Best of Hokkaido & Tohoku

(12 Days - Departs Daily on a Private Basis)
Tokyo, Sapporo & Otaru, Hakodate, Sendai with Matsushima & Yamadera, Nikko

On this private Japan tour, experience the cultural treasures and natural beauty of northern Japan, including Nikko, the Tohoku region and the island of Hokkaido, with time to enjoy Tokyo at the beginning and end.

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.

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, fly to Hokkaido, Japan’s wild and scenic northern island. In Sapporo, the largest city on Hokkaido, enjoy flexible private touring of highlights such as leafy Odori Park in the city center, the Sapporo Beer Museum, the bustling seafood market, vast Moerenuma Park (designed by artist Isamu Noguchi), the lively Susukino nightlife district, and the Kaitaku no Mura Historical Village of Hokkaido, an open-air museum with dozens of typical residences, shops and factories from the turn of the 20th century. During winter, we can also arrange a visit to the renowned Sapporo Snow Festival to see monumental ice and snow sculptures.

Also take a private excursion to Otaru, a historic port town. Walk along a picturesque canal lined with stone warehouses and Western-style buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Otaru was an important trading center, and enjoy the opportunity to dine at a local sushi restaurant.

Travel by express train to Hakodate, a port city on a scenic isthmus at the bottom of Hokkaido. During flexible private touring, see highlights such as an overview of the city from atop Mount Hakodate, the Goryokaku star-shaped fort, the historic Kanemori brick warehouse shopping district along the waterfront and the Motomachi neighborhood of early Western-style buildings.

Continue by shinkansen (bullet train) to Sendai, an ideal base for exploring some of the highlights of Tohoku, a region of mountain temples, charming villages and rugged coastlines in northern Honshu. One day, tour the friendly and very local Shiogama fish market, including the option for a lunch of some of Japan’s freshest sushi. Then, take a private cruise among the pine-clad islands of Matsushima Bay, which has been considered one of the three most scenic places in Japan for centuries. Also visit the town of Matsushima to tour Zuiganji, an important Zen temple, and Entsuin, a temple and mausoleum surrounded by interesting gardens. Another day, enjoy a private excursion to Yamadera, a stunning temple complex built into mountain cliffs. Upon request, Artisans of Leisure can arrange additional touring in the region, such as scenic and cultural touring on Hagurosan, one of the sacred mountains of Dewa Sanzan.

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.

Return to Tokyo for last-minute shopping, dining and free time to enjoy the city.

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