: Tokyo (Tues, 9 Nov) Walk to visit Jikei University School of Medicine, the only medical school founded during the Meiji era that followed the principles of British medicine. Visit the fashionable Harajuku area and see the intricate woodblock prints at the Woodblock Print Museum. Continue to the Nezu Museum, home to a diverse collection of Japanese and Asian pre-modern art, as well as an exquisite garden. Drive to upmarket Ginza and enjoy a welcome dinner.
• Day 3: Tokyo (Wed, 10 Nov) Experience the history of this modern metropolis, starting with a visit to the fascinating Tokyo-Edo Museum, which preserves the 400-year history of Tokyo and its precursor, Edo. Wander through the historic Asakusa neighbourhood and visit the ancient Buddhist Senso-ji Temple. Cruise through canals to central Tokyo. Walk across Hamarikyu Gardens and visit the National Cancer Centre. Return to the hotel.
• Day 4: Tokyo / Okayama (Thurs, 11 Nov) Take the train to Nagoya. Drive out of the city to Aichi to visit a local clinic and see community-based health care. Continue to Okayama and check into the Granvia Hotel.
• Day 5: Okayama / Kurashiki / Okayama (Fri, 12 Nov) Visit the Korakuen Gardens and see Okayama Castle. Travel to Kurashiki and explore the town’s attractive riverside area, the old merchant’s quarter and the pharmacy museum. At leisure in Kurashiki or option to visit the Ohara Museum of Art before returning to Okayama in the afternoon.
• Day 6: Okayama / Naoshima / Okayama (Sat, 13 Nov) Travel to Naoshima Island (known as ‘Art Island’) on the Inland Sea. Visit the Chichu Art Museum and the Benesse House Museum.
• Day 7: Okayama / Hiroshima (Sun, 14 Nov) Travel to Hiroshima. This city has a cataclysmic past that is today a powerful symbol for world peace. Visit the Peace Memorial Park and Museum with its many poignant exhibits. Continue to the Sheraton Grand Hiroshima Hotel.
• Day 8: Hiroshima (Mon, 15 Nov) Cruise on the Inland Sea past the Torii Shrine to Miyajima Island. Return to the hotel and at leisure.
• Day 9: Hiroshima / Kobe (Tue, 16 Nov) Visit the Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine (RIRBM). Talk: “The clinical radiation effects of the atomic bomb used in Hiroshima and nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima” - Prof. Nobuyuki Hirohashi. Take the train to Himeji and visit Himeji Castle. Take the train to Kobe and check into the Oriental Hotel.
• Day 10: Kobe (Wed, 17 Nov) Visit the fascinating Kobe Earthquake Memorial Museum and learn how Japan deals so effectively with tectonic activity and visit the Sawanotsuru Sake Museum. At leisure with the option to visit the Kitano District. Optional Kobe Beef dinner.
• Day 11: Kobe / Kyoto / Kobe (Thur, 18 Nov) Take the train to Kyoto, Japan’s capital of high culture. Kyoto was the imperial capital between 794 and 1868 and with its hundreds of temples and gardens it remains the cultural centre of Japan. Visit the shimmering medieval Golden Pavilion, with its sensuously contoured temple roofs and Shinto shrines, and take a walking tour through its raked pebble gardens. Travel to Arashiyama and walk through the magnificent Arashiyama bamboo forest. Visit the Actors’ Garden and tea house. Return to Kobe late afternoon.
• Day 12: Kobe / Nara / Kobe (Fri, 19 Nov) Visit Nara, the first capital of Japan. Visit Kōfuku-ji Temple, one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, with a hall with nine golden Buddhas. Explore the gardens and attractive parkland with many ancient temples. Return to Kobe. Farewell dinner
• Day 13: Kobe (Sat, 20 Nov) Depart for airport or extend in Japan.