Seeking Ancient Japan: Follow in the footsteps of Stanley Stewart

11 days from £9,240 for 2024 per person

• Tokyo
• Izu Peninsula
• Kyoto
• Kurashiki
• Kanazawa

This itinerary follows in the footsteps of Stanley Stewart’s How To Spend It article “Taking it Izu”

Japan: renowned for its pioneering technology, buzzing metropolises and quirky fashion trends. But equally as intriguing is her ancient history and rich culture. This itinerary will take you off the beaten path to the Izu Peninsula – a land of hot-springs, cloud-shredding peaks, empty coastal headlands and hospitality traditions unchanged for 400 years.

Begin in the heart of modern Japan, Tokyo, and explore the neon flashing streets and narrow passage ways of this often bewildering city. The following day experience pinpoint precision unlike anywhere else in the world, the bullet train, and start your journey in search of ancient Japan. The 39 minute journey will take you to Atami, the gateway to the Izu Peninsula. It is said that the peninsula is home to 2,300 hot-springs which have long provided respite for city dwellers in Japan, but are still rarely frequented by foreign visitors. At Asaba, one of Japan’s finest ryokans, enjoy long soaks in mineral-rich steaming waters, surrounded by a lush jungle of fern and bamboo, overlooked by towering moss-covered cliffs. The picture perfect peninsula also has its own microclimate so is one of the first places in Japan to see the cherry blossoms.

From Izu you will travel to Japan’s beating cultural heart of Kyoto. Home to 17 world heritage sites and leading in luxury textile design, as well as many other fine arts, Kyoto is also the best place to catch a glimpse of Geisha fluttering past in side streets. From Kyoto the bullet train will speed you to Kurashiki, and in no time you will be soaking up the surrounds of this historical, mercifully neon-free, canal town, with a laid back pace of life. With a stay at Ryokan Kurashiki, the hostess Nakamura-san will explain to you the traditions of 'omotenashi', Japanese hospitality with astonishing attention to detail and an impulse to anticipate and enhance the guest’s desires. The final part of your journey will take you to Kanazawa, home to a wealth of quintessentially Japanese crafts and customs. From sake breweries to textile studios, Kanazawa can easily be described as ‘little Kyoto’, and has some of the finest examples of original Edo-period architecture. Loop back to Tokyo for one final night before flying home.

This luxury tour is purely a suggested itinerary; it can be booked as it is or used as a starting point to create your own perfect tailor-made holiday to Japan. If you'd like to see similar trips, take a look at our collection of Active and Family-Friendly holidays; as well as our favourite Culinary Tours and Train 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