South Korea & Japan: Seoul to Tokyo
- Tour code
KORJPNADV01
- Start
Seoul
- End
Taipei
- Min. age
16 years old
- Group size
Max 6-16 travellers
- Trip style
Explorer
- Trip pace
Active
- Language
English
Two countries, one unhurried route to the Rotary International Convention. Over fourteen days you travel from Seoul to Tokyo with a Soca Islands Host and a small group of fellow travelers, then continue to Taipei in time for the convention.
The first leg is all Korea. You'll tour Seoul's royal palace, walk Suwon's fortress walls, wander Jeonju's hanok village, see the DMZ up close and head south to Gyeongju and Busan for temples, beaches and night markets.
Then you cross to Japan. Osaka gives you two flexible days, Nara and Kyoto bring deer, shrines, fan painting and lunch with a maiko, and Hakone offers an onsen night before three nights in Tokyo. On the final day you travel on to Taipei for the convention, with your Soca Islands Host looking after the details until then.
High-speed trains and the shinkansen carry you between the big cities, while group transportation handles the touring days. Groups are kept to a maximum of 16 travelers, small enough to share a table and still meet people from other clubs along the way.
Why This Journey
A convention trip is a chance to see a region you might not otherwise get to, and to arrive already knowing a few faces. Korea and Japan sit side by side but feel very different: Korea's palaces, fortress walls and the hard history of the DMZ, then Japan's shrines, ryokan towns and the ordered rush of Tokyo. Seeing them back to back makes both easier to understand.
The route is built for fellowship. Shared lunches in Kyoto and on the shinkansen, a dinner cruise on Tokyo Bay and free days in Osaka and Tokyo give you both time together and time to yourself, so you reach Taipei rested and with new friends for the convention week.
Where You'll Stay
Seoul (3 nights): L7 Myeongdong by LOTTE Hotels. Gyeongju (1 night): Lahan Select Gyeongju. Busan (1 night): L7 Haeundae by LOTTE Hotels. Osaka (2 nights): Cross Hotel Osaka. Kyoto (2 nights): Cross Hotel Kyoto. Hakone (1 night): Fujiya Hotel. Tokyo (3 nights): Mitsui Garden Hotel Ginza Premier. Proposed accommodation (or similar), subject to confirmation. Prices are based on two people sharing a double room with two beds.
Getting There
International Flights Not Included. International airfare to and from the destination is not included in the package price. Travelers are responsible for arranging their own flights and ensuring their arrival and departure align with the trip itinerary. Fly into Incheon International Airport (ICN) in Seoul and out of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) after the convention; arrival and departure airport transfers are included. Please share your confirmed flight details with Soca Islands so we can coordinate applicable arrival and departure arrangements.
What you will see and do
K-pop, Korean food and Seoul's trend-setting streets
Temples and traditional crafts across Japan
From neon cities to mountains, lakes and countryside
What's included
All activities mentioned on the itinerary
Accommodations in double rooms
Experienced Soca Islands Host with you throughout the trip
One farewell group activity when possible
Max 16 travellers per group
Arrival and departure airport transfers
Group transportation
What's excluded
- International flights (travellers arrange their own)
- Travel insurance (required)
- Accommodation in Taipei during the convention
- Meals not listed in the itinerary
- Optional activities and excursions (Osaka food tour, Himeji or Hiroshima day trips)
- Single room supplement (single rooms on request, subject to availability)
- Extra hotel nights before or after the trip
Group itinerary
Land at Incheon International Airport (ICN), where your transfer takes you into the city. Check in, rest after the flight and get your bearings in Myeongdong, where street-food stalls and shops stay busy well into the evening.
This evening you'll meet your Soca Islands Host and the group over a relaxed welcome dinner and your first Korean meal of the trip.
The day opens at Gyeongbokgung, the royal palace that has anchored Seoul since the late 1300s; catch the guard-changing ceremony at the main gate if the schedule allows.
Then head south to Suwon, the fortress city built by King Jeongjo in the 1790s, to walk a stretch of its walls and see Hwaseong Haenggung Palace. After lunch, continue to Jeonju and stroll the Hanok Village, where tiled-roof houses now hold craft studios, tea rooms and small galleries.
Travel north to the Demilitarized Zone, the line that has divided the peninsula since 1953. You'll go underground in the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel, look across to the North from Dora Observatory and visit the Joint Security Area, a sobering and real insight into Korea's division and the hope of reunification.
Back in Seoul, spend the evening in Hongdae, the university district known for street performers, small studios and late-night bars.
Please note: bring your passport. DMZ access can change at short notice depending on military conditions.
A high-speed train brings you south to Gyeongju, capital of the Silla kingdom for close to a thousand years and so full of royal tombs and temples that it is often called a museum without walls.
