Japan in Style

Fly to Tokyo

Board your flight to Japan’s capital city. (N) 

Meal basis: As per itinerary – B: Breakfast, L: Lunch, D: Dinner, N: No meals

Tokyo

Upon arrival you are privately transferred to your hotel, which lies opposite Tokyo’s Imperial Palace and a stroll from the fashionable shopping district of Ginza. Stay 2 nights at the Peninsula Tokyo Hotel. (N) 

Tokyo

Enjoy a personalised tour of Tokyo by private car, accompanied by an English-speaking guide. You visit the attractive Imperial East Garden; the Japanese Gallery in the Tokyo National Museum, which exhibits art that runs the gamut from the Jomon period through to the Edo era; the city’s oldest temple, Senso-ji, and adjacent Nakamise-dori shopping street; and the landmark Shinto shrine of Meiji Jingu. (B) 

Hakone National Park

Drive south-west by private car to Hakone National Park, a picturesque landscape of lakes, green valleys and volcanic hot springs. Upon arrival, take a cruise on Lake Ashi, from which you can admire the monumental peak of Mount Fuji; ascend by gondola up the Hakone Ropeway for further dramatic views; and explore the Hakone Open-Air Museum, where strange and wonderful sculptures punctuate a leafy landscape. Afterwards, transfer to Gora Kadan, a traditional ryokan inn that was once an imperial retreat and is your home for the night. (B, D) 

Kyoto

Privately transfer to Odawara station, then board the first-class carriage of a shinkansen (‘bullet train’) for your high-speed journey to Kyoto. You will be met on the platform by your guide, who will accompany you throughout your time in the city. Upon arrival, amble around the Higashiyama District, which preserves the traditional wooden architecture of the feudal era, and visit the UNESCO-listed Kiyomizu-dera temple, where a wooden terrace provides sweeping views over leafy surrounds. Finish the day with an authentic tea ceremony led by a geisha, including a traditional dance and an explanation of the ceremony’s symbolism. Stay 3 nights at the Hyatt Regency Kyoto. (B) 

Kyoto

Your day is at leisure to unwind at your hotel or explore more of Kyoto’s highlights. (B) 

Nara

Take a taxi to Kyoto Station followed by a train to Nara, where you spend the day. Visit the city’s 19th-century park, whose grounds contain the Buddhist temple of Kofuku-ji, with its five-storey pagoda; Toda-ji temple and museum; and the Kasuga-taisha Grand Shrine. Afterwards, return to Kyoto. (B) 

Hiroshima & Osaka

Transfer to Kyoto Station by taxi and continue by train to Hiroshima, home of the Peace Memorial Park and Museum, which you will tour tomorrow. Then take a ferry to Miyajima Island to see the Itsukushima Shrine and its landmark torii gate, which appears to float on water at high tide. Stay overnight at the Sheraton Grand Hiroshima Hotel. (B) 

Hiroshima & Osaka

Spend half the day on a privately guided tour of Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park and Museum, which memorialises the victims and documents the events of the 1945 atomic bomb. Afterwards, board a shinkansen to Osaka, where you are met and transferred by private car to St Regis Hotel Osaka, your hotel for the night. Spend the last half of the day on a guided tour of Osaka via public transport. You can explore the Dotombori district, a popular spot for nightlife, and sample street food such as okonomiyaki pancakes and bite-sized, battered takoyakai balls. It’s also a chance to pick up some final souvenirs at the Shinsaibashi shopping area. Return to your hotel for the night. (B)

Fly home

Privately transfer to Osaka airport to catch your flight home. (B) 

Arrive UK

(N) 

Meal basis: As per itinerary – B: Breakfast, L: Lunch, D: Dinner, N: No meals.