Japan: A Perfect Introduction

10 days from £7,515 for 2024 per person

• Tokyo
• Takayama
• Kyoto
• Hakone

Start at the heart of modern Japan in Tokyo, the world’s largest metropolis. There is plenty to see in the Shinjuku area around your hotel, with layer upon layer of neon-drenched main streets and mysterious passageways with shops and restaurants on every floor. Nearby are the teen fashion mecca of Shibuya, the flagship luxury stores of Omotesando nicknamed ‘Japan’s Champs Elysees’, and the majestic Meiji shrine. A full day of guiding is included during your stay in Tokyo, to help you make sense of the sometimes bewildering public transport system and venture across to the Imperial Palace, the stylish streets of Ginza or Akihabara ‘electric city’. We will provide a detailed information booklet to help you make a wishlist and then we can help make your holiday time as organised or leisurely as you wish.

Catch an express train into the Japan Alps for the grand sight of Black Crow castle in Matsumoto, one of the few original ones which can still be entered for a sense of life in samurai times. The mountain bus journey from here is amongst Japan’s most scenic, which gets you to the historic town of Takayama in good time for a hearty traditional meal at your accommodation. Explore the old wooden buildings and the temple walk around the town, or in the milder months you can easily reach the beautiful mountain plateau of Kamikochi from here.

Travel down out of the Japan Alps and catch your first bullet train to reach Kyoto, the beating cultural heart of Japan. Fortunately spared bombing in the war, its 17 world heritage sites are largely still intact. Countless temples and gardens await you, and while there isn’t time to encompass it all in one holiday there will be a guide on hand to unravel the mysteries of these ancient sights and decipher kanji for you. Kyoto has long been a leading light in luxury textile design and production as well as many other fine arts, and the Gion quarter is the best place to catch a glimpse of Geisha as well as local women in kimonos during Japan holiday seasons. We recommend dining on Pontocho street or at one of the terrace restaurants along the Kamogawa river one evening to soak up the sophisticated atmosphere of this city. We’ve left a day at leisure which can be spent exploring the city further with the aid of our information booklet, or one can reach Nara with its mighty wooden temple and even Hiroshima using the Japan Rail Pass.

Looping back to Tokyo, catch some of the best views of Mt Fuji out the window of the bullet  train then stop off in the national park called Hakone. Enjoy the cable car rides and lake plateau pirate ships while getting glimpses of the ‘shy mountain’ when the peak isn’t hidden in cloud. It’s another opportunity chance to experience the traditional food and ‘ometenashi’ hospitality of a traditional inn or ‘ryokan’ before diving back into Tokyo for one more night and flying home filled with unforgettable memories of your Japan holiday.

This tour is purely a suggested itinerary: it can be booked as it is, or alternatively used as a starting point for creating your own ideal tailor-made holiday. If you'd like to see similar trips, take a look at our other Japan itineraries.

To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.
Bill Bryson