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CORE JOURNEYS

Core Journeys are the very heart of what we do — robust, bespoke itineraries that showcase the full breadth of our expertise and the dazzling diversity of Japan.

SAMPLE ITINERARY

Tokyo Skyline

Day 1: Arrive in Tokyo

Upon arrival at one of Tokyo’s two international airports, you will be met and escorted to Tokyo, a metropolis like no other in the world. Our guides are among the best in Japan. They are experienced, knowledgeable, engaging, and flexible. They do everything possible to accommodate our clients’ interests and wishes. We cannot begin to tell you how often our clients have called us upon their return from Japan to tell us how much they loved their guide.

Access to the smaller, quintessential local restaurants — which often serve the finest Japanese food and sake — is often difficult (if not impossible) unless one speaks Japanese. Our wealth of experience in Japan however has provided us with a network of restaurants, where chefs will treat our customers as if they are regular clientele — thereby allowing you to experience Japanese cuisine at its finest.

Stay: Aman, Bulgari, Palace Hotel, or Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo

Busy japanese market

Day 2: Tokyo

Discover Tsukiji Outer Market, a mixture of wholesale and retail shops and numerous restaurants lining the streets and where new culinary trends are born. Try some of its street foods as you explore the market.

A short distance from Tsukiji lies Hamarikyu Garden, a vista of delicately shaped pine trees and tea houses that greet the eyes as you walk inside. An atmosphere of dignity and refinement seems to pervade the air as might be expected of the former garden of a daimyo.

Head to the Asakusa district and Senso-ji Temple, in the heart of Shitamachi, Tokyo’s old merchant district. Asakusa remains Tokyo’s most colorful and traditional neighborhood, with a fun atmosphere and many food stalls preparing senbei, traditional and delicious rice crackers, and many varieties of Japanese sweets.

Last, enjoy an exclusive private experience with our sake expert, who will take you to visit a sake shop in downtown Tokyo. There, you can take part in the tradition of kaku-uchi — sampling different types of sake while casually chatting and enjoying the lively local atmosphere. Our expert will provide you with essential knowledge and help you find your next favorite type of sake.

Stay: Aman, Bulgari, Palace Hotel, or Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo

Buddhist monestary

Day 3: Tokyo
Stroll through the beautiful wooded grounds of Meiji Shrine, Tokyo’s premier Shinto shrine.

Venture to Harajuku, a mecca of youth culture and avant-garde shopping, and then take the short walk to the Aoyama district and Omotesando, a broad, tree-lined avenue sometimes referred to as Tokyo’s Champs-Elysees. Omotesando is a prime location for haute couture brands and architecturally ambitious buildings.

Near Omotesando lies one of the city’s unique treasures, the Nezu Art Museum, with its vast rotating collection of Japanese and East Asian art. Explore its exquisite Japanese garden, replete with stepping stones, tea houses, and an extensive collection of stone lanterns.

Learn about sushi-making with a top sushi chef at his private restaurant as you dine on a delicious sushi lunch. During the meal, you may try your hand at creating exquisite sushi or spend time with a well-known cooking instructor at her home for a late afternoon to learn the art of Japanese cooking, enjoying a wonderful meal and delightful conversation.

Explore Tennozu Isle, fast becoming a destination for contemporary art and design, including the Terrada Art Complex, a constellation of artist studios, galleries, and an art warehouse or venture to the MORI Building Digital Art Museum: teamLab Borderless, a group of artworks that form one borderless world.

Stay: Aman, Bulgari, Palace Hotel, or Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo

Geishas walking in a town

Day 4: Kanazawa and Kaga Onsen

Be whisked away on the Shinkansen, Japan’s bullet train, to Kanazawa in Western Japan. Once governed by Samurai, great patrons of the arts, Kanazawa developed a rich heritage that is reflected in its well-preserved Geisha and Samurai quarters, beautiful gardens, and its distinctive arts, including pottery, lacquerware and gold leaf.

Meander through one of Japan’s few remaining samurai neighborhoods, Nagamachi, and wander through Kanazawa’s renowned Omicho Market with shops that specialize in foods from this seacoast town and check out its world-class Wajima lacquerware. Experience Kenroku-en Garden, one of the top three stroll gardens in Japan.

