The cultural heart of Japan

Tokyo Airport - Tokyo

Day 1: Welcome to Tokyo!

A local assistant will be waiting for you upon your arrival at Tokyo Haneda Airport. Your assistant will help you collect your JR Passes and accompany you to your hotel by public transport. They will explain how transportation in Japan works and if necessary help you book your next high-speed train journey.

Enjoy your first few hours in Japan and explore the exciting city of Tokyo. Take this chance to visit the numerous attractions of this multi-faceted city.

Tokyo

Day 2: Enjoy your Day in Tokyo

Stroll through the beautiful landscaped Hama Rikyu Garden, which offers visitors an image of a futuristic Tokyo sprinkled with delicate traditional touches. Visit the Imperial Palace and then stroll through the gardens surrounding the palace, which form the largest park in the capital, the real green lung of Tokyo. Discover the Hie Jinja Shrine, situated in a modern and lively neighborhood, it stands proudly on a small hill. This sanctuary is dedicated to the deity of Mount Hie, which is located in the prefecture of Shiga.

At the end of the day, you can take a walk in the Harajuku District and Omote Sando street. Immerse yourself in a world of perpetual effervescence, in this lively young fashion district.

Tokyo - Hakone

Day 3: Explore the historic Center of Tokyo

Take a stroll through the Asakusa district, far from the clichés, and discover the historic center of Japan's capital. Enjoy this moment breathing in the old-world charm of a forgotten Tokyo.

When visiting the Sensô-Ji Temple, don't forget to pass by the charming Nakamise Street. This pedestrian walkway has a hundred small picturesque stalls, where you will find many typical objects of the region! Visit the Sensô-Ji Temple which has stood on this site for over 1,000 years. The omnipresent symbol of the district, today, the Sensô-Ji is one of the most revered temples of the archipelago. Its influence is such that it attracts thousands of faithful tourists every day.

Take a walk in Ueno Park, the favorite place for Tokyo residents to take a stroll. This park will charm you with its museums as well as its beautiful temples and shrines.

Hakone

Day 4: Hakone Shrine and Lake Ashi

Visit the famous Hakone Shrine, a Shinto shrine located on the shore of Lake Ashi. Erected in 757, the main building is hidden in the heart of a beautiful cedar forest and extends into the hollow of a vast forest. The Hakone Jinja Shrine is distinguished by its torii whose base is immersed in the lake and which offers one of the best-known views of Mount Fuji.

Take a stroll around Lake Ashi, a crater lake 21 km in circumference located within a volcano, the Hakone. Its last eruption dates back 3,000 years. Today the lake is a peaceful expanse with an idyllic view of Mount Fuji. It is also possible to sail aboard a pirate ship here!

Use the cable car along Lake Ashi to Owakudani Volcanic Valley. Admire its famous steam vents, hot springs, and hot rivers. The experience is definitely worth the detour and on clear days, you may have the chance to see a spectacular panoramic view of Mount Fuji.

Hakone - Kyoto

Day 5: Visit Hakone

Enjoy a free day in Hakone.

Visit the Arakura Fuji Sengen Jinja Shrine at the foot of Mount Arakura. This small Shinto temple was founded in the year 705. Here, climb the 397 steps which will lead you to the top of the pagoda, from where the phenomenal view of Fuji and the city of Fujiyoshida will captivate you in an instant. Take a stroll in Arakurayama Park. Located on Mount Arakura, it offers one of the most famous views of Japan for both travelers and photographers. The Fujisan is revealed and if you are visiting in spring, you might have the chance to admire the hundreds of cherry trees that dot the park.

Explore the Kitaguchi Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha Shrine. This Shinto shrine is dedicated to the goddess of Mount Fuji, the kami of the calm waters of the mountain. Large Japanese cypress and centuries-old cedars welcome you, as does a large red torii from the entrance.

Kyoto

Day 6: The famous Yasaka-Jinja Shrine in Kyoto

Visit the famous Yasaka-Jinja Shrine, an emblematic monument of the Gion district, dedicated to the goddess of the sea. Its superb vermilion door, splendid in the evening light, proudly faces Shijo-Dori street, at the end of which the shrine is located.

The large Maruyama Park is an essential place for the Ohanami, the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of the cherry blossoms. Very popular in the spring, the inhabitants of Kyoto come to picnic and walk there. Explore the Kodai-Ji Temple, full of maple and bamboo trees. Upon the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, his widow, Kita no Mandokoro, founded this monastery in order to withdraw there and embrace the Buddhist path. The Kodai-ji Temple complex is relatively large and also houses an eponymous museum as well as a large Buddha.

Kyoto

Day 7: Hike in Takao

Today, set off with your guide to discovering the riches of Takao, northwest of Kyoto for a gentle and pleasant hike. Leaving Kyoto on a bus, the road quickly starts winding and houses become more scarce.