At Bulguksa, a UNESCO World Heritage site on the slopes of Mount Toham, you'll meet local monks and learn about monastic life. The evening ends with a traditional cultural performance.
Continue to Busan, Korea's great port city. Walk the sands of Haeundae Beach, then visit Haedong Yonggungsa, a temple set on the rocks right above the waves.
In the evening, graze your way through Bupyeong Kkangtong Night Market. There's also time for Jagalchi Fish Market, where the catch comes straight off the boats, or shopping at Shinsegae Centum City.
Today you leave Korea for Japan. Once you reach Osaka the rest of the day is unscheduled: rest, explore the canal-side lanes of Dotonbori, or join an optional food tour for okonomiyaki, tempura and wagyu.
Another free day. See Osaka independently, from the castle grounds to the Kuromon market, or book an optional excursion: either Himeji Castle and the Kokoen Gardens, or Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park and Miyajima Island with its floating torii gate.
Leave Osaka for Nara, Japan's first permanent capital, where deer roam freely through the park and bow for crackers. Walk the lantern-lined paths of Kasuga Taisha shrine, then continue to Kyoto, the heart of traditional Japan, for the evening.
Walk the Arashiyama bamboo grove early, while the paths are quieter, then try your hand at traditional fan painting.
Lunch is shared with a maiko, an apprentice geisha, for a rare look into Kyoto's geisha world. Finish at Fushimi Inari, where thousands of red torii gates climb the slopes of the mountain.
Ride the bullet train to Odawara with a bento lunch on board, then continue up into Hakone, a mountain resort known for its hot springs and traditional inns.
End the day soaking in onsen water with the mountains all around you.
Cruise Lake Ashi, hoping for a clear view of Mount Fuji, then ride the Hakone Ropeway high over the steaming valley. Afterward you continue to Tokyo.
Look out over Tokyo from the Skytree, then explore old Asakusa and Senso-ji, the city's oldest temple, and watch a hands-on bonsai demonstration.
After dark, cross the Shibuya Scramble with the crowds and board a dinner cruise on Tokyo Bay.
The day is entirely yours: shop in Ginza, hop between cafés, or return to a neighborhood you loved, before the final leg of the journey.
Leave Tokyo for Taipei, where the Rotary International Convention begins. No group activities are planned from here, so you're free to attend sessions, meet delegates from around the world and enjoy the cultural program.
Accommodations
Here's a glimpse of the hotels we selected for this adventure.
L7 Myeongdong by LOTTE Hotels
A contemporary lifestyle hotel on Toegye-ro in Myeongdong, central Seoul, steps from the Myeongdong shopping streets and Myeong-dong station, with Namsan and Namdaemun Market close by. The palaces, Bukchon and Ikseondong are a short subway or taxi ride away.
The Floating rooftop bar looks out over the city, which makes it a natural first or last stop of the evening.
Rooms are 25.1 m² (270 ft²).
Hotel websiteLahan Select Gyeongju
A large resort hotel on the shore of Bomun Lake, Gyeongju's lakeside leisure district, about 15 minutes by road from the tomb parks and Hwangnidan-gil in the old centre and around 20 minutes from Bulguksa Temple.
The lakeside walking paths start at the door, and the hotel has restaurants, a café and the space and room inventory to look after a touring group for the night.
Hotel websiteL7 Haeundae by LOTTE Hotels
A lifestyle hotel in the heart of Haeundae, Busan's best-known beach district, a short walk from the sand, the Haeundae market streets and the subway.
Its rooftop pool and poolside lounge are open to hotel guests (with a pool package required in July and August), a good fit for the free morning by the beach.
Rooms are 25–31 m² (269–334 ft²), with two single beds.
Hotel websiteCross Hotel Osaka
A contemporary hotel on Shinsaibashi-suji, a minute's walk from the Ebisubashi bridge and the neon of Dotonbori, with the Shinsaibashi shopping arcade and Namba on the doorstep. Namba and Shinsaibashi subway stations are both close by.
It is well placed for two free days in Osaka: street food, the canal-side walkways and the Kuromon market are all on foot, and the subway connects quickly to Osaka Castle and Umeda. The hotel has a restaurant and bar on site.
Hotel websiteCross Hotel Kyoto
A contemporary hotel on Kawaramachi-dori, just south of Sanjo, in the middle of downtown Kyoto. Pontocho Alley, the Kamo River, Nishiki Market and the covered shopping arcades are all a few minutes' walk away, and Gion is just across the river.
The KIHARU Brasserie on the ground floor serves a buffet breakfast, and the location makes evenings easy: the group can walk to dinner rather than ride back across the city. Superior Twin rooms are available; the official site gives conflicting room sizes, so sizes are not shown here.
