Treasures of Japan: UNESCO World Heritage Sites

(17 Days - Departs Daily on a Private Basis)
Tokyo, Nikko, Osaka (with Hiroshima and Miyajima or Himeji Castle), Koyasan (Mount Koya), Kyoto & Nara, Kanazawa & Shirakawago, Hakone & Kamakura

This private luxury tour focuses on Japan’s most impressive UNESCO World Heritage sites and most important cultural destinations. It features accommodation at Japan’s top luxury hotels and private touring of renowned temples and shrines, beautiful gardens, significant historical sites, favorite culinary spots 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 according to your interests, such as the Mori Art Museum, Edo-Tokyo Museum, Tokyo National Museum and the National Museum of Western Art, a UNESCO World Heritage Site designed by architect Le Corbusier. 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, 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, Senjogahara Marshland and other areas. 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.

Continue by private car and first-class shinkansen (bullet train) to Osaka, a city known for food and fun. During introductory touring, visit Dotonbori and other interesting neighborhoods filled with neon signs, funky shops and great street food. Other activities we arrange in the region include touring a renowned Japanese whisky distillery, visiting the Cup Noodles Museum, attending a sumo tournament, visiting the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan and creating your own Japanese cooking knife in a city famous for metalworking.

One day, take an excursion to the city of Hiroshima for an educational and moving visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Also visit nearby Miyajima Island to see Itsukushima Shrine and its iconic torii (Shinto gate) that seems to float on the water, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Alternatively, visit magnificent Himeji Castle, the best-preserved feudal castle complex in Japan and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Continue to atmospheric Koyasan (also known as Mount Koya), an ancient Buddhist site in a magical forest of giant cedar trees high in the mountains. During private touring of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, see important temples, and walk paths through the vast ancient cemetery inside the forest, passing hundreds of stone lanterns and moss-covered graves. Stay at a traditional temple lodge, and enjoy shojin ryori (Buddhist vegetarian) meals and the opportunity to participate in ritual Buddhist chanting at a temple.

Next, travel 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—many of which are UNESCO World Heritage sites—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. One day, enjoy a private excursion to ancient Nara, the eighth-century capital of Japan and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as nearby Horyuji Temple, where Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the seventh century and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Another option is Uji to visit tea plantations and UNESCO-listed Byodoin Temple. 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, 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 first-class 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, take a private excursion deep into the Japan Alps to visit the UNESCO World Heritage-listed villages of Shirakawago and Gokayama, where distinctive farmhouses with steep, thatched roofs sit among rice fields and forested hills. Other touring options around Kanazawa include visiting the Ohi Museum, the D.T. Suzuki Museum or a renowned pottery kiln and studio, or taking a private cooking lesson at a traditional Japanese farm in the countryside.

Next, travel to Hakone, a volcanic national park renowned for hot springs and views of nearby Mount Fuji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stay at one of Japan’s most luxurious and renowned ryokan 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. 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, a drive up the base of Mount Fuji or a boat ride on Lake Ashi for views of Mount Fuji.

Next, visit 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. Tour the highlights of the region including the Great Buddha, a monumental bronze statue built in the 13th century.

Return to Tokyo for additional touring or shopping according to your interests.

Upon request, this tour can be extended to include additional UNESCO World Heritage sites in other parts of Japan such as Yakushima, Okinawa and Tohoku, or hiking along the UNESCO-listed Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route.

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