• 3 Dinner (D)
• 10 Breakfast (B)
• 4 Lunch (L)

• Top-rated dining, from farm-to-table to local restaurants
• Premium regional accommodation
• Business class coach with extended leg room, and train travel

• Tokyo: Join your Travel Director and fellow travellers for dinner in Tokyo, where Japanese small bites offer your first taste of the flavours and dining styles you’ll encounter through the journey.
• Izu: Visit Nakaizu Winery Chateau for lunch with paired wines in the heart of central Izu. Set within a 10-hectare estate opened in 2000, the chateau brings together vineyard views, local winemaking and a chance to experience one of Shizuoka’s best-known wine estates.
• Shizuoka: Enjoy a green tea-inspired lunch that brings another expression of Shizuoka’s tea culture to the table. Green tea noodle soup adds an earthy, savoury note to the experience, showing how one of the region’s best-known products shapes local cooking as well as what is brewed in the cup.
• Gujo Hachiman: Enjoy a kaiseki lunch, a traditional multi-course Japanese meal served as a sequence of carefully prepared dishes. Shaped by seasonal ingredients, balance and presentation, it offers a broader introduction to Japanese cuisine through a range of flavours, textures and techniques.
• Kanazawa: Enjoy a four-course lunch at Jardin Paul Bocuse, where the culinary heritage of Lyon is expressed through seasonal ingredients from Ishikawa and the wider Hokuriku region. Set within Kanazawa’s Shiinoki Cultural Complex, the restaurant brings French technique together with the produce of land and sea from this part of Japan.
• Kyoto: Come together on your final evening in Japan for a Kyo Kaiseki dinner, Kyoto’s traditional multi-course cuisine, accompanied by a performance from a maiko, an apprentice geisha, as part of one of the city’s best-known cultural traditions.

• Shizuoka: Meet Mr Noboru at his family-run tea farm in Shizuoka, where gyokuro is produced using methods passed down through generations. You’ll learn about the traditional techniques still used here, hear stories from the farm and discover how preparation changes the character of each cup through tasting.

• Kyoto: Take part in sutra copying at a Japanese temple, hand-copying Buddhist scripture as it has been practised for generations. As each character is written, you’ll follow a tradition rooted in the careful repetition of sacred text.
• Kyoto: Choose a rickshaw ride through Arashiyama with a Local Specialist and see this side of Kyoto from a different perspective. As you travel through the district, you’ll pass traditional streets and well-known sights while hearing more about the area’s history and character.

Insight Vacations

Walk through Arashiyama Bamboo Forest in western Kyoto, following a path enclosed by tall bamboo stalks. The grove’s shifting light and the sound of leaves overhead give this short walk its distinctive atmosphere.

Set within the Saga-Arashiyama district, the bamboo grove belongs to an area long associated with temples, river crossings and historic approaches to Kyoto. It offers a different landscape from the city’s shrine precincts.

Meet your Travel Director and fellow travellers over dinner in Tokyo. Japanese small bites offer an introduction to the flavours and shared dining styles you may encounter across the country.

The meal brings your small group together in Japan’s capital, where neighbourhood restaurants range from intimate counters to lively gathering places. It is a chance to get acquainted while enjoying your first taste of Japanese cuisine.

Look across Tokyo from Tokyo Tower’s observation deck, taking in the dense spread of neighbourhoods and commercial districts below. A city drive also passes the Imperial Palace Plaza, Tokyo Station, Marunouchi and Ginza.

The tower’s elevated view makes the scale of Japan’s capital tangible, while the street-level sights reveal its contrasts: imperial grounds near modern offices, a landmark railway station and Ginza’s polished shopping avenues.

Visit Sensoji Temple in Asakusa and explore nearby Nakamise, a street lined with traditional stalls and local snacks. Enter through the imposing Kaminarimon gate to see a Buddhist site that remains an active place of worship.

Founded in 628, Sensoji is Tokyo’s oldest temple. Its gates, lanterns and busy approach offer a vivid encounter with the religious traditions that endure within the modern city.

Learn bonsai techniques from an apprentice in a hands-on introduction to planting, pruning and tying. A visit to the Bonsai Museum reveals a collection of more than 1,000 documented trees, including a pine believed to be around 1,000 years old.