Afterward, you will transfer to your ryokan in Kaga Onsen, just south of the city. A ryokan (or Japanese inn) stay is a quintessential Japanese experience of ultimate omotenashi or hospitality. Imagine being greeted at a curtained entrance by a kimono-clad lady who will first request that you remove your shoes before stepping on soft tatami-matted floors and be escorted through a Zen-like atmosphere to your room to enjoy matcha green tea and a soak in your private hot spring bath before dinner.

Dress in the comfort of a yukata or cotton robe while you feast on a kaiseki dinner of 12 or more courses that is presented for the eyes first then the palette.

​​​​Stay: Araya Totoan or Beniya Mukayu

A frame houses in Japan

Day 5: Kaga Onsen and Shirakawa-go

Relax this morning in natural hot spring baths, then visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Shirakawa-go, a cluster of hamlets over 800 years old nestled in a valley in the Japanese Alps. Stop in Ogimachi with its nearly sixty gassho tsukuri, or thatched roof farmhouses, standing amid vegetable gardens and paddy fields.

Return to Kanazawa and explore Higashi Chaya, the largest of Kanazawa’s remaining Geisha districts, including a visit to a historic ochaya (tea house).

For those interested in crafts such as Japanese knife making, tansu or washi paper, head to Echizen instead of Shirakawa-go today.

Stay: Araya Totoan or Beniya Mukayu

Day 6: Kyoto

Board a train to Kyoto, Japan’s former capital sprawling with imperial properties and Zen temples. Upon arrival, discover Kiyomizudera, a magnificent seven pavilion temple built on different levels of the Higashiyama hillside then explore the fun and colorful area around Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka, a pair of pedestrian-only lanes that make for some of the most atmospheric strolling in the whole city. Take a short walk to a beautiful temple where you will enjoy a private tea ceremony with a tea master.

Stroll through the Shijo-Kawaramachi District and its traditional shops selling local foods and crafts. Discover Gion, the city’s Geisha district and considered to be one of the most delightful downtown areas in Japan. The streets boast of stores selling traditional Kyoto crafts and maybe you will catch a glimpse of an elegant maiko or apprentice Geisha who can often be seen strolling through the area.

​​​​Stay: The Ritz-Carlton, Hotel the Mitsui or Four Seasons Hotel, Kyoto

Japanese house interior

Day 7: Kyoto

Explore Nijo Castle, a magnificent early Edo castle. Afterward, participate in a private Zen session with a Buddhist monk while contemplating a beautiful and tranquil Zen garden, followed by a private walk-through of the temple.

Head to Kinkakuji, the famous Temple of the Golden Pavilion. Experience Ryoanji, a beautiful and tranquil fifteenth century rock garden, before exploring Nishiki-koji Market often referred to as ‘Kyoto’s Kitchen’ where hundreds of vendors have their stalls selling colorful foods and goods. 

In the springtime and autumn visit some magnificent temples and areas that are known for their brilliant cherry blossoms and maple trees.

​​​​Stay: The Ritz-Carlton, Hotel the Mitsui or Four Seasons Hotel, Kyoto

Geisha walking in a field

Day 8: Kyoto

Head to the rural and wooded area of northwest Kyoto and discover Gio-ji Temple, one of the finest sights in Arashiyama. Gio-ji’s simple thatched-roof main hall overlooks a landscape of luxurious moss.

Enjoy your time in Arashiyama, including the surreal Sagano Bamboo Forest, including Tenryu-ji Temple and its splendid garden. In the autumn, see a colorful array of beautiful maples or cherry trees lining the Hozugawa River during spring.

Visit the workshop of a master artisan, where you will learn firsthand about the art of kintsugi or the Japanese tradition of repairing broken pottery with lacquer upon which gold dust is sprinkled.

Attend a unique evening at a Japanese ochaya for a private dinner with Geisha entertainment. An ochaya only accepts guests through an introduction from its trusted clients. This experience will take you back in time, and is so special that most Japanese will not even have the opportunity to try it.

Stay: The Ritz-Carlton, Hotel the Mitsui or Four Seasons Hotel, Kyoto

Deer in a field

Day 9: Nara

This morning, venture outside of Kyoto to Uji and nearby Wazuka, Japan’s tea country. Access a private tea estate with our tea expert.

Journey onward to Nara, Japan’s first permanent capital established during the early 8th century. Nara’s aesthetic, architecture and history differ considerably to Kyoto and is well worth a visit. Your sojourn begins at Nara Park, where deer, considered to be messengers of the Shinto gods, roam free as they have done since ancient times.

