Rise to the Tokyo Skytree observation deck for wide views across the capital’s dense streets, rivers and distant skyline. On clear days, the panorama can extend towards Tokyo Bay and Mount Fuji.

Japan’s tallest structure is both a broadcasting tower and a modern city landmark. From above, Tokyo’s many neighbourhoods become easier to read, offering a different perspective on the scale and layout of the metropolis.

• 4 Dinner (D)
• 11 Breakfast (B)
• 2 Lunch (L)

• Kyoto: Admire the beautiful golden pavilion of Kinkakuji Temple.  
• Kyoto: You’ll walk beneath a seemingly endless path of red torii gates at Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Shrine. Dedicated to the Shinto god of rice and prosperity, this sacred site invites you to follow in the footsteps of pilgrims through forested trails and striking shrines.
• Kanazawa: Savour the flavours of Kanazawa with a sake tasting and lunch. Learn how rice, water and artistry combine to make sake, then lunch on regional dishes that reflect Ishikawa’s culinary heritage.
• Kanazawa: Step back in time at the Nomura Samurai House, once home to a respected warrior family. Explore its gardens, traditional architecture and treasured artefacts. You’ll learn about samurai life and honour in feudal Japan with a rare glimpse into the elegance of Edo-period craftsmanship.
• Kanazawa: Discover the 350-year legacy of Ohi pottery in Kanazawa, where a Local Specialist will share the story behind this ceramic tradition, still crafted by hand today. You’ll sip matcha from an Ohi bowl as you join in an immersive ritual that connects art, history and hospitality.
• Tokyo: Experience a peaceful forest oasis in the heart of Tokyo at Meiji Shrine. Dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, this Shinto sanctuary invites your quiet reflection beneath towering torii gates and ancient trees, a serene contrast to the city’s busy pace.
• Tokyo: Visit the Tokyo National Museum to browse collections of Japanese art and archaeological objects.
• Tokyo: Explore Tokyo’s oldest temple, Sensoji, in the historic Asakusa district. Wander through Nakamise Arcade, lined with traditional treats and crafts, before arriving at the main hall, a symbol of faith, resilience and local spirit.
• Tokyo: Rise above the skyline at Tokyo Skytree, the tallest structure in Japan. From its observation deck, you’ll take in panoramic views of the city, from Mount Fuji to Tokyo Bay. It’s a modern marvel and an unforgettable moment that will leave you awestruck.
• Tokyo: Sail across the frozen Sea of Okhotsk aboard an ice-breaking ship. When the temperature drops between late January and late March, your drift ice cruise will bring you face to face with floating ice fields and rare wildlife, like Steller’s sea eagle and spotted seals.
• Lake Akan: You’ll be transported by an evening of Ainu storytelling through traditional dance, music and ritual at the Ainu Kotan Theatre. Through this performance, learn about Japan’s Indigenous heritage, preserved with passion and shared with pride.
• Sapporo: Visit the birthplace of one of Japan’s most beloved brews at the Sapporo Beer Museum. You’ll explore the history of Hokkaido’s iconic beer brand, then enjoy a tasting that brings the story to life.
• Otaru: Wander through Otaru, a port town known for its iconic canal and glass-blown artistry. Lined with old warehouses and gas lamps, the canal district is a great place to stroll through Japan’s Meiji-era past.
• Sapporo: Celebrate your journey with a memorable dinner at The Jewels, perched atop Mt Moiwa. Ride the ropeway to the summit, then dine with panoramic views over Sapporo’s cityscape. This dinner is an unforgettable finale to your tour.

• Selected hotel dinners plus a locally hosted meal
• 4-star stays
• Deluxe coach and train travel, and select flights

Ride the Mt Moiwa ropeway above Sapporo for sweeping views of the city, and dine at The Jewels restaurant near the summit. The elevated setting makes this included dinner an experience in its own right.

From the mountain, Sapporo’s streets spread across the Ishikari Plain, with the city lights creating a different perspective in the evening. The combination of a scenic ascent and a shared meal offers a distinctive close to the Hokkaido visit.

Meet members of the Ainu community at a village near Lake Akan and learn about the Indigenous heritage of Hokkaido. Take part in a hands-on wood-carving workshop, hearing about the symbols and stories expressed through the craft.

Carving is one way Ainu makers carry cultural knowledge through generations. This community encounter offers an opportunity to learn directly from local people and supports the preservation of living traditions.

