Tokyo, Nagano, Kanazawa and Kyoto – 12 Days – POA
12 days from £pp
This itinerary is suited to either first time travelers or those who have delved into Japanese culture before. It includes many of the traditional highlights of a Japan such as Toyko and Kyoto but expands the itinerary with days in both Nagano and Kanazawa to experience both Japanese culture and nature in more depth.
Day 1
International flight from London Heathrow to Tokyo landing at either Haneda International Airport or Narita International Airport. Flight time is just shy of 12 hours with departure times scheduled for late morning or early afternoon, meaning arrival at Haneda or Narita the next morning, ready to explore Tokyo, or an evening flight to arrive in Tokyo in the afternoon and make the most of the day.
Overnight on board.
Day 2
An English-speaking assistant will be waiting at the arrival gate to ensure a seamless arrival in Japan and a smooth transition from the airport to Tokyo’s centre. With luggage safely in the hotel, the afternoon offers the opportunity to explore some of Tokyo’s progressive architecture in the form of Roppongi Hills, one of Japan’s largest innovative property developments designed to allow people to live and work in close proximity. With the day drawing to a close, you can return to the Imperial Hotel in the Ginza precinct, relax in the spa, enjoy an authentic tea ceremony and sample some of the enormous range of dining options available, including Japanese specialities, several sushi options and fine French dining.
Overnight at the Imperial Hotel Tokyo.
Day 3
For many of Tokyo’s locals, mornings begin at Tsukiji, the busiest and largest fish market in the world. Your English-speaking guide will help you navigate the market, which offers more than 400 types of seafood, before briefly moving away from the Sumida River towards the centre of Tokyo to visit Kabuki-za, the principal theatre in Tokyo and the home of classical Japanese dance and drama. Returning to the waterfront allows you to experience Harmarikyu, former Imperial gardens surrounded by a seawater moat, which are now open to the public, before boarding a water bus to the Asakusa district. Famous for the Senso-ji, the oldest temple in Tokyo, the Asakusa district is the centre of Tokyo’s Shitamachi, literally meaning “Low City” and one of the oldest parts of Tokyo, and is home to many religious festivals and renowned for its authentic and traditional Japanese food, which can be sampled on Nakamise Street as you approach Senso-ji. After a packed day in Tokyo, you can retire once more to the Imperial Hotel, experiencing service and comfort that has welcomed royalty and heads of state for over 120 years with impeccable Japanese hospitality.
Overnight at the Imperial Hotel Tokyo.
Day 4
Departing Tokyo via express train, you’ll be met by one of our guides at Matsumoto Station in Nagano, who will take you around Matsumoto Castle, a Japanese national treasure, and the grounds and castle town that surround it before escorting you south, exploring the Nakasendo road and admiring the historical towns that line the old Edo period road from Tokyo to Kyoto. Use of the local trains is highly recommended for an authentic experience and to take in the stunning countryside before staying the night at the Tsutaya in Nagano. The Tsutaya is a traditional Japanese inn, located in Kiso-Fukushima, which is a delightful little town, on the historic Edo-period Nakasendo highway linking Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo).
Kiso-Fukushima was an important way point on the Nakasendo, and its historic Sekisho, a checkpoint used as a first line of defence and as a means of controlling the movement of people, is one of only two on the route. The hotel has 320 years of history behind it that it taps into to create an authentic experience from the baths, which run on naturally hot spring water, to the hotel’s restaurants, which are supplied with seasonal vegetables grown in the hotel grounds. If you have the time, we recommend the paper lantern tour of the old town, conducted by the hotel owner in the evenings.
Overnight at Tsutaya, Kiso-Fukushima, in Nagano.
Day 5
After breakfast at your traditional Japanese inn in Nagano, you’ll head north to visit Zenko-ji, a seventh-century Buddhist temple, and admire the world-renowned cherry blossoms and visit Jigokudani Yaen-Koen to see the wild snow monkeys bathing in the hot spring baths. Overnighting at Suminoyu, make sure you head up to the sixth floor and revel in the breathtaking view from the hotel’s baths as the sun sets over the mountains.
Overnight at Suminoyu in Nagano.
