Traditions of Japan

(16 Days - Departs Daily on a Private Basis)
Tokyo, Nikko, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Takayama

This private Japan tour includes the best of traditional Japanese culture and beautiful scenery, including the cultural highlights of Tokyo and Kyoto, the Nikko, renowned crafts and cuisine in Kanazawa and traditional architecture in Takayama and Matsumoto.

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. 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.

One day, opt to continue Tokyo city touring or take a private day trip to Hakone, a volcanic national park renowned for hot springs and views of nearby Mount Fuji, or the seaside town of Kamakura, an ancient capital of Japan with dozens of beautiful Zen temples and Shinto shrines along the coast and in the hillside forests and bamboo groves.

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, visiting a teamLab Borderless immersive video installation, 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.

Next, you will be transferred to Nikko, a town and national park encompassing sacred mountains, thundering waterfalls and a UNESCO World Heritage Site of important shrines and temples. Stay at a luxurious lakeside resort, and enjoy private touring of Toshogu Jinja Shrine—the incredibly ornate shrine and mausoleum dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of Japan’s greatest leaders and the founder of Edo (Tokyo). Also explore the region’s many other cultural and scenic highlights, such as Lake Chuzenji, Mount Nantai, Kegon Waterfall, Shinkyo Bridge, Irohazaka Slope and Senjogahara Marshland. Upon request, Artisans of Leisure can arrange outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain biking and stand up paddleboarding according to your interests. During leisure time, relax in the onsen hot springs at your resort.

Next, travel by first-class shinkansen (bullet train) to 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 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, small specialty museums, and historic shops that have been selling traditional goods for centuries. 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, 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, visits to sake breweries and tofu factories, manga drawing lessons, a visit to a private machiya (traditional merchant house), hiking to temples in the hills, attending local festivals, private Japanese cooking classes, and visiting the best places around Kyoto to view cherry blossoms and fall foliage.

Continue by express train to Kanazawa, one of Japan’s wealthiest cities during the feudal era and now a wonderful cultural and culinary destination on the Sea of Japan. With your expert guide, explore the highlights of the town, including traditional Japanese architecture in former samurai and geisha districts and beautiful Kenrokuen Garden, one of the most famous gardens in Japan. Learn about Kanazawa’s celebrated traditional crafts, including silk, lacquer and gold leaf products. Also tour fascinating Myoryuji (Ninja Temple), and visit museums such as the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art and Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Traditional Arts and Crafts. Explore the city’s Omicho food market, and experience Kanazawa’s refined cuisine at our favorite restaurants. One day, Artisans of Leisure will arrange an exclusive private visit and culinary experience at a traditional Japanese farm in the countryside. Other touring options around Kanazawa include visiting the Ohi Museum, the D.T. Suzuki Museum, and a renowned pottery kiln and studio.

Next, visit Shirakawago, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed region deep in the Japan Alps, to see distinctive farmhouses with steep thatched roofs. Continue to Takayama, a tradition-steeped village in the shadow of the Japan Alps. Visit the morning market, walk through atmospheric backstreets lined with traditional wooden buildings, tour historical merchant houses, browse specialty shops and folk art museums and perhaps stop in a local sake brewery. Also visit the nearby town of Hida-Furukawa to see the traditional whitewashed buildings along a canal in the historic center, and learn about the revered local craftsmanship at a centuries-old candle shop. During your stay, enjoy gourmet kaiseki ryori (seasonal tasting menu) dinners.

Enjoy a scenic transfer through the Japan Alps to Matsumoto, a former castle town in a valley at the base of the Japan Alps. Tour Matsumoto Castle, one of Japan’s most famous and beautiful medieval castles and a National Treasure.

Continue by high-speed train to Tokyo for additional touring or shopping according to your interests.

This tour can be fully customized according to your interests.

Booking Information >

All Artisans of Leisure tours are private and depart daily.

Please Contact Us for more information regarding the above tour, or to begin customizing your own itinerary.

The Artisans of Leisure Style of Travel:

• Private touring with your own personal guides and drivers
• Preferred rooms in the very best luxury hotels
• Firsthand, sophisticated destination knowledge and recommendations from our travel specialists
• Itineraries that are customized according to your interests and schedule
• Artisans of Leisure upgrades and amenities
• A seamless travel experience, including all logistics, skipping lines during touring whenever possible, restaurant and spa reservations, performance tickets, private airport transfers, internal transportation, VIP and fast-track airport assistance in many destinations
• Around-the-clock support in each destination during your trip
• Unique, insider travel experiences and access to the Artisans of Leisure network of experts around the world