TOUR PROSPECTUS This prospectus setsout the contents of the tour and together with the Booking Conditions and Booking Form is the basis of our contract with you.

Japan – Shikoku & Kyoto 14 - 31 March 2008 Tour 0783

This moving-on tour concentrates on the scenic coastline of hilly Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four major islands and home to 88 sacred Shinto Shrines. The distance cycled each day (60 – 70km) will be moderate so that riders will have enough time to visit temples, shrines & museums. The last 3 days will be spent in Kyoto, where there will be a chance to visit gardens, partake in a tea ceremony and fully enjoy the unique cultural heritage of Japan. Itinerary Fri 14 Mar

Fly from London Heathrow to Osaka Kansai via Schipol Airport, Amsterdam on KLM Airlines, flight nos KL1010/0867, departing London at 1150.

Sat 15 Mar

Arrive at Osaka Kansai at 1020. Transfer by coach to Kochi. Stay two nights.

Sun 16 Mar

Rest day.

Mon 17 Mar

Cycle to Tokasure (63 Km). Stay one night.

Tue 18 Mar

Cycle to Inomisaki (58 Km). Stay one night.

Wed19 Mar

Cycle to Cape Ashizuri (55 Km). Stay two nights

Thu 20 Mar

Optional day ride to Tosashimizu.

Fri 21 Mar

Cycle to Sukumo (57 Km). Stay one night.

Sat 22 Mar

Cycle to Uwajima (60 Km). Stay two nights.

Sun 23 Mar

Optional day ride to Kihoku Onsen.

Mon 24 Mar

Cycle to Yawatahama (34 Km). Stay one night.

Tue 25 Mar

Cycle to Matsuyama (69 Km). Stay two nights.

Wed 26 Mar

Sightseeing day.

Thu 27 Mar

Transfer by rail to Kyoto. Stay 3 nights.

Fri 28 Mar

Guided sightseeing by cycle.

Sat 29 Mar

Free day.

Sun 30 Mar

Free day. Evening transfer by rail to Osaka Kansai Airport Hotel. Stay one night.

Mon 31 Mar

Return flight from Osaka Kansai to London Heathrow via Schipol Airport, Amsterdam, KLM flight nos KL0868/1023, departing at 1110 and arriving at 1735.

Back-up support Full luggage support will be provided during the riding days. On the rail transfers, bikes will travel separately. There will also be language support from a qualified, experienced linguist. Accommodation Accommodation will be in high-end traditional Japanese inns and business hotels, sharing rooms. These inns traditionally host groups of families, friends and business associates. The groups are usually accommodated together in single sex rooms of 2 to 6 people, and we will be expected to conform to this tradition. Many have luxurious and natural thermal springs or ‘onsen’, the traditional communal (single sex) bathing pools. When we use business hotels we will provide twin or double rooms as appropriate. Meals are on a half board basis on many nights, but evening meals on 7 nights and breakfasts on 3 mornings are not included. Traditional Japanese meals always include a selection of tofu, seaweed, vegetables and fish. It's difficult to find a strictly vegetarian meal. Those who eat fish will be able to enjoy a wide range of meals, those who do not will have to accept a limited selection.

Passports, Visas and Health EU citizens must hold a passport that is still valid on the date of their return to their home country. Holders of non-EU passports are advised to check whether they require a visa. There are no compulsory healthrelated requirements for UK residents, but you are strongly advised to check that your tetanus protection has not expired.

Price - £2600 The price is based on a minimum number of 10 participants taking part in the tour and is calculated at a rate of 227.32 yen to £1 sterling (based on exchange rates published on www.xe.com on 13 March 2007. If there are insufficient bookings by 4 January 2008, we will contact you and return all monies paid. Price includes: - Return flight with KLM Airlines to Osaka - 9 nights hotel accommodation on half-board basis, sharing rooms - 4 nights hotel accommodation on B&B basis, sharing rooms - 3 nights hotel accommodation on room only basis, sharing rooms - Coach transfer from arrival airport to first hotel - Rail transfers from Shikoku to Kyoto and from Kyoto to Osaka - Back-up vehicle to carry luggage between hotels on cycling days - Entry fees at Dogo Onsen - Guided cycle tour of Kyoto - CTC Cycling Holidays & Tours costs Price does not include: - Meals in transit - Drinks with evening meals - Lunches or refreshments at morning and afternoon stops - Entry fees at any other attractions visited - Any other personal expenses - Travel Insurance

