Historic Hikes of Japan: Kumano Kodo & Nakasendo Road

(12 Days - Departs Daily on a Private Basis)
Kyoto, Kumano Kodo, Ise-Shima region, Nakasendo Road, Tokyo

On this private Japan tour, enjoy privately guided hiking on two of Japan’s most legendary overland routes—the Nakasendo Road and the UNESCO-listed Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trails—combined with time in Kyoto, Tokyo and Ise. Enjoy private touring and accommodation at luxury hotels and onsen ryokan (hot spring inns), including the luxurious Amanemu resort.

Begin in enchanting Kyoto, the heart of Japanese culture and tradition. Stay at one of Kyoto’s best luxury hotels or ryokan (traditional inns), and enjoy flexible private touring of the best of this elegant city with your private guide and driver. Visit the city’s most important historic attractions and temples and shrines such as Kinkakuji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion), Ryoanji and its famous Zen rock garden, Kiyomizudera Temple, Nijo Castle, Ginkakuji, Saihoji (Moss Temple), and enjoy a hike at Fushimi Inari, famous for its tunnel of red torii gates. Take a private excursion to Arashiyama, a beautiful mountainside district, to see its enormous bamboo forest, historic gardens and sites, and to have a vegetarian lunch at a Zen temple. Enjoy a private tour of Gion, Kyoto’s traditional geisha district, walk on the Philosopher’s Path, and see traditional architecture in our favorite neighborhoods. Also browse Nishiki Market, antiques districts, specialty museums and historic shops that have been selling traditional goods for centuries. One day, enjoy a privately guided hike in the mountains north of Kyoto or take an excursion to ancient Nara, the eighth-century capital of Japan. Upon request, we can arrange access to imperial villas and private gardens such as Katsura Rikyu and other attractions. Artisans of Leisure will also arrange an exclusive private Japanese tea ceremony in a tea villa and reservations at Kyoto’s best restaurants.

Upon request, other activities that can be arranged around Kyoto include an exclusive private dinner with geisha entertainment, private Zen meditation in a local Buddhist temple, meetings with local craftspeople, private ikebana (flower arranging) lessons, visiting a master swordsmith, meetings with ceramics experts, tea tastings and tea plantation visits, visits to sake breweries and tofu factories, manga drawing lessons, a visit to a private machiya (traditional merchant house), attending local festivals, private Japanese cooking classes, and visiting the best places around Kyoto to view cherry blossoms and fall foliage.

Next, enjoy privately guided hiking on the scenic Kumano Kodo, a UNESCO-listed network of ancient pilgrimage trails and sacred sites in the wooded mountains of the rural Kii Peninsula. Walk through the beautiful forest and over mountain passes, and see the Kumano Kodo’s main holy sites: Nachi Falls, Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine, Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine and Kumano Hayatama Taisha Shrine. Walk with a yamabushi (mountain priest), and take a boat ride on the Kumano River. Get a sense of Japan’s rural lifestyle while staying in onsen (hot springs) villages and learning to make traditional Japanese washi paper.

Continue to Amanemu, a luxurious onsen (hot spring) resort overlooking the sea in off-the-beaten-path Mie Prefecture. During private touring, meet an ama, a female free diver who gathers seafood along the coastline, and learn about their traditional lifestyle during a lunch of fresh seafood. Alternatively, visit fascinating Ise Jingu Shrine, Japan’s most important Shinto shrine and a major pilgrimage site inside a sacred forest. During leisure time, enjoy the beautiful setting and amenities of the Aman resort, including your own private hot spring bath.

Next, travel by train deep into the rural Kiso Valley for an evocative experience of old Japan on the legendary Nakasendo Road, a major transportation route between Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto in centuries past. Stay in a restored private kominka (traditional Japanese country house) surrounded by farmland and forest, and dine on meals based on local ingredients prepared by your private chef. Enjoy a privately guided hike along a section of the Nakasendo Road through the forested hills, and explore the traditional buildings in the enchanting old post town of Tsumago Juku. Also visit Matsumoto and tour Matsumoto Castle, one of Japan’s most famous and beautiful medieval castles and a National Treasure.

Continue to Tokyo, the capital of contemporary culture and style in Japan. Stay at one of the city’s best luxury hotels, and enjoy comprehensive city touring with your private guide and driver. Visit Tokyo’s most interesting neighborhoods, such as Ginza, Asakusa, Shibuya, Harajuku, Aoyama, Shinjuku and Roppongi. See striking contemporary architecture, and tour important historical sites such as Meiji Jingu Shrine and Sensoji Temple. Experience the best of Japanese pop culture and Tokyo’s exciting culinary scene. Artisans of Leisure can also assist with reservations at the best restaurants in Tokyo, which range from local noodle shops, sushi bars and izakaya (pubs) to some of the most acclaimed restaurants in the world. 

Upon request, Artisans of Leisure can arrange additional experiences in Tokyo, such as watching sumo wrestlers practice at a sumo stable, a private sushi-making lesson, specialized shopping, meetings with culinary and sake experts, private martial arts lessons, seeing a Japanese baseball game, attending a kabuki performance and visiting the Ghibli Museum. We can also arrange touring to include Japanese seasonal events such as ohanami (cherry blossom viewing) parties in the spring, fireworks festivals in the summer and viewing koyo (fall foliage) in the autumn.