Kinkaku-ji, Golden Pavilion, Kyoto, Japan

Essence of Japan Tour: An Expertly Guided Experience

Ratings of Zicasso's Service
Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist

Countries Visited

Japan

Places Visited

Tokyo, Nikko, Kamakura, Hakone...

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Suggested Duration

15 Days

Private tours and luxurious accommodations will give you unparalleled insight into tradition, culture, and spirit during your 15-day Japan highlights tour. Your expert guides will lead you through modern cities, hidden towns, and traditional villages. Buddhist monkeys and serene gardens showcase custom while tranquility will emerge from the marvelous landscapes. Authentic ryokan, soothing hot springs, performing geishas, and high-speed bullet trains will reveal the depth and complexity...

Customizable Itinerary

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Trip Highlights

  • Stay at a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn, featuring tatami-matted rooms, hot springs, and traditional yukata clothing
  • Spend a night at a Buddhist temple at Mt. Koya, and become one with nature
  • Enjoy the finest and freshest Japanese cuisine known as Kaiseki, featuring regional and seasonal specialties
  • Be the honored guest at a geisha performance in Kyoto
  • Ride the famous Shinkansen, the high-speed bullet train that runs up to speeds of 200 mph

Detailed Description

Your tour begins in Tokyo, Japan’s capital and the largest metropolis in the world. In this dynamic city, you experience a blend of past, present, and future as your expert guide takes you to the city’s best attractions. Eat like a local and have ample time to explore the city on your own.

From Tokyo, you head to Kamakura and Hakone, home to some of Japan’s best views and most cherished cultural treasures. In Kamakura, feel transported into the past as you sip tea among the bamboo stalks. In Hakone, take in Mt. Fuji in all its glory from a ropeway ride or lake cruise. At the end of your day, soak in the first of many onsen baths you encounter during your time in Japan.

Takayama is a jewel hidden within the Japanese Alps. Spared from both modernization and destruction of war, the city is one of the most well preserved in Japan. Exploring the old town, you discover artisans still practicing traditional methods of making everything from fine sake to furniture. While there, indulge in Hida beef, some of the best in the world.

Mt. Koya is one of the most deeply spiritual places in Japan. The birthplace of Shingon Buddhism, generations of monks has called Mt. Koya home for nearly 12 centuries. Like pilgrims in centuries past, you spend a night at a Buddhist temple, meeting the monks and dining on their vegetarian cuisine. While there, witness morning prayer ceremonies, and wander through the early morning fog that falls over Mt. Koya’s cemeteries and stone paths.

Osaka is one of the liveliest cities in Japan, a place where great merchant families made their fortunes. Get caught up in the hustle and bustle as you wander through the Dotonbori district, where the neon lights are never extinguished. If you’re feeling brave, try fugu, pufferfish, at a local restaurant for dinner.

From the big city, you head to Himeji, home to one of Japan’s few remaining medieval castles. It is a magnificent sight to behold. Touring the inside, see how the castle acted as both fortification and a symbol of the shogun’s power. In the afternoon, have a pleasant lunch in the shadow of the castle.

Your journey continues to Miyajima, home to Japan’s iconic ‘floating’ torii gate. Here you spend two nights, exploring the island at your leisure. Miyajima offers visitors a plethora of enjoyable activities from ropeway rides, meditation at eternal flames, and oyster feasts. Don’t forget to try Momiji Manju, a local pastry baked fresh every day.

Just across the bay from Miyajima is Hiroshima. Though Hiroshima has fully recovered since the atomic bombing, the city has not forgotten its place in history. Here, learn the lessons of the past and the steps Hiroshima has taken to make itself a symbol of world peace and worldwide nuclear disarmament.

Leaving Hiroshima, you arrive in Kyoto, where you spend your last three days in Japan. Kyoto is Japan’s most dynamic city, a seamless blend of past and present. Around every corner is something unexpected. While here, take use of guides, but enjoy ample free time to explore the city at your own pace. Your time in Kyoto includes witnessing performances by Kyoto’s geisha, known locally as geiko. There is also the option to take a half-day trip to Nara, Japan’s first capital and home to some of the country’s most stunning architecture.

This 15-day tour is perfect for friends, couples, and even families. It is best taken in spring or fall when Japan’s weather is best for outdoor touring. Expert guides are available in all cities, and travelers can always contact their guide in case questions or concerns arise throughout the tour.

Starting Price

$9,800 per person (excluding international flights)

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

  • Accommodations
  • In-country transportation
  • Some or all activities and tours
  • Expert trip planning
  • 24x7 support during your trip

Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.