Explore the Sapporo Beer Museum to learn about Hokkaido’s brewing history, and enjoy a guided beer tasting. Discover how one of Japan’s best-known beer brands developed alongside the growth of the northern island.

The museum occupies a historic brick building whose industrial character reflects Sapporo’s brewing heritage. The tasting turns that story into a sensory experience, offering a chance to consider the flavours as well as the history of the beer.

Visit Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto’s Golden Pavilion, and admire its gold-leaf upper floors reflected in the surrounding pond. Follow the garden paths for changing views of one of Japan’s most recognisable landmarks, especially striking against the muted colours of winter.

Originally built as a shogun’s retirement villa, the site became a Zen temple after his death. The present pavilion was reconstructed in the 1950s, preserving the dramatic relationship between architecture, water and carefully composed gardens.

Trafalgar

Meet the Nakamura family at a traditional restaurant near Kyoto for a hosted kaiseki lunch. Enjoy a succession of carefully presented dishes while your hosts introduce Japanese dining customs and etiquette in a welcoming local setting.

Kaiseki celebrates seasonality as much as flavour: ingredients, serving vessels and presentation all reflect the time of year. This shared meal offers a personal introduction to the thought and hospitality behind one of Japan’s most refined culinary traditions.

Walk beneath the vermilion torii gates of Fushimi Inari Shrine as their closely spaced arches lead from the shrine grounds into Kyoto’s wooded hills. Explore the sacred setting and see how gates and smaller shrines mark the paths.

Dedicated to Inari, a Shinto deity associated with rice and prosperity, the shrine has drawn worshippers for centuries. Many torii have been donated by individuals and businesses, creating a vivid record of continuing devotion.

Visit a local sake brewery in Kanazawa to learn how rice, water and careful fermentation shape Japan’s traditional drink. Savour a locally inspired lunch paired with selected sakes, discovering how different styles complement regional dishes.

Brewing is a craft of closely managed temperatures and timing, with each step influencing the finished sake’s aroma and texture. The visit connects Kanazawa’s food culture with the skill behind a drink enjoyed across Japan.

Explore Kenrokuen, Kanazawa’s celebrated strolling garden, where ponds, bridges, lanterns and carefully shaped trees create a succession of views. In winter, you may see the ropes of yukitsuri supporting branches against heavy snow.

Developed by the Maeda lords over generations, Kenrokuen is regarded as one of Japan’s great landscape gardens. Its design rewards unhurried observation, balancing spacious vistas with intimate scenes beside the water.

Step inside the Nomura Samurai House in Kanazawa’s former samurai district. Explore its traditional rooms, family artefacts and compact garden for a glimpse of the domestic world of a respected warrior family.

Kanazawa flourished under the Maeda clan during the Edo period, when samurai households formed part of the castle town’s social order. The house’s craftsmanship and garden reveal a quieter, more personal side of that history.

Discover Kanazawa’s Ohi pottery tradition with a Local Specialist at the Ohi Gallery. Learn about the hand-crafted ceramics and sip matcha from an Ohi bowl, experiencing the work as an object made to be held and used.

Ohi ware has been associated with Kanazawa’s tea culture for roughly 350 years. Its distinctive forms and glazes show how craft, hospitality and the rituals of preparing tea remain closely connected.

Explore the wooden streets of Higashi Chaya, Kanazawa’s historic teahouse district, and visit Kaikaro, a chaya with a history spanning around two centuries. Its preserved setting offers a close look at the architecture associated with the district’s entertainment culture.

Chaya were places where guests gathered for conversation and traditional performance. The district’s latticed facades and narrow lanes retain the atmosphere of Kanazawa’s Edo-period past.

Learn about takoyaki, the savoury batter-and-octopus snack associated with Japanese street food, and sit down to a hearty ramen lunch in Tokyo. It is a chance to explore familiar flavours through the dishes people enjoy in everyday settings.

Takoyaki’s crisp exterior and soft centre contrast with ramen’s warming broth and noodles. Together, the two foods offer an approachable look at the variety and regional influences within casual Japanese dining.

Visit the Tokyo National Museum to browse collections of Japanese art and archaeological objects. Displays offer a closer look at the materials, techniques and ideas that have shaped the country’s visual culture across centuries.