Nara can be easily traversed on foot, and most of your day here will be spent walking. After visiting Todaiji Temple, which contains a nearly 50-foot tall great Buddha, visit Kasuga Taisha, an 8th century Shinto shrine, and Kofuku-ji, a National Treasure.

Heading off to rural Nara, spend the following two nights at Sasayuri-Ann, a unique thatched roof luxurious rice terraced villa in a gorgeous and rural area of Uda in Nara Prefecture. This evening sit around the hearth in your villa and cook your own shabu-shabu.

Stay: Rice Terrace Villa Sasayuri-Ann

Scenic overview of mountains with nearby building in foreground

Day 10: Nara

Before breakfast, enjoy hiking in Akame (where ninja began), a beautiful and forested area with 48 waterfalls. 

Sasayuri-Ann offers some really fun and special experiences in an intimate setting, including private yoga lessons, farming and local fruit picking excursions, music workshops and guided hikes.

Stay: Rice Terrace Villa Sasayuri-Ann

Ocean view at sunset

Day 11: Naoshima and the Inland Sea

You will be driven from Sasayuri-Ann to Osaka Station to board the Shinkansen for a short journey to Okayama.  Following a drive to Uno Port, you will board a private water taxi to the island of Naoshima, a center of contemporary art in Japan.

Board a private water taxi at the Port of Uno to the island of Naoshima, a center of contemporary art in Japan.

Take a walk-through of the must see Chichu Art Museum — built specifically to house the works of Claude Monet, Walter De Maria, and James Turrell. Visit the Lee Ufan Museum, designed by Tadao Ando which features works by the contemporary artist Lee Ufan.

Transfer to Benesse House, a museum hotel also designed by Tadao Ando, and explore its beautiful environs and contemporary art installations.

Stay: Benesse House

Glass cube art sculpture near a lake

Day 12: Naoshima and Teshima

Island hop to the Island of Teshima. Visit Teshima Yokoo House, Teshima Art Museum, and Les Archives du Coeur all of which are installations that abound the island. Afterward, head to the Island of Inujima where you will experience the Inujima Seirensho Art Museum and the Inujima Art House Project.

Stay: Benesse House

Pumpkin sculpture on a pier

Day 13: Naoshima, Shikoku, and Tokyo

Before leaving the Inland Sea, explore the Naoshima Art House Project which is an art project in the Naoshima Honmura district. Here, artists took empty houses scattered about residential areas in a fishing village and turned the spaces into works of art, weaving in history and memories of the period when the buildings were lived in and used.

Depart Naoshima via private water taxi across the Inland Sea to Shirobana Koen on the island of Shikoku. Visit the village of Mure and the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum, which houses 150 sculptures — many of which are still unfinished, preserving the working atmosphere of Noguchi’s studio.

Fly to Tokyo, and enjoy your final evening in Japan at one of Tokyo’s great eateries.

Stay: Aman, Bulgari, Palace Hotel, or Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo

Bullet train in Tokyo

Day 14: Depart Tokyo

You will be picked up at your hotel and driven to one of Tokyo’s airports for your departure home.

Our bespoke itineraries are crafted to provide the perfect experience for our clients in Japan. Depending on the time of year, these and other phenomenal choices can enhance your journey to Japan. You can explore the Old Nakasendo and the scenic Kiso Valley or for a spiritual retreat, consider Mt. Koya, with a temple stay, and the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trails offer enlightening experiences. Further afield, the UNESCO World Heritage island of Yakushima awaits, with its ancient cedar trees and breathtaking hiking trails. If you’re interested in Japan’s Samurai culture, Matsumoto or Matsue Castle are must-visits, while pottery enthusiasts can meet master potters in Shigaraki, Kyushu, and Yamaguchi. You might also enjoy the quaint village of Kurashiki or world-class skiing in Niseko.

BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY

So we can tailor your journey to your exacting needs, kindly take a few moments to complete our questionnaire. In doing so, please keep all of the members of your party in mind. We thank you in advance and look forward to designing your extraordinary bespoke journey. You can also contact us at [email protected] or 202.455.0095.

Note: An investment in a bespoke journey with us starts at $3,000 per person per day, based on double occupancy.