Zen Japan

Delve beyond the neon lights, fashion, high-tech and manga pop-culture of Japan's great cities and discover ancient traditions lying not too far underneath the surface.

This private Japan journey focuses on the traditional side of Japan, from ancient shrines and temples in Tokyo to the Buddhist centre of Mount Koya.

Begin with 3 nights in Tokyo and see the great temple of Senso-ji and experience an early morning visit to the Meiji Shrine. You'll also discover an area of Tokyo little visited by foreigners.

From Tokyo, head north to Nikko and see the UNESCO World Heritage site and stay by the lake. It's a great side-trip from Tokyo.

You have two night back in Tokyo, giving you a full day to go the short distance to Kamakura, known as the Kyoto of the East. See the giant seated Buddha and much more in this charming coastal town.

You'll then head on the Romance Car from Tokyo to Hakone where you have a night in a Ryokan and can experience the charms of Hakone in the shadow of Mount Fuji.

Hop on the bullet train to Kyoto where we've included 4 nights, with a full day tour to see the most important sites and plenty of time for your own exploration.

From Kyoto visit Mount Koya, the centre of Shingan Buddhism in Japan. Spend a night in a Japanese Temple lodging and wake early to experience the monks chanting.

Finally head to Osaka for your final 2 nights in Japan before returning back to the UK.

All of our Japan Holidays can be tailored to suit your interests, time and budget so just let us know your preferences.

Is this a Private Tour or a Group Tour?

All of our Japan tours are private tailor made itineraries, customised for you - we can amend things to entirely suit you.

This particular Japan trip is partly guided, with guided excursions included in Tokyo, Kanazawa and Kyoto and includes flights, accommodation, train and transfers.

What are the departure dates?

Let us know your preferred dates of travel and we will find the best and most suitable flights to fit your itinerary.

As this is a private trip, there are no set departure dates.

We can advise you on the best times of your to travel, and some times to avoid.

Which Airlines do you use?

We work with all the major airlines flying to Japan.

Typically for Japan, British Airways, Japan Airlines and Finnair are the airlines we use the most but we work with all airlines flying to Japan and the Far East.

Finnair often have excellent fares and flying times are very quick via Helsinki.

However, just let us know your preferred airline if you have one. We can organise flights from any regional destination in the UK.

There are direct flights from the UK to Tokyo and Osaka.

Which Hotels do you use?

We're careful with our choice of hotels, but we're guided by our customers also. If you have some preferred hotels, just let us know.

We specialise in boutique hotels and so we will often suggest some of our favourite smaller hotels where we think these will be suitable.

The main cities in Japan are fairly short on boutique hotels in general however and most hotels are functional, business style hotels, but always impeccably clean and usually conveniently located.

Bear in mind that rooms can often be small in Japan, particularly in Tokyo which has some of the smallest hotel room-sizes in the world. If room-size is important, let us know.

It's important to choose hotels carefully in Japan. Tokyo in particular is huge and getting the right location for what you want to do is important or you may find yourselves miles from anywhere.

Especially for those doing rail travel in Japan, being within easy access of the station is very useful and will save a lot of time.

View Itinerary in Detail

To view a sample holiday, click on one of the links below. This will open the itinerary up in a new window.

All of our Japan Holidays are completely tailor made and we can put together any kind of itinerary to suit your interests and budget.

We have many other options so if you have a particular hotel in mind just let us know and we'll put together a price and itinerary for you.