Combined Korea Japan

The Changdeokgung Palace and its secret garden (inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List) make for a wonderful first discovery of the Joseon period.

The second royal residence, severely damaged by the fire that occurred during the Japanese invasion at the end of the 16th century, was perfectly reconstructed and immediately served as the seat of the dynasty for two hundred and fifty years. It exerted great influence on the development of architecture, garden design, landscapes and related arts in Korea for many centuries. It bears witness to sophisticated architectural values, in harmony with its natural surroundings.

Just a few meters away, continue your immersion in the famous Buckchon hanok village where around a hundred traditional period houses called « Hanoks » now serve as cultural centers, guesthouses, restaurants and tea rooms. Nearby, the grand Jogyesa Temple and its three golden buddhas constitute the Seoul hub of Korea's largest Buddhist branch and deserve a visit, before heading to the traditional street of art galleries and shops selling Korean handicrafts, Insa, a prime location for some souvenir shopping.

Recommended option: Full-day with a local friend on a custom basis: share this day with an English-speaking expatriate who will introduce you to Korean culture and tell you about their daily life there. You can also take advantage of this day to enjoy a tea ceremony.

Gyeongbokgung Palace is the most complete and most impressive of the five palaces of the Joseon Dynasty. The morning Royal Guard Changing Ceremony takes us without transition to the golden age of the 15th century. A true outdoor spectacle open to the public, it is faithfully recreated according to custom, combining beautiful royal uniforms, weapons and other traditional instruments.

Then just a few minutes' walk is enough to reach the great square of Gwanghwamun, still accompanied by its two famous statues erected at the ends of the avenue, in front of the great mountain of Bukhansan – King Sejong and Admiral Yi-Sun-Shin.

The change of scenery continues towards Namdaemun – one of the eight gates of Seoul's city wall – whose main attraction is its immense Namdaemun Market, the oldest and largest in Korea. Here, 1,700 types of products are displayed and a few small local restaurants hidden between the stalls offer the warm atmosphere we love so much.

Continue your visits in a nearby neighborhood, that of Myeongdong Market, the "city of lights" where shops of all kinds rub shoulders, street food is renowned for being excellent and varied, an opportunity to test your taste buds!

Recommended end of day at Namsan Seoul Tower, located at the top of a hill that overlooks the entire city, it offers an exceptional view of the city and its surrounding mountains.

Recommended option: Why not end this beautiful day with a fitting of Hanbok (traditional Korean costume) with a professional photo session?

Slightly set apart in the surrounding mountains are the Temple Bulguksa and the Seokguram grotto which are two exceptional sites of Korean heritage, listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The beautiful walk connecting the two sites offers magnificent natural landscapes and is well worth the detour.

Nicknamed the "Temple of the Lands of Buddha" and symbol of the Silla kingdom, Bulguksa holds an important place in Korean Buddhism. Its complex geometric construction reminds visitors that they are leaving the earthly realm and entering the sacred realm of Buddha. Its distinctive architecture is therefore one of the main sources of Bulguksa's fame.

Seokguram is considered a masterpiece of Buddhist art in the Far East. This artificial grotto is made of several hundred granite rocks (very difficult to carve) and is accessible through a tunnel that leads to a rectangular antechamber representing the Earth, then to a vestibule with two columns that frame the entrance to the large circular inner chamber which symbolizes the sky, with Buddha at its center.

Built on a cliff face in the rocks on the northeast coast of Busan, the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple offers a magical setting. The clear view of the sea from the temple, which echoes with moving Buddhist chants, is truly worth the trip.

As a coastal city, Busan is very sunny throughout the year and records temperatures much higher than the rest of the Korean peninsula. Its large sandy beaches are therefore naturally a privileged place for relaxation.

The Haeundae Beach, is the most renowned in the country and stretches for nearly 1.5 km, at the end of which begins a beautiful walk on the verdant island of Dongbaek. Very lively, the beach welcomes numerous groups of artists, singers and musicians or magicians, who come to perform until late into the night, atmosphere guaranteed!

On the shore, the entrance to the Busan Grand Aquarium invites you to discover the richness of the world's marine depths, ideal for families.

