Essential Japan

Relax with included VIP airport lounge access before your overnight flight, arriving in Tokyo on day two.

On arrival at Narita Airport, a private driver will bring you to your city-centre hotel. You’ll have the first day to explore at leisure; perhaps head to Shinjuku. Home to the world’s busiest train station, giant government towers and a range of neon bars, restaurants and karaoke joints, it's the Japanese capital at its lively best. Look behind the skyscrapers into Golden Gai, where the brashness is replaced by a rabbit warren of intimate sushi counters and tiny bars.

Stay: Shiba Park Hotel (Standard) or Century Southern Tower (or Park Hotel Tokyo) (Superior) 

Today you’ll make use of your preloaded transport card as you explore the city via a tailor-made private guide service. Visit Shibuya’s fashion hubs and Ginza’s art galleries, or perhaps it’s the city’s history that excites. You’ll find vermillion-lacquered torii gates that lead to 7th-century Buddhist temples, Meiji era shrines and a reconstructed Imperial Palace at odds with Tokyo’s urban bustle. Round it all off with a trip up the iconic Tokyo Skytree for panoramic city views.

Stay: Shiba Park Hotel (Standard) or Century Southern Tower (or Park Hotel Tokyo) (Superior)

While you might want to explore Tokyo further we’d recommend a day trip out of the city. For a breath of fresh air enjoy pretty walks and scenic cable car rides at sacred Mt. Takao. Alternatively, the former Japanese capital – Kamakura – is just an hour’s train ride away from Shinjuku Station. Those that make the trip will be rewarded with a sleepy coastal town dotted with shrines, temples and an oversized daibutsu Buddha. Lastly, there’s national park Nikko, best known for the Toshogu Shrine. This UNESCO-listed site is surrounded by waterfalls, lakes and packs of indigenous monkeys.

Stay: Shiba Park Hotel (Standard) or Century Southern Tower (or Park Hotel Tokyo) (Superior)

A short train journey will bring you out of Shinjuku Station to Hakone, Tokyo’s green lung. Making use of your included Freepass, you’ll have two days to explore its village hamlets, shimmering lakes, hot spring baths and forest walks – keep your eyes out for waterside shrines framed by fair-weather views of Mt. Fuji. Come evening, retreat to a  traditional ryokan, complete with tatami mat rooms, private onsen baths and kaiseki multi-course feasts – eggs boiled in volcanic waters are a local delicacy here. 

Stay: Ichinoyu Susukinohara (Standard) or Gora Hanaougi (or Hakone Tenyu) (Superior)  

A private driver will bring you to Odawara Station, where you’ll board a Shinkansen bullet train bound for Kyoto. On your first day, perhaps familiarise yourself with some of the more central temples and shrines, leaving time to walk through the grand Imperial Palace gardens. On your second day here, make use of the included private guide service, bringing you to the time-honoured teahouses of the geisha district and some of Kyoto’s 17 UNESCO-listed World Heritage Sites. There’s everything from samurai castles to Buddhist temples established in the 8th century.

Stay:  Royal Park Hotel Kyoto Sanjo (or Noku Kyoto) (Standard), or Hotel The Celestine Kyoto Gion (or Granvia Hotel Kyoto) (Superior)

Just 40 minutes out of Kyoto by local train, Nara is an ideal day trip. It was here that Buddhist teaching first gained a foothold in Japan, arriving from China by way of the Silk Road around the 6th century. As such, you’ll find a range of monasteries and temples along with pretty Japanese gardens and a central park famed for its overly friendly deer. Nara is perhaps best known for its grand Todaji Temple, home to a 15-metre seated bronze Buddha.

Stay: Royal Park Hotel (or Noku Kyoto) (Standard), or Hotel The Celestine Kyoto Gion (or Granvia Hotel Kyoto) (Superior)

A private transfer (or tra nsfer aboard the Haruka Express) brings you to Kansai Airport in Osaka, where you’ll board your flight to the UK, arriving the same day.