Travel Insurance It is a condition of booking that you are adequately insured for this tour. Whether you already hold a policy or will be taking out a new one, the cover it offers must be comparable to that stated in clause 8 of the Booking Conditions, and you must complete the enclosed Insurance Declaration Form and return it with your Booking Form. CTC Cycling Holidays & Tours Ltd can accept no responsibility for any costs you may incur due to insufficient insurance cover.

Payment schedule A deposit of £400 per person must accompany the Booking Form, with a second payment of £1000 to be paid by 30 October 2007 and the final balance of £1200 to be paid ten weeks prior to departure, by 4 January 2008. Cheques should be made payable to CTC Tours. Land only option There will be a limited number of places for participants wishing to make their own travel arrangments to Japan. The total cost will be £2050, with the deposit being £250, the interim payment being £1000 and the final payment £800. All dates remain the same. Cancellations Should you be forced to cancel your booking for any reason you must notify us in writing. Cancellation charges are as follows: Written notice received: Before 30 October 2007 30 October 2007 to 3 January 2008 4 January 2008 through to departure

Cancellation charge: Deposit 54% 100%

(£400) (£1400) (£2600)

To make a booking Complete, sign and return the Booking Form and the relevant part of the Insurance Declaration Form together with your deposit directly to the leader (address on Booking Form).

CTC Cycling Holidays & Tours Ltd, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 9JX

LEADER’S INFORMATION SHEET The information below is given by the tour leader to help enquirers decide if the tour is suitable for them.

Japan – Shikoku & Kyoto

14 - 31 March 2008 Tour 0783

Area covered by the tour The itinerary concentrates mainly on Japan's fourth largest island, Shikoku. We start on the south coast in the pleasant city of Kochi, riding along the southern coast to Cape Ashizuri, then heading north to the largest city on the island, Matsuyama. We finish the tour with a few days in Kyoto, Japan's cultural heart and former capital. Shikoku is a rural island that doesn't see many foreign visitors. It's one of the best places to visit to see the real Japan. Japan is a hilly place, and the cycling is good. We've sought out some excellent routes, both along the coast and in the interior, using mainly minor roads. Shikoku is home to numerous places of religious significance, including 88 sacred temples which form a pilgrimage undertaken by many searching for enlightenment or a part of Japan that has disappeared from modern urban life. Accommodation We will be staying in ryokan and business hotels during the tour. All rooms except for one night have en-suite facilities. In a Japanese-style room the floor is covered in tatami mats and one sleeps on futons on the floor. Dining usually involves sitting on the floor on a cushion by a low table. Shoes worn outdoors are not permitted indoors; slippers or sandals are provided and they must be used, and sometimes different slippers are used in different parts of a ryokan. Some Western-syle rooms, with a bed, table and chairs, will be available on some nights. If you would prefer this, please indicate as such on the booking form. Business hotels are more utilitarian and do not offer meals. Nine dinners are included in the tour price. The other evenings we will be eating at Izakaya (sort of like a pub) or other restaurants; you will be welcome to join us or make your own evening meal arrangements. The selection of eating establishments in some places is enormous and can cater to all tastes. Breakfasts are included on thirteen mornings. On the other days there will be a choice of places available to get breakfast. Lunches and other snacks during the day will be individual tour member's responsibility. When possible, I like to have a short break for 11s and tea and have a picnic lunch. Some days it will be possible to have lunch in a café. You may wish to make your own arrangements for lunch stops. It is always a good idea to carry a small amount of food and drink with you in case of emergency (or hunger!). Group information The maximum group size will be 20 including the leaders. Smoking Japan is a country that still tolerates smoking; in some places it can be difficult to avoid people smoking in your vicinity. We have asked for non-smoking rooms, but these cannot be guaranteed. Japanese room cleaning is usually so thorough it is difficult to detect if the room has been smoked in. Bookings will be accepted from smokers provided they agree not to smoke in the shared rooms, unless by agreement with their sharer, in dining rooms or at other times when others may be affected by the smoke.