Bonsai calls for careful observation and decisions made over generations, rather than simply keeping a tree small. The class and collection together reveal the patience and precision behind this Japanese art.

Ride the ropeway to Mount Katsuragi’s summit at Izu Panorama Park, 452 metres above the surrounding peninsula. Explore the viewing area and forest walkway, with views towards Mount Fuji when skies are clear.

At the summit, visit Katsuragi Shrine, whose history reaches back to the Heian period. Its hillside setting places a longstanding site of worship alongside broad views of Izu’s mountains and coastline.

Enjoy lunch with paired wines at Nakaizu Winery Chateau, surrounded by the vineyard slopes of central Izu. The pairing offers a taste of local winemaking alongside a meal in the estate’s rural setting.

Opened in 2000, the chateau sits within a 10-hectare estate in Shizuoka Prefecture. Vineyard views across the Izu landscape give this dining experience a distinctly regional character.

Meet tea master Mr Noboru at his family-run Shizuoka farm, known for producing gyokuro. Learn about the methods used to grow and prepare the tea, make your own cup and taste how different brews develop their character.

Gyokuro is prized for the distinctive flavour produced by shading its leaves before harvest. Hearing the farm’s stories while tasting the tea offers a personal introduction to Shizuoka’s tea heritage.

Taste a green tea-inspired lunch in Shizuoka, featuring green tea noodles in soup with vegetable tempura. The meal explores a savoury use for the ingredient most closely associated with the region.

Shizuoka’s tea culture reaches beyond the cup into everyday cooking. The noodles’ earthy note and the contrast of crisp tempura make this a regional food experience, rather than a conventional lunch stop.

Ride Japan’s Shinkansen bullet train during the journey between Shizuoka and Nagoya, with another train journey taking you towards Kyoto. Settle in and experience the speed, comfort and precision for which the network is known.

More than a way to cover distance, the Shinkansen is part of everyday life in Japan. Its efficient stations and smooth-running trains offer a close-up view of modern Japanese travel.

Watch a private sword forging demonstration by a master swordsmith and his apprentices in Seki. A visit to the Sword Museum adds context to the craft and the city’s reputation for blades prized by samurai.

Sword-making has shaped Seki for more than 700 years. Seeing traditional skills practised by today’s craftspeople reveals how this cultural heritage is being safeguarded; the visit supports sustainable communities through the operator’s MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® programme.

Visit the Washi Paper Museum to learn how Japanese paper is made, and create a souvenir of your own. The hands-on activity brings you closer to the materials and careful work involved in this longstanding craft.

Washi has been used for writing, artworks and everyday objects across Japan. Making a piece yourself reveals the skill behind its distinctive texture and the continuing place of papermaking in Japanese culture.

Enjoy a traditional kaiseki lunch at a local restaurant in Gujo Hachiman. Served as a sequence of carefully prepared courses, the meal introduces a range of Japanese flavours, textures and techniques.

Kaiseki places particular attention on seasonality, balance and presentation. Each dish contributes to a considered whole, making this lunch an exploration of Japanese culinary tradition as well as an opportunity to dine in a historic Gifu town.

Watch a demonstration of Gujo Odori, the traditional festival dance of Gujo Hachiman, and try the steps yourself. Dancers wearing yukata and wooden geta bring the town’s stories and movements to life.

Performed at local festivals for generations, Gujo Odori draws inspiration from the castle, river and surrounding mountains. Taking part offers a lively connection to the town’s communal traditions rather than viewing them only from the sidelines.

Explore Ainokura in the UNESCO-listed Gokayama region, where steeply thatched gassho-zukuri farmhouses stand among the mountains. Walk through the village to see how its traditional buildings fit the landscape.

The sharply pitched roofs were designed to shed the area’s heavy snow. Ainokura offers a close look at rural building methods shaped by mountain life and a settlement whose historic character remains visible today.

Stroll through Kenrokuen, one of Japan’s three great gardens, in the heart of Kanazawa. Explore a landscape of paths, water and carefully composed views shaped over generations by the Maeda lords.

Its name refers to six qualities traditionally associated with an ideal garden. Kenrokuen’s changing perspectives invite you to notice the balance between natural scenery and deliberate design that has made it one of the city’s most celebrated places.