Recommended option: Local Friend Day: share this day with an English-speaking expatriate who will introduce you to Korean culture and tell you about their daily life there. Also try your hand at decorating objects in Hanji (Korean decorative paper).

Kyoto is full of buildings and cultural or religious sites, the most important of which have made it renowned throughout the entire world.

The must-sees are to be explored first and foremost, such as the golden pavilion Kinkaku in Japanese. Originally built as the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu at the end of the 14th century, it was consecrated upon his death by his successor and son, Yoshimochi, under the name of Rokuon-ji: the imperial temple of the deer garden.

Just a few steps away lies Ryoan-ji temple, famous for its dry garden, a masterpiece of Zen culture. Its particularity is that it features 15 stones arranged in such a way that the observer, from wherever they stand, can never view all of them at once.

To the east of the city, the silver pavilion (Ginkaku temple, or Ginkaku-ji in Japanese, was built by Yoshimitsu's grandson, Ashikaga Yoshimasa to rival his ancestor. However, during a period of war, it remained unfinished and never received its silver coating.

It is by following the path of philosophy, a small trail of approximately 2km lined with cherry trees, that one reaches at the end of the walk the temple Nanzen Temple, literally southern Zen temple, nestled in full vegetation at the foot of the eastern mountain. It is one of the 5 great Zen temples of Kyoto and the seat of the Rinzai branch of Buddhism.

Impossible to miss the majestic building of the great Tōdai Temple, which stands in a park where hundreds of deer live in complete freedom – your companions for the day. The emperor of the time, Shomu, implemented a centralization policy to strengthen the unity and power of the State, and saw an identical strategy in Buddhist religion by founding this temple which was to occupy a central place.

Other points of interest include the borrowed landscape garden of Isuien, much more recent since it dates from the Meiji era in the early twentieth century. The Kasuga-taisha Shrine is the tutelary sanctuary of the powerful Fujiwara family who shaped medieval Japan by providing numerous regents to Japanese emperors before the era of the shogun.

On the way back to Kyoto, a stop at the place of worship of the fox deity, the Fushimi Inari Shrine, is worth considering. So enchanting that it transports the traveler into a mystical atmosphere thanks to its thousands of vermillion torii gates arranged across the mountain.

Shinjuku, central and popular district, is a must-see in the capital through which it is ideal to start discovering the city. Its station is the most frequented in the world and drains no less than 4 million users per day. The district itself is divided into several distinct zones: to the west the buildings of large Japanese companies, to the east the department stores and, to the north, Kabuki-cho, more lively in the evening.

A change of atmosphere at the Meiji-jingu shrine, dedicated to the divine souls of Emperor Meiji and his wife. It is located in the center of a park with more than 170,000 trees of 245 different species – originally offerings from throughout the archipelago.

Exiting the park to the east, the famous Harajuku appears, fashion district, which, to soak up its atmosphere will require strolling through the eccentric street of Takeshita-dori where Tokyo's youth gather, then on Tokyo's Champs-Élysées, Omote-Sando.

To better understand the capital, it is interesting to go back in time for an introduction to the Edo period. Located in the sumo district of Ryogoku, the Edo Museum covers the history of the city through numerous models, animations and interactive activities for complete immersion.

Continuing the immersion, this time into local life, by visiting the Ameyoko Market, a large eclectic bazaar of the capital where traders dazzle passing shoppers.

Nearby is the Asakusa District, a traditional neighborhood featuring the Senso-ji Temple, dedicated to the goddess Kanon, which you reach via the shopping street of Nakamise-dori.

Finally, in the south of the city, the World Trade Center observation deck offers from its 40th floor and in a hushed atmosphere a breathtaking 360° view over the sprawling megapolis. This will be an opportunity to admire the beauty of Tokyo, sparkling with a thousand lights when night falls.

It is time to leave this archipelago with its unparalleled harmony of traditions and modernity, and depart with the teachings of Japanese civilization.

Depending on your flight time, you will want to take advantage of your last travel moments to find the perfect gift, before heading to the return airport and boarding the plane.

While contemplating the magnificent photos taken during the trip, it is not uncommon for travelers to find themselves thinking about a possible return to Japan sooner than planned…