The bus drops you off in a small parking lot from which a mossy staircase starts and gives the place the mystical aura that its founder, the famous monk Myoe, was looking for. Then, arriving at the Kozan-Ji Temple, you can stop to admire the view from the temple's veranda overlooking the river valley and easily imagine yourself back in the 13th century at the time of the temple's founding.

At the end of this beautiful day, the most valiant will be able to stroll in the large bamboo grove or sit down to meditate in front of the remarkable Zen garden of Tenryu Ji Temple.

Kyoto - Inari - Kyoto

Day 8: A Day to discover Kyoto

Visit the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. Forming a red arch winding through the heart of the forest and mountain over 5 kilometers in length, more than 30,000 torii follow one another until they reach the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, the largest Shinto shrine in Japan. Erected in 711, it is dedicated to the goddess of Inari rice and more generally to wealth.

Visit Ginkaku Ji, the Silver Pavilion. This lacquered wooden pavilion is surrounded by a soothing clean garden nicknamed "The Sea of Silver Sand". Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Silver Pavilion is also distinguished by its original garden, organized in two parts: a dry garden, ginshadan, and a garden of mosses and pines carved on the hillside. 

In the evening, stroll through the Pontocho District and enjoy its unique atmosphere with countless Ochaya tea houses, where the Geiko come to practice their arts.

Kyoto - Nara - Kanazawa

Day 9: Nara, the ancient Capital of Japan

Visit the Kasuga Taisha Shrine with its buildings painted in vermilion red, a striking and beautiful contrast with the surrounding vegetation. It is renowned for its 3000 lanterns, which have been offered by the faithful over the centuries.

Explore the large Todai-Ji Temple, home to the Daibutsu-den building, the largest wooden construction in the world which houses a monumental Big Buddha. The temple was constructed in 752 as the head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples of Japan and grew so powerful that the capital was moved from Nara to Nagaoka in 784 in order to lower the temple's influence on government affairs. Next, you will go to the magnificent Nigatsu-Do Temple built on wooden stilts. It has been designated a National Treasure of Japan

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Kanazawa

Day 10: The Kenroku-en Garden and the Kanazwa Castle

Explore the Kenroku-en Garden. Since its opening in 1676, it has been developed, enlarged, and embellished to reach an area of 11.4 hectares. Kenrokuen is one of the most beautiful gardens in Japan. This plant paradise will seduce you with more than 8,000 trees consisting of over 183 different species, its beautiful streams, waterfalls, ponds, hills, groves, bridges, paths, and rock structures that make up this meticulously shaped work of art. Keep an eye out for the highlight, which is the famous Kotoji-toro lantern.

Take a walk around Kanazawa Castle and enter its enclosure if you wish. Despite suffering two fires, this was the residence of the powerful Maeda lords, who ruled the city of Kanazawa for 14 generations, from 1583 to 1869. Of the primitive structure, there remains only the monumental Ishikawa-mon gate, built in 1788, which offers a passage to the Kenroku-en garden.

Kanazawa - Takayama

Day 11: Trainride to Takayama

Enjoy a free day in Kanazawa. At a given time, you will take the train to Takayama.

Takayama

Day 12: Explore Takayama

Head to Higashiyama Road, located to the east of the city center, and take a stroll through the peaceful hillside Higashiyama district. Gentle tranquility floats on this corner of the city, which has many temples and shrines. A pleasant 3- kilometer walk takes you from one beautiful building to another, surrounded by abundant vegetation.

Along the Miyagawa River in the city center (to the left with the station behind you), you will reach the beautiful Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine where the October festival takes place. It was built with the aim of protecting the entire northern part of the city.

Admire the Takayama-jinya, a very unique building that resembles a small castle! Built in 1615, it was initially the residence of Lord Kanamori, then the seat of government of the Tokugawa Shoguns from 1692 to 1868, then served as a court and center for tax collection.

Takayama - Shirakawa Go - Takayama

Day 13: Daytour to Shirakawago

Spend a day out of time in the small village of Shirakawa-Go, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its large thatched houses: the Gassho Zukuri. Some Minka can be visited during the day, which will allow you to understand these large living spaces which can bring together up to forty inhabitants.

Takayama - Tokyo

Day 14: Trainride to Tokyo

Enjoy some free time in Tokyo.

Take a stroll around the east side of Shinjuku, a maze of alleys lined with small bars and restaurants, reminiscent of the atmosphere of pre-war Tokyo. This place is best explored in the evening when the streets come alive and the bright neon signs invite you to enter a world of entertainment. Visit West Shinjuku and its forest of skyscrapers, government offices, and hotels. Stroll through the lively Ginza District which will delight lovers of chic shopping and contemporary architecture.

Tokyo - Tokyo Airport

Day 15: Goodbye Tokyo!

Enjoy a free half-day in Tokyo. Take this chance to visit the numerous attractions of this multi-faceted city.

You will take the train to the airport and we wish you a safe journey home!