Located in Ueno Park, the museum holds an extensive collection that spans ancient finds and later artistic traditions. Time among its galleries adds historical depth to the temples, shrines and craft traditions encountered elsewhere in Japan.

Board the Aurora ice-breaking ship for a winter cruise on the Sea of Okhotsk. Watch the vessel move through seasonal fields of drift ice and look out across the stark meeting of frozen sea, open water and Hokkaido’s coastline.

Drift ice conditions vary with weather and currents, making each sailing different. Wildlife may be visible, including seabirds and, with luck, seals; sightings cannot be guaranteed. The cruise offers a close encounter with one of northern Japan’s most distinctive seasonal landscapes.

Experience a traditional onsen stay beside Lake Akan at New Akan. Unwind in the hotel’s hot-spring bathing facilities, including its open-air sky garden spa, and enjoy Hokkaido flavours during the stay.

Onsen bathing is a longstanding part of Japanese travel culture, valued as a chance to slow down and restore. The lakeside setting gives this stay a distinctly northern character, with winter air providing a sharp contrast to the warmth of the water.

Experience an evening of Ainu dance, music and storytelling at the Ainu Kotan Theatre near Lake Akan. The performance introduces traditions shared through movement, song and ceremony.

The Ainu are the Indigenous people of Hokkaido, and performance remains an important way to express cultural memory and connections with the natural world. Seeing these traditions presented by the community adds another dimension to the region’s living heritage.

Visit the Akan International Crane Centre to observe red-crowned cranes and learn about the work to protect them. In winter, watch for the birds’ graceful movements and, if conditions allow, their distinctive courtship displays.

Once at risk of disappearing from Japan, the red-crowned crane has become a powerful symbol of conservation in Hokkaido. The centre provides a focused opportunity to see this remarkable species while learning about its habitat and survival.

Walk through central Sapporo to see Odori Park and the Clock Tower, two landmarks at the heart of the city. Pause for photographs at Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium, a reminder of Sapporo’s winter-sport identity.

Odori Park forms a broad green corridor through the city, while the 19th-century Clock Tower recalls Hokkaido’s early modern development. Okurayama hosted ski-jumping events during the 1972 Winter Olympics, giving the stop a sporting connection.

Wander beside Otaru Canal and explore the old warehouses, gas lamps and streets of this Hokkaido port town. Otaru is also known for its glasswork, adding a craft tradition to its waterfront setting.

The canal and surrounding buildings recall the town’s role as a commercial hub during Hokkaido’s development. Their preserved facades give the district a character distinct from Sapporo’s broad avenues and modern skyline.

Join an optional shabu-shabu dinner in Kanazawa, cooking thinly sliced ingredients in simmering broth at the table. The experience includes unlimited drinks and offers a sociable way to explore a popular Japanese dining style.

Named for the sound of ingredients swished through hot broth, shabu-shabu puts the cooking and conversation in guests’ hands. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Walk among the towering bamboo of Arashiyama in western Kyoto and visit Tenryu-ji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The grove’s narrow paths offer a quiet contrast to the city, while the temple opens onto a landscaped pond garden.

Founded in the 14th century, Tenryu-ji is a centre of Zen Buddhism. Its garden draws on the surrounding hills as a backdrop, making the landscape beyond its walls part of the view.

Visit Meiji Jingu Shrine, a Shinto sanctuary set within a wooded precinct in Tokyo. Pass its imposing torii gates and take in the calm of the grounds. A scenic drive also brings you past Imperial Palace Plaza for a view of the palace surroundings.

Meiji Jingu honours Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, figures associated with Japan’s modernisation. The palace occupies the former site of Edo Castle, linking today’s capital to its earlier history.

Explore Senso-ji in Tokyo’s historic Asakusa district and walk along Nakamise, the approach lined with stalls selling traditional treats and crafts. The busy shopping street leads towards the temple’s gates and main hall.

Senso-ji is Tokyo’s oldest temple and a longstanding place of Buddhist worship. Its lively surroundings show how a sacred landmark remains woven into the everyday life of the neighbourhood.

Visit the Okhotsk Ryuhyo Museum in eastern Hokkaido to learn about the drift ice that reaches this coast each winter. Exhibits introduce the conditions behind the phenomenon and the marine environment of the Sea of Okhotsk.

The ice forms farther north and is carried south by currents, making Hokkaido one of the few places at this latitude where visitors can encounter it. The museum provides context for the changing seascape and the wildlife associated with it.