Luxury · Japan (Tokyo & Kyoto)
Tokyo, Hakone & Kyoto
Three nights in Tokyo, one in a Hakone ryokan with kaiseki and hot springs, then the bullet train to Kyoto for temples, tea and Fushimi Inari's torii gates.
- Duration
- 7 nights
- Guide price
- from $4,900 pp
- Best time
- Mar–May, Oct–Nov
The route runs one way, from Tokyo to Kyoto, so you never double back. Big bags travel separately between the two cities, which makes the night in Hakone easy with just an overnight bag. Seven nights is the least we’d suggest: the flights are long, and both cities deserve full days.
The itinerary
Day by day
Day 1
Arrival in Tokyo
A driver meets you at Haneda or Narita and takes you to your hotel. After the long flight, keep the evening to a short walk and dinner nearby.
Day 2
Tokyo with a Guide
Jet lag will have you up early, which is the best time for Sensō-ji temple in Asakusa. Your guide continues with the forest shrine of Meiji Jingu and the side streets of Harajuku, and finishes at the Shibuya crossing as the lights come on.
Day 3
Tokyo Your Way
Breakfast at the Tsukiji outer market, then a day of your choosing: the department-store food halls, the galleries and digital-art museums, or the shops of Ginza. Tonight your big bags go ahead to Kyoto.
Day 4
Hakone
An express train from Shinjuku reaches the hills of Hakone in about 90 minutes. Ride the ropeway over the volcanic valley and cross Lake Ashi by boat, looking out for Mount Fuji on a clear day, then settle into the ryokan for a hot-spring bath and a many-course kaiseki dinner.
Day 5
Bullet Train to Kyoto
After a morning soak, the bullet train takes you from Odawara to Kyoto in about two hours. Walk up through the torii gates of Fushimi Inari in the late afternoon, when the crowds thin.
Day 6
Kyoto with a Guide
Your guide leads you through Kiyomizu-dera and down the old lanes of Higashiyama to a tea ceremony, and on to Gion as the lanterns are lit.
Day 7
Arashiyama
Reach the bamboo grove of Arashiyama at dawn, before the crowds, and visit the garden of Tenryū-ji. Take the afternoon for yourselves, or spend it among the temples and deer of Nara, under an hour away by train.
Day 8
Home from Japan
Fly home from Osaka's Kansai airport, about 75 minutes from Kyoto by express train, or take the bullet train back to Tokyo for a flight from there.
Want it a little different?
Give the ryokan a second night, add two nights in the Japanese Alps, or book family rooms and pace the days for children.