Weather and clothing The weather in Shikoku at this time of year can be quite variable. Early mornings can be cool enough that you'll find arm and/or leg warmers or a long sleeve top useful. It's unlikely to rain much, but some is almost certain, so bring clothing that should ensure that you keep warm and (reasonably) dry. Hopefully the weather will be fine throughout the tour and suncream, which you should bring, will be necessary. Cycles / equipment Touring, hybrid or lightweight mountain bikes would be suitable, but whatever bike you bring please ensure that it is in good working condition, especially the brakes. Cycles will need to have low gears, and I would recommend a bottom gear of around 30" or less to cope with the hilly terrain. It is preferable to have maintenance work carried out at your local bike shop before the tour; there are plenty of bike shops in Japan, but you will struggle to find one that stocks any quality components. Most of the bike shops deal exclusively with town and shopping style bikes. Unfortunately Japanese law does not allow tandems to be used on Shikoku, so we have to ask you to use solo cycles. Recumbents are welcome provided you can pack them in a manner acceptable to the airline. You should carry sufficient spares and tools to deal with punctures and minor repairs that may arise. If you use 27inch (rather than 26inch or 700C) tyres, you should carry a spare as they won’t be available in Japan. I would suggest a minimum tyre width of 28 mm. The support vehicle will be used to store the cycles in overnight. Japan is very safe country with low levels of crime. You should bring a bike lock in any event. Lights are essential, as we have to cycle through several tunnels and it's best to be seen when you are in one. We recommend a minimum of two bright rear LEDs, one flashing the other not. A front light is not so important, but it could be useful. Bike packing materials, including standard size suitcases and flexible bike bags can be stored for the duration of the tour. Please let me know if you intend to pack your cycle in a large cardboard box or a rigid bike box as we will need to make special arrangements to accommodate them. Maps and guides Most maps of the area are written in Japanese characters and thus are difficult to use. We will ensure that you have adequate information to be able to navigate during the tour. Detailed map atlases of the area we will be cycling in will be carried in the support vehicle. I will send written daily route details and other information a few weeks before the tour. The best way to make sure you don't get lost is to use a GPS. A full set of GPS maps and routes is available from me in Garmin Mapsource format only. Travel Insurance Information on CTC Cyclecover Travel Insurance is available from CTC (0870 873 0068) or can be found at www.cyclecover.co.uk. Before booking you should check the Foreign Office ‘Travel Advice by Country’ at www.fco.gov.uk or on 0845 850 2829. About the leaders Over the past eight years I have led more than twenty CTC tours. I have been a regular cycle tourist since 1991. Jen Nishio, the Assistant Leader, has lived in Japan for 17 years, speaks fluent Japanese and reads it reasonably well. She is also a regular cycle tourist. The leaders will be sharing the driving of the support vehicle. One of them will always be on a bike on the road. Colin Langdon 11 Beaconsfield Street Liverpool L8 2UU Tel: 0151 234 9484 or 0794 430 2756 [email protected]

