Japan Highlights

Konnichiwa! Welcome to Japan. Bursting with contemporary urban culture, Tokyo has fascinating museums, world-class shopping and backstreets stuffed with restaurants and karaoke bars. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6 pm tonight. After, you’ll have some free time to explore Tokyo’s nightlife. Perhaps take a walk down Shinjuku’s Omoide Tokocho or ‘Memory Lane’ – a crowded alley of busy restaurants and bar stalls that started in the 1940s and quickly gained infamy as a black-market quarter. Today, it’s one of the best spots to try some of Tokyo’s local fast food!

Dive right into Tokyo today by exploring historic Asakusa – one of the older and more traditional parts of the city. Visit the city’s oldest temple – Senso-ji – founded almost 1400 years ago when Tokyo was nothing more than a fishing village. Browse the many interesting stalls filled with tasty treats, crafts and souvenirs that line the shopping street of Nakamise Dori. Then, hop on the metro and head to the buzzing Shibuya area. Check out one of the busiest intersections in the world before heading into a depachika (underground food hall) for a mouth-watering array of tempting Japanese treats. Next, allow the city sounds to fade away as you visit Meiji Shrine, surrounded by forest. Then it’s back into the city streets to explore the Harajuku district – the home of Japan’s quirky youth pop culture. The rest of the afternoon is free for you to spend at your leisure.

Leave Tokyo behind and jump on the train to Mishima – a city built on the lava flow of Mr Fuji. Thanks to an eruption several thousand years ago, the soil here is rich in nutrients and there’s an endless supply of fresh, filtered water that flows through the city like a natural irrigation system. As a result, Mishima is a garden city with many waterways running alongside residential streets. When you arrive, head to the longest suspension bridge in Japan – 400-m-long Mishima Skywalk – for an unbeatable view of Mt Fuji. You’ll then have free time to explore at your own pace. Maybe visit Mishima Shrine or wander along the waterways and through the many parks. When you’ve worked up an appetite, maybe try the city’s special charbroiled eel that’s said to have been prepped by filtered fuji water! If you’re lucky enough to visit during cherry blossom season, there’s nothing better than a picnic as the sun goes down.

Today, you’ll hop on a local train to Kanaya station, then transfer to the scenic train that travels through the mountains and gorges of Kawane. The ride is especially beautiful during cherry blossom season in the spring and when the colours change in autumn! This afternoon, visit a local tea farm and try your hand at tea picking, learn about how tea is properly brewed. After the tea experience, your host for the night will welcome you and take you to their home. Dinner will be a home-cooked feast using seasonal vegetables may from their garden, and your host will be able to teach you a thing or two about Japanese home cooking. (D)

After a home-cooked, Japanese-style breakfast, hop on the bus and a Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto. One of the Kyoto’s original names was Heian-kyo, which literally translates to ‘tranquility and peace capital’, and the thousands of temples, shrines and gardens make it clear why. In the afternoon, head to the Noshiki Market and stroll through ‘Kyoto’s Kitchen’ for the perfect introduction to Kyoto's regional specialties – from pickled vegetables hidden beneath layers of fermented rice to delicious and ornate Kyo-wagashi (Kyoto sweets) and other local produce. As the sun goes down, continue to Gion – the city’s cultural centre and most famous geisha district. You may catch a glimpse of an elegantly attired geisha or maiko moving between teahouses here, though much of this high-class world of entertainment is still off-limits to outsiders. (B)

Today, you’ll head to one of the most photogenic spots in Kyoto – Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine. Famous for the thousands of scarlet torii (square archways) along the path, this shrine is dedicated to Inari – the god of rice. Because foxes do his bidding, there are also plenty of fox statues along the way. Then, visit a 300-year-old sake brewery – the city’s oldest continuously run brewery. Learn about their special sake-brewing techniques and the importance of rice and water before sampling some for yourself. The rest of the day is free for you to explore at your own pace. If you’re in a contemplative mood, the Path of Philosophy might have what you’re after. Stroll beside a stream, beneath the dappled shade of blossoming trees, past the Zen temple Ginkaku-ji, the Temple of the Silver Pavilion and Nanzen-ji Temple. You can keep walking south to the Old Town and explore the wooden houses, or visit Kinkakuhi Temple, immortalised in Yukio Mishima’s novel ‘The Golden Pavilion’.

Jump back on the train this morning and head onto Osaka – Japan’s unofficial food capital. When you arrive, follow your leader on an orientation walk, then explore the city at your own pace. Meet in the evening for a street food walking tour with your group through Dotombori District and Kuromon Market and celebrate the end of this fast and furious journey in Japan with your fellow travellers. (D)

With no further activities planned after breakfast, your trip comes to an end today. If you would like to extend your stay in Osaka, just reach out to your booking agent ahead of time.