Reviews of Zicasso's Referral Service

4.84 stars based on 676 reviews.

Japan Travel Review: Tokyo, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Sushi, Ryokan,...

Our trip to Japan was well planned and well thought out. Zicasso's travel designer made us feel very well taken care of. We are grateful to the travel designer for his effort in putting together this wonderful trip for us. We loved interacting with our excellent guides. Their expertise truly enhanced our experiences. All our travel assistants were extremely helpful and very thoughtful.

Reviewed By Alok G.

Japan Vacation Review: Local Cuisine, Drumming and Samurai...

Yet another fantastic family trip, courtesy of a Zicasso partner! My family of six just returned from our 10-day trip to Japan, as coordinated with Zicasso's travel company, and we have nothing but wonderful stories and memories to report!

Our agent arranged every detail to perfection, from transportation to guides to activities. All four kids and both parents had a fantastic experience. The guides he selected were incredibly knowledgeable and personable, and the hotels and transportation were spot on. I have nothing to say but that it was a seamless, A+ experience.

Thank you to our agent and travel companyI!

Reviewed By Sara G.

Japan Vacation Review: Private Guides and Driver, 8 Nights...

Our travel expert was professional, accurate, timely, and patient. It was wonderful working with her. Zicasso really made creating a customized itinerary effortless.

Reviewed By Suzy A.

Japan Travel Review: Tokyo, Hakone, Mount Fuji, Mount Inari,...

Zicasso's travel designer had less than three months to bring an amazing trip to life. Our goal was to experience the history, art, culture, and people of Japan. Mission accomplished!

There were so many highlights shared by our exceptional guides and drivers, who felt like friends and family by the trip's end. Some experiences surprised us with their creativity, joy, and value (slapstick sumo skits in Tokyo, the samurai sword experience, sushi class, open-air and Venetian glass museums in Hakone, and especially the Himeji Castle master carpenter tutorial). Though in our late 70s, walking five to seven miles per day and climbing 766-oot sacred Mount Inari weren't an issue.

The veracity of this review is paramount... the only experience we would forgo was spelunking (crawling) in the cold, wet lava cave, as in our ignorance, we were out of our element. We found joints we did not know we had! We are focused on collecting memories, not things. This fabulous trip achieved that goal. Thank you!

Reviewed By William H.

Japan Vacation Review: Public Baths, Shrines, Ryokans, 10...

I was very pleased with our trip, the accommodations, and the personal touch. Zicasso's travel specialist was excellent and even when we had some hiccups during the trip, he was there to make an adjustment. I was very pleased. Some really nit-picky tips for future travelers from out of town.

The Shinkansen is a fun ride and everyone should do it. However, when you need multiple tickets at a time, remind the passenger that you put all the tickets into the ticket turnstile at one time, not individually.

We had to visit in July, but I think the best time to visit Japan would be in the three other seasons because of the heat and humidity (with the exception of Hokkaido).

There are still some places that need cash, like public baths etc. I would carry a little on you. Also, visiting the public baths was one of the truly authentic Japanese experiences we had. If a traveler is into the authentic experience, don't underestimate that experience.

You can get "shrined out." They are great and we appreciated every one. We even caught a monk actively praying at a fairly remote one, which was tremendous. I'm not sure if it's possible to know approximate times, but seeing this happen as a traveler was immensely gratifying. It was 6.30am on a Saturday. So if there is a way to figure out an approximate schedule, you will have elevated your travel game above all the rest. It would be a differentiator for you.

Letting travelers know about the bento boxes and grab-and-go foods is a plus. I was so impressed by them and that info should be shared with every traveler, especially the kiddos.

The Japanese do some things really well and a side list of them might be helpful for tours. For example, we stopped for some anime magazines, kitchen knives, street food, and a baseball game, baths, and hot springs. I'd lean into this and provide some lists for people to pick from, especially the kitchen knives.

Explain the concept of luggage forwarding and the approximate costs. It's a uniquely Japanese thing, and it's awesome and affordable, but needs some getting used to.

Google Translate and the app to read the signs (I forgot its name) is a must. Share the links early and often.

I have so many more ideas, but we will start there. I hope it helps.

Reviewed By Matthew F.

Japan Travel Review: Tokyo, Kanazawa, Miyajima, 17-Day Trip...

Zicasso's travel agent was absolutely fantastic! She created a trip of a lifetime! Furthermore, when our plans changed or we needed something, she was there and helped with ease. We would work with her again, and Zicasso, in a heartbeat.

Reviewed By Erica M.

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