Detailed description of tour From Kansai airport we transfer by coach to our first night at Kochi. Our hotel here is a top class ryokan, where you will be immersed in the Japanese way of life. Ryokan are traditional Japanese inns, where the quality and standard of service is excellent. We'll be greeted by the hotel staff and be shown our Japanese style rooms. You'll need to remove your footwear at the door as the rooms flooring will be traditional tatami mats. The room will be laid out as a sitting room with a low table and chairs without legs. Tea will usually be served and you will be left to relax and settle in. We will then introduce you to one of the great pleasures of Japanese life, the bath! Bathing is done communally and is single sex. We'll talk you through the process this first time so you can see how it works. Washing is done before entering the bath which is only used for soaking and relaxing. A lot of the accommodations we use during the tour have natural hot spring baths. We return from bathing wearing traditional japanese 'yakuta', like a bathrobe. The yakuta is normally worn in and around the hotel area, together with the slippers provided by the hotel. We will then dine together in a tatami room set aside for our exclusive use. The food is exquisite, well prepared and extremely fresh. An average dinner consists of about 40 items presented in a variety of dishes with appropriate sauces. It's usual to eat with chopsticks but a fork can be provided if you prefer. Jen, the Japanese speaking tour co-leader, will talk you through this first meal, explaining the dishes and how they are normally eaten. She's a bit of a gourmet when it comes to Japanese food! While we are eating your room will be transformed into your bedroom with individual futons laid out. Breakfast will be similarly presented each day, usually we will eat together, occasionally it will be served in your room. I normally take the opportunity to have another bath before breakfast. The first day is free to allow you to orient yourself and recover from some of the jet-lag. You'll find the luxuriousness of the hotel will be a relief after the flight. During this day we will prepare our bikes for riding, and still have time for a bit of sightseeing. There are plenty of interesting things to see and do in Kochi. The castle is worth a visit or you may just wish to stroll through the shopping areas and take in the atmosphere. For this second night’s dinner we will dine out at an Izakaya (not included in the tour price). An Izakaya is the Japanese equivalent of a pub, but you'll find the food is far superior to your perception of 'pub grub'. For this first time we'll try and order a selection of food for those wishing to participate to give you an idea of what you may want on future nights. Be careful drinking the sake, it can sneak up on you. For our first day’s cycling we have a fairly easy day to Tokasure following the coast on mainly minor roads. This day is not particularly hilly, at least by Japanese standards. Our hotel this evening is very well situated with some views out to sea and a natural spa bath. Sunrise can be spectacular here; if we get a good day you'll understand why Japan is known as the 'land of the rising sun'. The third hotel is a bit different. We're staying here because it has a natural spa. The hotel is not of the very high standard that we have seen so far, but it is quite acceptable. We'll be treated to some real country home cooking, and the prices in the bar will be a bit lower. We continue along the coast to the island's most Southern point at Ashizuri, where we are again back in a traditional Japanese Inn, a ryokan. We are staying here for two nights. You

can take an optional ride up into the hills, or there's a pleasant coastal walk you may wish to tackle. You may just wish to have a day off and relax. So far you'll have seen a city, Kochi, and some very small settlements; the next two stopovers introduce small town Japan. In both places we haven't managed to find a suitable ryokan so we are using 'business hotels', we think you will be surprised at the quality of them. There will be an option to have 'western' style rooms if you wish. It is usual to have dinner and breakfast when staying at a ryokan, but business hotels are room only. At the first business hotel in Sukumo we will have dinner in an Izakaya (not included in the tour cost). For breakfast we recommend the 'Mister Donut' just a few streets away, they open at 9, or you can pick something up on the way. You will miss not having a 'bath' here as there is no 'public' bath - just the small private one in your room. The business hotel in Uwajima, where we stay two nights, is of a very good standard. There's quite a bit to do in and around this small town, and a visit to the Taga-Jinja shrine, which is also a sex museum, is educational. It's quite odd to be paying your entrance fee to a monk presiding over such an establishment. We have another ryokan in the small town of Yawatahama and then follow that with a few nights at a top class ryokan at the island’s largest city, Matsuyama. Here we will introduce you to public bathing in a fully public sense by visiting the famous Dogo Onsen Honkan, a popular spa that's been in use for centuries. During our two days in Matsuyama we will pack the cycles up ready for the end of tour. They will be despatched to the airport to await our collection on the way home. We travel to Kyoto using Japanese Railways, including a trip on the Shinkansen, the famed Japanese Bullet train. On arrival at Kyoto we will take a fleet of taxis to our quality ryokan. The first full day in Kyoto is spent sightseeing by cycle; we will have our own guide and hire bikes to use. Your second full day in Kyoto is a free day. There's lots to do in Kyoto, our ryokan is close to the famous Nanzen-Ji temple, one of the most pleasant in Kyoto, it's been a Zen temple since 1291. You could visit some of the 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites, go shopping in a modern or traditional shopping area. Visit the famous Ponto-Cho, a traditional nightlife area full of old style wooden buildings. Visit Gion and try to spot a geisha, or a ‘meiko’, an apprentice geisha. You'll certainly see many people wearing traditional dress. Finally we transfer to Kansai airport the day before departure, staying in the airport hotel overnight to facilitate an easy check in the following morning.