Luxury Japan Spring 2023

Flight to Japan

You are met on arrival in Japan and assisted with your transfer to the hotel in Tokyo. The group will get together in the early evening and you are invited to join us for dinner.

Our first day in Japan begins with a sushi making lesson with a top chef. You’ll learn how to prepare the rice – the most important part of sushi – as well as cutting the fish correctly and how to shape the various styles of sushi. After the lesson, you’ll be able to lunch on your own creations!
The afternoon begins with a stroll through Hamarikyu gardens, an oasis of traditional Japan amongst the skyscrapers. We continue by boat on the Sumida River to visit Tokyo’s oldest temple, Asakusa Kannon.

Breakfast & Lunch

We begin the day at the Tokyo National Museum, home to a vast collection of Japanese art and antiquities. We continue on to Akihabara, Tokyo’s famous high-tech shopping district and recently the home to a number of maid cafés.

The rest of the day is at your leisure - we would be happy to assist you with visiting Meiji Shrine, the trendy Omotesando shopping area or anywhere else in the capital that may be of personal interest.

Breakfast

We depart the capital and make our first stop at the Taya Caves. The modest entrance belies an astonishing maze of tunnels and carved Buddhist images, all created by hand over a 500 year period. It’s a short trip to Kamakura where we visit the Great Buddha and Tsuruoka Hachiman Shrine whilst enjoying views out to the Pacific Ocean. Today’s destination is Hakone and our lakeside hotel with fabulous views across Lake Ashi to Mount Fuji.

Due to our rural location, we offer dinner at the hotel as our guests.

Breakfast & Dinner

We have a day to enjoy the views of Mount Fuji as we explore the local area on the cable car, boat ride or our private coach when convenient. We go to Mt Komagatake and, weather permitting, see Mt Fuji as a majestic background.
The day continues with a visit to the Hakone Open-Air Museum, featuring about 120 exhibits from well known sculptors in a park setting and an extensive collection of Picasso works in the Pavilion. On our way back to the hotel we will visit the Yosegi parquetry studio where we have special access to their workshop to see this very traditional form of inlaid woodcraft. You can enjoy a stroll by the lake or to the nearby Hakone Shrine before dinner.

Breakfast & Dinner

We leave Hakone and experience our first bullet train speeding west. The incredibly smooth ride in these immaculate carriages makes it a very relaxing way to get from A to B. On arrival in Hiroshima, we’ll enjoy a delicious okonomiyaki lunch before visiting the moving Peace Park, then take the waterbus to Miyajima, where our home for the next two nights will be a beautiful contemporary ryokan.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Today we enjoy a leisurely day on Miyajima. We visit Itsukushima shrine in its serene setting, perched over the tidal waters opposite the iconic torii gate. There is time to explore the island, visiting the island peak on foot or by cable car, and to wander around the village and browse in the shops. It is common to see Japanese style weddings taking place on this sacred island.

Breakfast & Dinner

We start the day with another delicious and nutritious Japanese breakfast before a short ferry and train ride back to the mainland.
We leave Hiroshima on the bullet train and follow the coastline to Beppu. We see the devil’s (thermal) pools and try a sand bath in Japan’s most famous hot spring town. Dinner at the hotel is included this evening.

Breakfast & Dinner

We travel by coach towards the vast caldera that encircles Mount Aso, stopping first to see the superb panoramic views from the northern edge. The road steeply descends to the base of the caldera before continuing to the foot of Mount Aso and then we enjoy a nature trekking tour with the curator of Aso volcano museum at Kusasenri. On our return we visit the remarkable pottery village of Onta. We can see how a group of families continue to produce pottery with traditional methods dating back centuries.

Breakfast

We enjoy a hearty breakfast at our hotel before the train journey back east towards Kyoto. We follow the inland route through the green landscapes of northern Kyushu before re-joining the bullet train one final time. We will reach Kyoto in the late afternoon.
After arriving in Kyoto, we explore the adjoining modern station complex with its myriad of shops and stunning architecture before being taken on to our hotel. Dinner at the hotel is included this evening.

Breakfast

We travel to the ancient capital of Nara to see the picturesque park, home to a number of temples and deer in beautiful landscaped gardens. From the huge sitting Buddha in Todaiji Temple we gently walk up to Nigatsu-do Temple. We have sweeping views across the park and the town beyond. We’ll stroll through Nara-kōen Park, which is home to very friendly local deer who will follow you hoping for tasty treats! Moving on, we’ll also visit the lovely Isui-en Strolling Gardens, where you can watch the carp and wander amongst the plum, cherry, and maple trees.

Breakfast

This morning starts at the Golden Pavilion, so called because the glittering temple is overlaid with glittering gold leaf. Nearby is the stone garden in Ryoan-ji Temple, a representation of Zen philosophy, consisting of fifteen stones placed in white sand representing islands in an expanding sea.
We return to the hotel with a couple of hours free time to relax before the evening event. This evening you are treated to a special private dinner with dancing and music performed by two Geisha. You will have a chance to hear about this mysterious world and ask your own questions with the help of an interpreter. Keen photographers can also snap some truly memorable shots. After dinner we take a night walk around the Gion area.

Breakfast & Dinner

This morning starts in the foothills on the east side of Kyoto as we head up to Kiyomizu Temple. From here, there are fantastic views over the whole city. We return to central Kyoto and visit the bustling Nishiki market, a great place to find some unusual presents.
In the afternoon we have tickets to watch the Miyako Odori, the annual Geisha Spring dances at the Gion Theatre. You are free for the rest of the day, and we would be delighted to guide you around the shops or help you visit somewhere of personal interest.

Breakfast

After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to the airport for your flight home or follow your onward arrangements.

Breakfast