Essence of Japan

Japan, 7 Nights

Day 1 - London/Tokyo
Board your overnight flight from Heathrow to Tokyo.

Day 2 - Tokyo
Arrive in Tokyo this morning and transfer to the Four Seasons Hotel, your home for the next two nights. Enjoy an afternoon visit to the Tokyo Tower, then on to the country's largest and most important museum in Ueno Park, the Tokyo National Museum.

Day 3 - Tokyo
An early start sees you trying a breakfast of the freshest sushi at the Tsukiji Fish Market. After breakfast, continue on to the Senso-ji Temple (also known as the Asakusa Kannon Temple) which enshrines a golden image of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy - not on public display. The colourful shopping street of Nakamise-dori leads to the temple and is great for souvenirs. Visit the Edo-Tokyo Museum and the gardens of the Imperial Palace, home of the Emperor and Imperial family. Tokyo comes alive at night; make sure you find time for a stroll through the neon-lit streets of Shinjuku, Ginza or Shibuya.

Day 4 - Tokyo/Kamakura/Hakone
This morning transfer to Hakone. En route you will visit Kamakura, a former capital, where you can see the giant bronze Buddha statue (the second largest in Japan) at Kotoku-in Temple and Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine. Continue along the Shonan coast and spend two nights at the simple but traditional Gora Kadan Ryokan.

Day 5 - Hakone
Today embark on a full-day sightseeing tour of Hakone and Mount Fuji, Japan's tallest and best known mountain. Visit Owakudani Valley, where steam and sulphurous fumes rise from crevices in the rocks. If you are feeling brave, you can buy a boiled egg which has turned black in the sulphurous waters. Weather permitting, take the ropeway to the top of Mount Komagatake for spectacular views of Mount Fuji, Lake Ashi, Mount Futago and the mountains of the distant Izu Peninsula.

Day 6 - Hakone/Kyoto
This morning transfer by Shinkansen train to Kyoto (418km/4 hours) and check-in to the Hyatt Regency hotel for two nights. Enjoy a visit to the striking Golden Temple, Kinkaku-ji, a national treasure. Also see Kiyomizudera or Pure Water Temple. Founded in 780, the temple remains associated with the oldest sect within Japanese Buddhism - the Hosso.

Day 7 - Kyoto
Visit Arashiyama, once an excursion place for Emperors of the Heian Period. Today Kyotoites make annual excursions here to see cherry blossoms in spring and the maples in their autumn colours. Enjoy an afternoon at leisure. You may wish to explore the Southern Higashiyama District which is full of temples, shrines, gardens and traditional neighbourhoods. This evening, perhaps take a stroll through the historic Geisha district of Gion, where you may catch a glimpse of a geiko hurrying between teahouses.

Day 8 - Kyoto/Osaka/London
This morning transfer to Osaka International airport to connect with your flight to London Heathrow, arriving later the same day.