The cuisine is usually a highlight of any Japan trip. It is based on rice with miso soup and other dishes usually prepared with seasonal ingredients. Seafood is common and usually comes grilled or deep fried. Sushi and sashimi aside, other staple dishes include soba or udon noodles, sukiyaki (meat, fish and vegetables cooked in broth) and yakiniku (grilled meat).

When food is not included, your tour leader can always recommend the best local eateries and arrange group meals for a full immersion in the varied and excellent local cuisine.

Worth knowing

Food for certain diets (including gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan) is minimal or non-existent in many areas of Japan. The group meals arranged by the tour leader are in traditional eateries where the choices of vegan dishes may be limited to simple salads or boiled rice. However, there are several vegan restaurants in Osaka and Fukuoka. Please let us know before travel of your dietary requirements.

Most stocks, which are common in Japanese cuisine, contain animal products and even vegetable tempura is mostly fried in the same oil as meat or fish. While some substitutions may be possible, strict vegetarian or vegan meals cannot be guaranteed. Those who can consume dashi stocks typically have fewer issues, but for those concerned, we recommend bringing supplementary food items.

Explore Japan’s most celebrated fortress as you step inside Himeji Castle, the dazzling white keep that soars above its town. Climb timber stairways, feel the cool plastered walls, and pause at windows designed for defense, all while admiring the elegant silhouette that earns it the nickname White Heron Castle.

Learn how this 17th-century stronghold—now a UNESCO World Heritage site—survived wars and earthquakes. Its ingenious maze-like approach and layered baileys reveal the craft of samurai-era architecture, rewarding your visit with history, design, and commanding views from the soaring keep.

Ride the Shimanami Kaido with your leader and a local cycling guide on a scenic 22mi (35km) segment linking islands across the Seto Inland Sea. Pedal purpose-built cycle lanes over sweeping bridges, breathe in salty air, and coast past citrus groves that perfume the route.

Celebrated among the world’s great rides, this island-hopping corridor blends radiant seascapes with small-town charm. Expect gentle gradients, well-marked paths, and memorable stops for photos from coastal bridges where blue water, fishing boats, and distant hills meet under refreshing sea breezes.

Ascend Mount Katsuyama to step inside Matsuyama Castle, an original hilltop fortress of dark timbers and polished floors. Explore defensive turrets and enjoy broad panoramas across the city to the Inland Sea before delving into Shikoku’s spiritual side.

Visit Ishiteji Temple, a revered stop on the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage, then pause nearby to admire the exterior of Dogo Onsen Honkan—a storied bathhouse with 3,000-year roots and ornate wooden facades. This trio reveals feudal, spiritual, and bathing traditions in one compact cultural arc.

Join a guided walk through Uchiko’s Edo-era lanes to admire merchant houses, latticework facades, and a living candle shop where artisans keep traditional wax crafts alive. The town’s unhurried rhythm and preserved streets showcase a Japan shaped by trade and craftsmanship.

Step into the Kamihaga Residence to learn about wax merchants, then continue to a washi workshop for a hands-on haku-oshi gilding class. Create your own postcard on handmade washi paper, applying delicate metallic foils that catch the light—an elegant memento of Shikoku’s artistry.

Hike Mount Yufu on waymarked trails from Yufu Tozanguchi, gaining grassy slopes toward twin peaks that watch over Yufuin. The path blends woodland shade with open ridgelines, rewarding steady effort with sweeping views across valleys and the Yufuin Basin.

Rising to 1,583m, this graceful volcano offers varied gradients and short scrambles chosen to suit the group. In clear weather, the horizon layers into misty mountain passes, and the cool air at elevation sharpens senses as you crest the summit and savor Kyushu’s highland drama.

Master ‘hell steam’ cuisine in Beppu’s onsen district, lowering bamboo baskets into geothermal steam vents to gently cook vegetables, eggs, and seafood. The mineral-rich vapors season ingredients naturally, producing delicate textures and clean, savory flavors.

Guided by local hosts in a convivial workshop, this hands-on cooking class unveils a centuries-old technique born of volcanic terrain. Sit down to sample regional flavors you prepared moments before, appreciating how Beppu’s landscape shapes both daily life and the island’s table.

Hike Aso-Kuju National Park on two complementary trails that crest Mt Kishima-dake and Mt Eboshi-dake. Traverse volcanic grasslands and weather-sculpted rock, pausing on airy ridges for expansive views toward the vast Aso caldera.

