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Temple roofs and autumn leaves, Nikko

Luxury Japan tour

16 days from £14,435pp

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Tour highlights

  • Watch a live sumo training match.

  • Hot spring bathing in Hakone.

  • Walking the Nakasendo Highway, Tsumago.

  • Helicopter ride over Tokyo.

  • Enjoy a geisha walk in Gion and a cookery course in Kyoto.

Price includes:

  • Scheduled international flights
  • Flight offers available
  • In-destination transfers
  • Activities and excursions as detailed
  • All accommodation
  • 24-hour support while you travel
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Itinerary idea in detail

Includes international flights from a choice of UK airports, including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

  • Today you begin your journey by boarding your international outbound flight to Tokyo.

  • After passing through customs and luggage collection, you're met by an airport guide who will give you your trip documents and direct you to the private shuttle service that will take you to your hotel. After checking in, spend the rest of the day at leisure, resting and relaxing after your flight. If you want to explore, you may wish to walk around the Imperial Gardens.

  • Your guide will meet you today in the hotel lobby to run through your trip and offer you any local advice so you can enjoy the country with confidence. In the first section, the guide will explain your itinerary in more detail and answer any questions. This can take up to two hours, so afterwards, head out with your guide to see some of the city's highlights. Perhaps start with taking a cruise from the Hamarikyu Gardens to the old district of Asakusa to see the beautiful Sensoji temple.

  • Spend the morning at a Sumo stable in the Ryogoku area of the city to watch Sumo wrestlers training up close. The national sport in Japan is still widely followed today and has millions of avid followers worldwide. After the training, head out for a typical Sumo lunch accompanied by some of the wrestlers to get a unique look at their lifestyles.

  • Travel by bullet train and local lines to Tsumago, a quiet post town in the Kiso Valley. This afternoon walk along the scenic Nakasendo Highway, which once connected Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo) in the 1800s.

  • At leisure to walk along and explore the Nakasendo Highway.

  • Take the train back to Nagoya and then travel west to Hiroshima.

  • Have a full day at leisure to explore Hiroshima and nearby Miyajima island, with its "floating" torii gate.

  • Travel to Kyoto. With 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, more than 1,600 Buddhist temples and over 400 Shinto Shrines, Kyoto is one of the world's most culturally rich cities. Take the afternoon at leisure to find your feet in Kyoto. Perhaps follow the Kamo River north to see the Philosopher's Walk and Silver Pavilion (Kinkakuji).

  • In the morning, head out with a local guide to see some of the spectacular temples in Kyoto. Stop at Kodai-ji, one of the most exclusive places for tea ceremonies in the city, before continuing on to the Higashiyama district to gaze upon the awe-inspiring architecture of the area. In the evening, set out to the Gion geisha district to the east of the city to hopefully spot a geisha as they go about their business.

  • This morning, head out on a tour of the Nishiki Market in Kyoto also known as "Kyoto's kitchen". The guide is the owner and head chef at a restaurant nearby. In the tour, you will walk around the market where the guide selects their locally produced ingredients such as vegetables from Ohara and Satsuma beef raised in southern Kyushu. Return to his restaurant in the evening for a special dinner cooked using all the ingredients you source together.

  • Visit the Fushimi Inari shrine, famous for its never-ending vermilion gates. Then, visit Nara where you can see the Todaiji Temple (the largest wooden structure in the country) and see the bowing deer — they have learned to bow for food in typical Japanese fashion!

  • Transfer to the Hakone National Park area by bullet train and local lines. You have the rest of the day to explore at your own pace or simply relax in your luxurious accommodation.

  • At leisure in the Hakone National Park.

  • Return to Tokyo for your final afternoon at leisure in Japan.

  • Today you are transferred by private car to Narita Airport in time for your return flight. Your return flight will arrive the same day.

Accommodation options

While the itinerary price reflects the suggested accommodation, Audley trips are 100% tailor-made, and a specialist can help you select the option best suited to your tastes and budget.

What our clients say about us

Audley Travel specialist Jo
Contact a Japan specialist

The specialist who designs your trip to Japan will have explored the country many times and, in some cases, lived there. Their first-hand knowledge gives us the belief that no other travel company can match our expertise in helping you plan your trip.

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When to go

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Place Daily max temperature (°C) Monthly rainfall (mm)
Tokyo
 
Tsumago
 
Hiroshima
 
Kyoto
 
Hakone & Mount Fuji
 

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