Day 6
The next morning begins on the Snow Monkey express train, winding down from the mountains before changing to catch the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa, astonishingly taking only 90 minutes. There you’ll be met by a guide who will introduce you to the history of Kanazawa, which was home to one of the most powerful clans of the Edo period and offers some of the oldest and most well-preserved samurai history. You’ll stay the night in the Ryokusone, a charming ryokan which oozes luxury but remains authentically Japanese with spacious rooms featuring stunning views across Kanazawa.
Overnight at the Ryokusone Hotel in Kanazawa.
Day 7
To satisfy your appetite for the history of Kanazawa, choose to spend the day exploring further, engaging in some more outdoor activities; we can cater for all passions and interests to provide a day to suit your tastes. Highly recommended is a visit to Shiroyone-Senmaida, a vast collection of terraced rice paddies on the western coast of the Noto Peninsula. It is one of the most stunning natural views in Japan and a top sightseeing spot. The rice paddies are terraced on the slope, to maintain a level growing field and tumble into the Japan Sea making for a beautiful sunset vista. Nearby Wajima is steeped in history and famous for its lacquer ware. Here you can pass a day wandering around the old town and drop into one of the many lacquer ware shops, admire the goods, buy a lasting and exceptionally beautiful reminder of Japan or even visit Wajima-nuri Kobo and design and paint your own lacquer ware. Returning from Shiroyone-Senmaida, the incredible authentic food in the Ryokusone is well worth trying after a long day out and about in Kanazawa.
Overnight at the Ryokusone Hotel in Kanazawa.
Day 8
Bidding Kanazawa goodbye with a hearty breakfast, you board the Thunderbird Express train bound for Kyoto. Where Tokyo is a bubble of modernity, Kyoto is the guardian of Japan’s traditional culture. Kyoto was the Imperial capital of Japan for the majority of the last millennium and is home to 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. An English-speaking assistant will meet you at the station in Kyoto to oversee the final leg of your journey to Kyoto and ensure you check in to Nazuna Nijo, a charming boutique hotel in the style of a traditional Japanese inn centrally located in the heart of the city. Enjoy an open-air bath in your room where your luggage, safely transported from Tokyo, will be awaiting your arrival.
Overnight at the Nazuna Nijo in Kyoto.
Day 9
An English-speaking guide will meet you at your hotel before taking you on a journey into the heart of the history of Kyoto, exploring the 400-year-old Nijo Castle and the landscaped gardens in its outer concentric ring, and the Buddhist temples: Kinkaku-ji, with its magnificent Golden Pavilion, and Kiyomizu-dera, which takes its name from the waterfall it is constructed around. After a day out experiencing all that Kyoto has to offer, the Nazuna Nijo complements your day of culture exceptionally well, as it has been designed with history in mind, to provide you with a hands-on experience of the traditional culture of Kyoto and Japan. This allows you to immerse yourself in Kyoto for the duration of your stay.
Overnight at Nazuna Nijo in Kyoto.
Day 10
Having explored many of the World Heritage Sites, the final day in Kyoto offers a chance to visit any that remain, relax in Kyoto and enjoy the traditional Japanese cuisine specific to Kyoto that has evolved due to the city’s unusual distance from the sea, or to venture to the historic city of Nara, located less than an hour away, which offers eight spectacular temples, shrines and ruins which conjointly form another UNESCO World Heritage Site. After a day out, the Nazuna Nijo is the perfect place to wind down, perhaps enjoy some seasonal Japanese dishes cooked in an authentic Irori style around a sunken hearth.
Overnight at the Nazuna Nijo in Kyoto.
Day 11
After catching the bullet train back to Tokyo, the penultimate day in Japan presents an opportunity to explore Tokyo once again, perhaps visiting the Tokyo National Museum, which specialises in traditional Japanese art, or climbing Tokyo Tower for a final view of the bustling capital before enjoying Tokyo’s internationally acclaimed cuisine one last time – the city has twice as many Michelin stars as Paris! A final night in the Imperial Hotel Tokyo provides the perfect location to explore Tokyo, a relaxed evening in one of the most luxurious hotels in the city, ideally placed for a streamlined journey to the airport.
Overnight at the Imperial Hotel Tokyo.
Day 12
On the final morning you return to the airport to catch your chosen flight departing from Haneda or Narita bound for London, arriving later the same day.