Savour a four-course lunch at Jardin Paul Bocuse in Kanazawa’s Shiinoki Cultural Complex. The kitchen brings French culinary technique to seasonal ingredients sourced from Ishikawa and the wider Hokuriku region.

The restaurant draws on the culinary heritage of Paul Bocuse, one of France’s influential chefs, while reflecting the produce of this part of Japan. It is a meeting of French tradition and regional flavours expressed through a carefully prepared meal.

Discover Ohi ware at Ohi Gallery in Kanazawa and enjoy matcha served in an authentic Ohi bowl. Learn how the pottery’s forms and surfaces connect to the city’s tea culture.

Established in 1666, the Ohi tradition has long been associated with tea practice in Kanazawa. Holding one of its bowls while drinking matcha makes the relationship between craftsmanship and ceremony immediate and tangible.

Spend time in Kanazawa’s Higashi Chaya District, where preserved wooden teahouses line streets associated with the city’s geisha culture. Browse the area and see shops showcasing Kanazawa’s well-known gold leaf craft.

The district’s timber facades preserve the character of a traditional chaya quarter. Its craft shops and historic streets offer a glimpse of Kanazawa’s artistic heritage beyond the city’s gardens and museums.

Walk through Gion with your Travel Director, exploring the narrow streets of Kyoto’s best-known geisha district. See traditional wooden machiya townhouses and teahouses that preserve the atmosphere of the old capital.

Gion’s longstanding association with Kyoto’s performing arts gives its streets a cultural significance beyond their appearance. The guided walk provides context for the traditions still connected to this district without treating it as a staged attraction.

Visit Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto and see the thousands of vermilion torii gates leading into its wooded hillside. Explore the setting of Japan’s head shrine of Inari worship.

Inari was first enshrined here in 711, and the wider complex has long been a place of ritual and pilgrimage. The procession of gates creates one of Kyoto’s most recognisable sacred landscapes while marking paths through an active shrine.

Visit Kinkaku-ji and view the Golden Pavilion reflected in its surrounding pond. Its gilded upper floors and garden setting create one of Kyoto’s most familiar scenes.

First built in 1397 as a retirement villa for shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the site became a Zen temple. Seeing the pavilion within its landscaped grounds reveals a legacy of shogunate patronage as well as the composition behind its celebrated view.

Choose to hand-copy Buddhist scripture at a Japanese temple in Kyoto. Working character by character, take part in a quiet practice that asks for concentration and care rather than speed.

Sutra copying has been practised for generations as a way of engaging with sacred text. This is one of two included Kyoto choice activities, offering a contemplative alternative to the guided rickshaw ride through Arashiyama.

Choose a rickshaw ride through Arashiyama with a Local Specialist. Travel through the Kyoto district past traditional streets and notable sights while hearing about the area’s history and character.

The rickshaw offers a seated perspective on a neighbourhood known for its river scenery, temples and historic approaches. This is one of two included Kyoto choice activities, available instead of temple sutra copying.

Enjoy a Kyo Kaiseki dinner in Kyoto, accompanied by a performance from a maiko, an apprentice geisha. The multi-course meal presents Kyoto’s culinary tradition through a succession of carefully prepared dishes.

Kyo Kaiseki places emphasis on seasonal ingredients and considered presentation. The maiko performance adds an encounter with Kyoto’s longstanding performing-arts culture, bringing food and artistic tradition together for the small group’s final evening.

Explore Osaka and Nara on an optional excursion taking in Osaka Castle, the animated streets of Dotonbori and Nara Deer Park. The outing combines an Osaka landmark and urban food district with Nara’s well-known parkland.

Osaka Castle recalls the city’s place in Japan’s feudal history, while Dotonbori is known for its illuminated signs and restaurant-lined streets. The park’s roaming deer give Nara a distinct atmosphere. This experience costs extra and is bookable on tour.

Visit a sake brewery for a tour and tasting as an optional experience during your time in Kyoto. Learn about the production of Japan’s rice-based drink and sample its flavours at the brewery.

Sake brewing brings together rice, water and specialised techniques that shape the finished drink’s character. A guided tasting offers a closer look at this Japanese craft beyond the restaurant table. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.