Part of the famed five peaks of this active volcano, these routes are chosen for scenery and safety, keeping distance from gas zones when needed. Expect steady climbs, cinder underfoot, and moments where wind, sky, and rim meet—an introduction to Kyushu’s restless geologic heart.

Explore Arita, birthplace of Japanese porcelain since the early 1600s. Wander narrow lanes lined with kilns and galleries, browse delicate wares, and admire cobalt-blue glazes and refined forms that made Imari ware coveted worldwide.

Learn how local kaolin and wood-fired climbing kilns fueled a craft that transformed daily utensils into art. Meeting artisans and shopkeepers reveals a living tradition—part workshop, part museum—set amidst narrow alleys that whisper with centuries of ceramic innovation.

Visit the Atomic Bomb Museum & Peace Park for a sober, essential encounter with history. Exhibits, survivor testimonies, and artifacts illuminate the events of 9 August 1945, inviting reflection amid memorials and quiet gardens.

Walk to the epicenter monuments, the dignified Peace Statue, and the Fountain of Peace, designed for those who longed for water after the blast. Space is held to pause for photos and reflection, honoring the city’s resilience and its message of peace to future generations.

Ride Nagasaki’s retro trams between landmarks as you explore Glover Garden, where Meiji-era mansions overlook the harbor. Stroll terraces, verandas, and gardens that evoke the lives of early foreign merchants in this cosmopolitan port.

Continue to Dejima, the restored island quarter that once hosted Dutch traders during Japan’s Edo-period isolation. Timber warehouses, exhibits, and canals narrate a rare bridge between worlds, revealing how ideas and goods filtered into Japan long before modern borders opened.

Soak in a traditional onsen at the storied Dogo Onsen Honkan, where steaming communal baths and creaking corridors immerse you in bathing culture. Wooden architecture and lantern-lit galleries frame a serene pause amid travels.

Often cited among Japan’s oldest hot springs with a 3,000-year history, the bathhouse observes strict bathing etiquette. This activity is at additional cost and bookable on tour; opening times and sections vary, and guests with large visible tattoos may be refused entry.

Soak in mineral-rich waters amid Beppu’s signature plumes of steam. Choose a local bathhouse to unwind in indoor pools or open-air tubs as the town’s streets hiss and swirl with geothermal energy.

This quintessential onsen experience deepens your connection to Kyushu’s volcanic landscape and bathing customs. It is at additional cost and bookable on tour; facilities observe bathing etiquette, and some venues may restrict entry for those with large visible tattoos. Towels and amenities vary by bathhouse.

Visit Kumamoto Castle, famed for towering stone ramparts and a striking black-and-white keep. Walk defensive walls, peer into arrow slits, and appreciate a fortress that has guarded Kyushu’s heart for centuries.

Heavily damaged in 2016 and steadily restored, the site showcases resilience alongside architectural prowess. This optional visit is dependent on routing and conditions, and is bookable on tour; local transport and entrance fees are additional.

Soak in outdoor baths at Kurokawa Onsen, a rustic mountain village where riverside pools steam beneath trees and thatched-roof ryokan line narrow lanes. The mood is hushed, the waters silky, the scenery quietly restorative.

Day-visitor passes allow dipping into selected baths amid woodland and streamside settings. This experience requires extra travel time from the Aso area, is at additional cost, and is bookable on tour. Venues observe bathing etiquette; some may restrict guests with large visible tattoos.

Set out on a countryside hike between Taketa and Asaji, following quiet farm roads, terraced fields, and village shrines that reveal rural Kyushu life at an easy pace. Expect gentle gradients and time to pause for photographs.

Offered when volcanic conditions limit high-altitude routes, this alternative focuses on scenery and local rhythms rather than summits. It is flexible in distance, uses public transport, and is bookable on tour at additional cost for transit only.

Meet your group and meet your tour leader over a convivial welcome dinner in Japan’s capital of street food. Taste Osaka’s favorites as you sample regional dishes such as okonomiyaki, kushikatsu, and takoyaki in a lively local eatery, where chatter, sizzling grills, and clinking glasses set the tone for the journey ahead.

Absorb the city’s energetic food culture, shaped by merchant life and riverside trade. With the glow of neon-lit Dotonbori canals never far away, this shared meal offers a warm introduction to Kansai flavors and customs, helping the group connect before the adventures continue.