Japan Tours
from Australia Tokyo · Kyoto · Hokkaido · Beyond

Arrive in Kyoto and transfer to your ryokan or hotel. Evening walk through Gion — Japan's most famous geisha district — in the hour before dusk, when the wooden machiya townhouses cast their warmest light and the chance of seeing a maiko (apprentice geisha) walking to her evening appointment is at its highest. Dinner of delicate Kyoto kaiseki-style cuisine at a neighbourhood restaurant.

Morning at Kiyomizu-dera — the wooden stage temple that projects from the hillside over the city, supported entirely by interlocking timber without a single nail. Views over Kyoto's rooftops. Walk down through Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka, the preserved stone-paved lanes where traditional crafts, teas and confectioneries are sold exactly as they were in the Edo period. Afternoon at a local pottery studio — hands-on if you wish.

West Kyoto at dawn: the Arashiyama bamboo grove before the first tourist buses arrive is a profoundly different experience from the afternoon version. Tenryu-ji's extraordinary garden, considered one of Japan's finest, with borrowed scenery from the Arashiyama mountains beyond. The Togetsukyo bridge, a small riverboat hire, and a visit to nearby weaving and craft workshops. Afternoon at leisure in Kyoto's galleries.

Kinkaku-ji — the Golden Pavilion — reflected in its mirror pond in morning light. Ryoan-ji's karesansui (dry landscape) rock garden: fifteen stones arranged so that from any angle, one is always hidden. A private tea ceremony at a local chashitsu (tea house), conducted by a certified tea master who explains wabi-sabi and the philosophy of ichi-go ichi-e (one time, one meeting). Afternoon kimono dressing experience available.

Pre-dawn start to Fushimi Inari — the 10,000-torii mountain shrine where the gate tunnels photograph extraordinarily in early light and early quiet. Back for breakfast, then south to Nara: the great Todai-ji Buddha housed in the world's largest wooden building, and the park's 1,200 sacred deer that bow for senbei crackers and wander the grounds completely freely. Return via the Fushimi sake district for brewery visits and tastings.

Final morning — temple revisiting or last shopping in Nishiki Market (Kyoto's indoor food market, known as "Kyoto's Kitchen"). Transfer to Kansai International or Kyoto station. Osaka is 15 minutes by shinkansen for those adding a food-focused extension. Highly recommended.

Fly into New Chitose Airport and transfer to Sapporo — Hokkaido's vibrant capital, a planned city of wide boulevards and extraordinary food. Evening in Susukino's alleys: jingisukan (grilled Hokkaido lamb), fresh uni (sea urchin) on rice and local Sapporo beer. The entire street is an education in what Hokkaido grows, raises and fishes.

Short coastal drive to Otaru — a historic port town of Meiji-era brick warehouses along a canal, known throughout Japan for its freshest seafood and glass crafts. Morning market: sushi at the counter with the morning's catch from Ishikari Bay. Walk the canal, visit a local glass studio and the LeTAO patisserie whose Hokkaido cream cheesecake is the best reason to carry hand luggage. Return to Sapporo for dinner.

Summer (July–August): The Furano flower fields — lavender, sunflowers and poppies in stripes across the hillside that is the most replicated image in Hokkaido. Farm Tomita and their lavender soft serve. Farm dinner with local corn, cheese and dairy. Winter (December–March): Furano ski resort — mid-mountain powder snow of extraordinary quality, uncrowded runs and ski-in ski-out accommodation in a village of hot ramen and cold Hokkaido beer. This is why serious skiers come to Japan.

Transfer to Noboribetsu — home to Japan's most dramatic onsen (hot spring) resort and the extraordinary Jigokudani (Hell Valley): a volcanic crater of bubbling grey mud, fumaroles and sulphur-scented steam that supplies eleven different onsen varieties to the resort below. Restorative evening in the private onsen baths at your ryokan. Kaiseki dinner featuring Hokkaido snow crab, dairy and local produce.

Transfer to Hakodate — Hokkaido's most southern city and one of Japan's earliest international trading ports. The morning market (Asaichi) is extraordinary: live squid dancing in tanks, enormous Hokkaido crab, sea urchin in wooden boxes and the freshest ikura (salmon roe). Afternoon to explore the 19th-century Western-influenced Motomachi district. Evening: Mount Hakodate by ropeway for one of Japan's three great night views.

Return to Sapporo for a guided food day: the Nijo morning market, Sapporo's miso ramen (the city's own regional style — richer and more complex than Tokyo shoyu), a visit to a local craft brewery and the extraordinary Hokkaido food hall at the JR Tower. Free evening to explore the city's extraordinary restaurant density.

Final morning at leisure. Transfer to New Chitose Airport for the return flight south or internationally. Optional extensions: Niseko for additional skiing days, or the remote northern islands of Rishiri and Rebun for extraordinary coastal scenery and the rarest wildflowers in Japan.