INSIDER'S JAPAN

Day 1 Arrive Tokyo

Arrive in Tokyo and check in to your central tower ryokan (traditional Japanese Inn) hotel. Enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure, exploring the city or enjoying the hotel’s hot spring baths and spa in the specially-designed bath hall on the top floor.

Overnight: Hoshinoya Tokyo

Day 2 Tokyo

Visit the bustling Tsukiji fish market followed by an immersive session making fresh sushi with the help of a professional sushi chef. After lunch, visit Hamarikyu Garden that is home to hundreds of beautiful cherry trees, and take a boat ride on the Sumida River to Senso-Ji, Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple. See one of Tokyo’s most recognisable modern landmarks, the Philippe Starck designed Asahi Beer Hall, and enjoy the vibrant Ameykoko Market Street or head to the restaurant supply district of Kappabashi.

Overnight: Hoshinoya Tokyo

Day 3 Hakone

Catch a bullet train to Odawara Station and transfer to your wonderful traditional ryokan in Hakone, in the shadow of Mount Fuji. Spend the day exploring the area with your guide. We recommend a visit to the Hakone Open-Air Museum, with its amazing collection of artworks by Picasso, Henry Moore, Taro Okamoto, Yasuo Mizui and more. The Pola Museum of Art in nearby Sengokuhara features a wide range of artworks by both Japanese and Western artists, set in a forest of 300-year-old beech trees and housed in a glass and concrete construction designed to blend in with the surrounding nature. Also in Gora is the Hakone Museum of Art, which showcases mostly Japanese ceramics. Then relax in your traditional Japanese Inn and enjoy the natural, spring-fed onsen (hot spring baths) and delicious cuisine.

Overnight: Hakone Byakudan

Day 4 Hakone

Spend the day at leisure exploring the beautiful rural setting of Hakone. Take the circular tour of the area, travelling by mountain train, funicular railway, cable car, and boat, to experience some wonderful views of Mount Fuji.

Overnight: Hakone Byakudan

Day 5 Kanazawa

Take the bullet train to the ancient city of Kanazawa, where you check into a charming, two-bedroom little ryokan, as the personal guests of the owners. Spend the afternoon walking through Kenroku-en, one of Japan’s most beautiful gardens, full of blossoming flowers, ancient trees, and impressive landscaping. We also highly recommend visiting the elegant Seison-kaku Villa in the park while you are there. There's a lot to see, including the Kanazawa Castle Park, where you can explore the recently reconstructed buildings of what was one of Japan’s largest castles.

Overnight: Maki No Oto

Day 6 Kanazawa

Spend the day exploring Kanazawa. Visit the museums in the samurai district of Nagamachi before heading to Higashi Chaya-gai, one of Japan’s best preserved geisha districts, filled with a maze of traditional wooden buildings. Stop for lunch at the Ōmichō Ichiba Markets before visiting the collection of temples at Teramachi and the Kutani Kosen Gama Kiln to see how traditional ceramics are made. End the day with a visit to the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art before heading back to your ryokan for the evening.

Overnight: Maki No Oto

Day 7 Noto Peninsula

Take an Express train north to Wakuraonsen on the remote and beautiful Noto Peninsula. You will stay at an onsen (hot springs) sanctuary overlooking the sea. Here, you can relax and enjoy the famous Japanese hospitality and dining, including some of the country’s finest beef, which rivals the famous Kobe beef. There is a healing spa in which to rejuvenate and more unexpectedly, on the hill above there is an observatory from which to observe the amazing night sky.

Overnight: Lamp No Yado

Day 8 Noto Peninsula

One of the most famous sights in the area is Senmaida (literally ‘thousand rice fields’), where there are actually more than 2,000 small rice fields arranged in terraces facing the sea, all of which must be farmed by hand. If you are interested in lacquerware it is also worth making a stop at Wajima, Noto’s largest city, which is just a little further down the coast from Senmaida and is well known for this quintessentially Japanese product. Alternatively, you could enjoy a truly restful day by the sea and in your private open-air bath at the ryokan.

Overnight: Lamp No Yado

Day 9 Kyoto

Catch the morning Express Train to Kyoto where you will meet your guide for a half-day tour of the city. Visit the stunning Golden Pavilion and Ryoanji Zen Garden before heading to the nearby Ninnaji, which houses one of Kyoto's loveliest gardens.

Overnight: Four Seasons Hotel

Day 10 Kyoto

Spend the day with your guide visiting Japan’s ancient capital of Nara. See the amazing giant bronze Buddha, housed in the famous all-wood Todai-ji temple. Walk through Nara-koen Park and visit the Kasuga Taisha Shrine. Explore the charming Isui-en Strolling Gardens, where you can wander amongst the plum, cherry, and maple trees. Return to Kyoto via the amazing Fushimi Inari Shrine, most noted for its ‘tunnels’ of red torii gates leading up the hill behind the main shrine.

Overnight: Four Seasons Hotel

Day 11 Kyoto

This morning, head straight to Gion, where you may be able to catch sight of some of Kyoto’s apprentice geisha on their way to lessons, as you step back in time amidst the traditional machiya houses. From there, head on to Yasaka-jinja Shrine and into Maruyama Park, where the path will lead you past Kodai-ji Temple and on to Kiyomizu Temple, which looks out over the city from the hillside. In the afternoon, head to the Zen Buddhist Temple where you will be staying this evening. Enjoy an exclusive, private stay in a Zen temple not open to the public, as guests of the Chief Priest. Here, you will experience some of the customs of the monks, such as seated Zen meditation, Zen Sutra recitation and a tea ceremony in the temple’s special tea room. You will be served dinner and breakfast as the monks take it.

Overnight: Kyoto Zen Temple (TBC)

Day 12 Naoshima Island

Enjoy a morning in the tranquil company of the monks before catching a bullet train to Okayama on the Inland Sea. Here you are met and driven to Naoshima Island to check into the remarkable Benesse House, a contemporary museum and boutique hotel. Spend the rest of the day exploring the natural beauty and enjoying the relaxed pace of Naoshima. Naoshima’s art, though scattered across the island, is centred on Benesse House.

Overnight: Benesse House

Day 13 Naoshima Island

Spend the day exploring Naoshima and the art that is spread around the small island. Of note is the Chichu Art Museum that houses works by Monet, as well as the Lee Ufan Museum, the Ando Museum and the 007 Museum, a favourite for fans of James Bond.

Overnight: Benesse House

Day 14 Kyoto

Catch the bullet train to Kyoto and check into the Four Seasons Hotel. Head to a traditional machiya townhouse where you’ll be dressed in a kimono for your customary Japanese Tea Ceremony.

Overnight: Four Seasons Hotel

Day 15 Depart

Transfer to Osaka (Kansai) Airport to catch your flight home.