Hotel websiteFujiya Hotel
One of Japan's oldest Western-style hotels, opened in 1878 in the hot-spring village of Miyanoshita in the Hakone mountains. Its buildings date from 1891 to 1960 and mix Japanese temple-style roofs with Western interiors, set around gardens on the hillside.
Rooms are filled from the Miyanoshita hot spring, and the hotel's dining room, bar and bakery make it easy to stay in for the evening. Lake Ashi and the Hakone Ropeway are a short drive away.
Rooms in the Forest Wing are 41 m² (441 ft²), with two single beds.
Hotel websiteMitsui Garden Hotel Ginza Premier
A modern hotel on the upper floors of a tower in Ginza 8-chome, between Ginza and Shimbashi. Tsukiji Outer Market and Hamarikyu Gardens are within walking distance, and Shimbashi and Higashi-Ginza stations, about five minutes away on foot, link easily to Harajuku and Akihabara.
The Italian restaurant serves a buffet breakfast with Japanese and Western dishes, and a lounge bar overlooks the city.
Rooms are 26.3 m² (283 ft²).
Hotel websiteRooms
- Included
Shared double
Shared with the person you book with, or a fellow traveller of the same sex.
- Extra cost
Single room
A room to yourself, subject to availability.
You choose your room when you book.
Tour FAQS
Fly into Incheon International (ICN), and out of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE).
Proposed accommodation (or similar), subject to confirmation: L7 Myeongdong by LOTTE Hotels in Seoul, Lahan Select Gyeongju in Gyeongju, L7 Haeundae by LOTTE Hotels in Busan, Cross Hotel Osaka in Osaka, Cross Hotel Kyoto in Kyoto, Fujiya Hotel in Hakone and Mitsui Garden Hotel Ginza Premier in Tokyo.
International Flights Not Included. International airfare to and from the destination is not included in the package price. Travelers are responsible for arranging their own flights and ensuring their arrival and departure align with the trip itinerary. Please share your confirmed flight details with Soca Islands so we can coordinate applicable arrival and departure arrangements.
Yes. Arrival and departure airport transfers are included. Please share your confirmed flight details with Soca Islands so we can coordinate applicable arrival and departure arrangements.
13 breakfasts, 9 lunches and 3 dinners, including the welcome dinner in Seoul, the maiko lunch in Kyoto, the bento lunch on the shinkansen and the Tokyo Bay dinner cruise. The day-by-day itinerary shows the meals for each day; meals not listed are at your own cost.
No. The trip includes 13 nights of accommodation from Seoul to Tokyo and ends when you travel on to Taipei on Day 14. Convention accommodation in Taipei is arranged separately; contact our Customer Experience team if you'd like help.
Extra nights can be requested, subject to hotel availability; contact our Customer Experience team for a quote.
There are no scheduled activities on the final day, so feel free to book your departure at your own convenience.
We recommend arriving before 3 pm on Day 1 to make it in time for the welcome event. But don’t worry no matter when you land, we’ll have an airport transfer ready for you.
Please Refer to your government’s travel advice or consult your local consulate. Remember, passport and visa requirements can change, so make sure to stay updated.
Excluding alcohol, we suggest budgeting around USD $40.00 per day for extras.
While we’re not medical professionals, we want to help you prepare for a safe and healthy adventure. Here are some tips:
- Consult with a healthcare professional: Schedule an appointment with your travel nurse or doctor at least eight weeks before your adventure to get any necessary vaccines or medications.
- Up-to-date medical advice:
- US residents: Check the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
- UK residents: Visit the NHS Fit For Travel website.
- Australian residents: Refer to the Smart Traveler Health website.
3. Government travel advice:
- US residents: Consult the US Department of State Travel Advice.
- UK residents: Check the FCDO Travel Advice.
- Australian residents: Visit the Smart Traveler website.
4. Medication tips: If you take prescription medication, bring enough to last the entire trip, plus a few extra days in case of delays. Carry a copy of your prescription in case you need to visit a clinic abroad.
We hope this helps you prepare for a safe and enjoyable adventure.
Please keep in mind that our itinerary, activities, and hotels might change. These adjustments could happen with little notice due to factors like availability, weather conditions, seasonal shifts, or other circumstances beyond our control. Rest assured, we always aim to minimise any impact on your experience. Occasionally, we may tweak the itinerary to try out fresh ideas and keep the adventure exciting.
We believe solo travelers shouldn’t have to pay extra to explore the world. That’s why our group trips are designed around shared accommodation and do not include a single supplement. Solo travelers joining our group trips are paired in twin or multi-share rooms with another traveler of the same sex for the duration of the trip.
Some of our Independent trips are structured differently. For these itineraries, solo travelers will need to book at the single occupancy rate.
Tips are not included in the cost of this tour. Remember, tipping is entirely at your discretion and based on what you feel comfortable with.
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