Family Tour of Japan

(10 Days - Departs Daily on a Private Basis)
Tokyo, Hakone & Mount Fuji, Kyoto & Hiroshima

Japan is family-friendly and endlessly fascinating for children and adults alike. This private family tour of Japan is the perfect combination of traditional Japanese culture and contemporary Japanese pop style. It includes flexible private touring with your own expert guide, family-friendly activities, accommodation at some of Japan’s top luxury hotels and much more.

Begin in 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, Shinjuku, Roppongi and Aoyama. See striking contemporary architecture, and tour important historical sites such as Meiji Jingu Shrine and Sensoji Temple. Experience the best of Japanese pop culture during visits to trendy districts, specialty shops, quirky cafes and popular sites such as Yoyogi Park. Visit Tokyo’s best museums, such as the Mori Art Museum, Edo-Tokyo Museum and Tokyo National Museum, according to your interests. Enjoy favorite family activities such as visiting an owl cafe and a teamLab Borderless immersive video installation. Experience Tokyo’s exciting culinary scene at the Tsukiji Outer Market or Toyosu Market, the Kappabashi kitchenware district, and our favorite specialty food shops and department store food halls. We also make reservations for our travelers at our favorite 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, shopping for the latest Japanese gadgets, 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.

Continue to Hakone, a volcanic national park renowned for hot springs and views of nearby Mount Fuji. Stay at one of Japan’s most luxurious and renowned ryokan (traditional inns), where you can soak in outdoor onsen (hot spring bath) and enjoy a gourmet kaiseki ryori (seasonal tasting menu) dinner. During private touring, explore Hakone’s geothermal areas and historical sites. Also enjoy a boat ride on Lake Ashi for views of Mount Fuji. Perhaps also visit one of Hakone’s best art museums or a studio dedicated to yosegi (inlaid wood), a local craft. Upon request, Artisans of Leisure can incorporate hiking or a drive up the base of Mount Fuji.

Next, travel to enchanting Kyoto, the heart of Japanese culture and tradition. Stay at one of Kyoto’s best luxury hotels or ryokan, 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 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 cultural activity according to your family’s interests, such as a private Japanese cooking class, a martial arts lesson, a manga drawing lesson, private Zen meditation in a local Buddhist temple or a private ikebana (flower arranging) lesson. Upon request, we can arrange access to imperial villas and private gardens such as Katsura Rikyu and other less-visited attractions. Artisans of Leisure will also arrange an exclusive private Japanese tea ceremony in a tea villa and reservations at Kyoto’s best restaurants.

One day, enjoy a private excursion from Kyoto. Options include the I.M. Pei-designed Miho Museum; ancient Nara, the eighth-century capital of Japan; Hiroshima for an educational and moving visit to the Peace Park and Museum and nearby Miyajima Island with its iconic torii(Shinto gate) that seems to float on the water; Osaka for food and pop culture touring; Uji to visit tea plantations and Byodoin Temple; and Himeji Castle, the most impressive medieval castle in Japan.

Upon request, other activities that can be arranged around Kyoto include an exclusive private dinner with geisha entertainment, meetings with local craftspeople, visiting a master swordsmith, meetings with ceramics experts, tea tastings, visits to sake breweries and tofu factories, a visit to a private machiya (traditional merchant house), hiking to temples in the hills, attending local festivals, and visiting the best places around Kyoto to view cherry blossoms and fall foliage.

Return to Tokyo for additional touring or activities customized to your interests.

Itinerary Overview

Day 1 Arrive Tokyo Private arrival transfer to hotel for 2 nights Day 2 Tokyo Full-day private city tour Day 3 Tokyo – Hakone Private transfer to station for first-class shinkansen (bullet train) to Hakone. Full-day private tour on arrival. Private transfer to luxury hot springs ryokan for 1 night, including kaiseki ryori dinner Day 4 Hakone – Kyoto Private transfer to station for first-class shinkansen to Kyoto. Private arrival transfer to hotel for 4 nights. Afternoon private tour Day 5 Kyoto Full-day private city tour, including private tea ceremony and vegetarian lunch at a temple Day 6 Kyoto & environs Full-day private excursion Day 7 Kyoto Half-day private city tour, including cultural activity or lesson Day 8 Kyoto – Tokyo Private transfer to station for first-class shinkansen to Tokyo. Private arrival transfer to hotel for 2 nights Day 9 Tokyo Half-day private city tour or option for cultural activity or lesson Day 10 Depart Tokyo Private airport transfer

Hotels

Tokyo: Aman Tokyo, Peninsula Tokyo and/or Park Hyatt Tokyo Hakone: Gora Kadan Kyoto: The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto or Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto *Aman Kyoto, Tawaraya Ryokan or Hiiragiya Ryokan can be booked for a supplement

Cost

Upon reqeust