Culture · Japan
Japan
Blossom, Neon & Old Roads
- Best time
- Late March to May, and November
- Location
- Honshu & Kyushu
About Japan
Japan rewards a slower itinerary than most people give it. The country is long, the trains are exact to the minute, and the distance between a Kyoto temple garden and a Shinjuku alley of six-seat bars is two and a half hours on the Tokaido line. What surprises most first-time travellers is the quiet — in a city of thirty-seven million, on a packed commuter train, nobody speaks. Come for the cherry blossom in late March and early April, or for the maples in November, which are just as good and far less contested.
Good to know
- Flight time
- 9h 15m from Delhi, direct to Tokyo
- Currency
- Japanese Yen (JPY)
- Language
- Japanese; limited English outside cities
- Visa
- e-Visa for Indian passports, 5 – 7 working days
What you'll do
The four we'd book first
Fushimi Inari at six in the morning
Ten thousand vermilion gates up a wooded hill. Arrive at dawn and the first thirty minutes are entirely yours; by nine it is a queue.
A night in a ryokan
Tatami, a futon laid out while you are at dinner, a multi-course kaiseki meal, and an outdoor onsen you sit in while it snows.
The fish market at Toyosu
The tuna auction starts at half past five. Watch from the upper gallery, then eat sushi for breakfast in the outer market at Tsukiji.
Walking a stretch of the Nakasendo
The old post road between Magome and Tsumago is eight kilometres of forest, stone and thatched inns, and it is walkable in a morning.
Curated itineraries
Japan packages
Kyoto's back lanes before the crowds, two nights in a Hakone ryokan under Fuji, then the bullet train straight into Tokyo's neon.
Signature12D | 11NBlossom, Neon & Old Roads
- Fushimi Inari before the crowds
- Ryokan and onsen night in Hakone
- Hiroshima and Miyajima by bullet train
- Tokyo
- Hakone
- Kyoto
- Osaka
Blossom, Neon & Old Roads — Japan, 12D | 11N, from ₹2,64,900Per person, starting from*
₹2,64,900, reduced from
₹3,76,200
Honeymoon10D | 9NJapan for Two
- Ryokan suite with a private open-air onsen
- Restored machiya townhouse in central Kyoto
- Private tea ceremony and a maiko evening
- Tokyo
- Hakone
- Kyoto
Japan for Two — Japan, 10D | 9N, from ₹2,98,900Per person, starting from*
₹2,98,900, reduced from
₹4,24,400
Family11D | 10NJapan with the Family
- teamLab Planets and the Ghibli Museum
- A day at Universal Studios Japan
- Feeding the deer at Nara
- Tokyo
- Hakone
- Osaka
- Kyoto
Japan with the Family — Japan, 11D | 10N, from ₹2,89,900Per person, starting from*
₹2,89,900, reduced from
₹4,11,700
Luxury13D | 12NRyokan & Rail, First Class
- Green Car rail and luggage forwarded ahead
- Kaiseki at a Relais ryokan under Fuji
- Naoshima's Chichu and Benesse museums
- Tokyo
- Hakone
- Kanazawa
- Kyoto
- Naoshima
Ryokan & Rail, First Class — Japan, 13D | 12N, from ₹5,49,900Per person, starting from*
₹5,49,900, reduced from
₹7,80,900
Adventure12D | 11NKumano Kodo & the Alps
- The Nakasendo from Magome to Tsumago
- Four days on the Kumano Kodo
- Onsen at Yunomine, in use for 1,800 years
- Tokyo
- Kamikochi
- Magome
- Kumano
- Osaka
Kumano Kodo & the Alps — Japan, 12D | 11N, from ₹3,14,900Per person, starting from*
₹3,14,900, reduced from
₹4,47,200
Culture14D | 13NKyoto, Kanazawa & Kyushu
- Gold leaf and lacquer workshops in Kanazawa
- Arita and Karatsu, four centuries of porcelain
- Sand baths at Beppu, and Sakurajima smoking
- Kyoto
- Kanazawa
- Hiroshima
- Beppu
- Kagoshima
Kyoto, Kanazawa & Kyushu — Japan, 14D | 13N, from ₹3,44,900Per person, starting from*
₹3,44,900, reduced from
₹4,89,800
*Per person on twin sharing. Prices move with season and availability — we confirm yours in writing before anything is booked.
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Plan this trip
Tell us how you'd like to see Japan.
Any of these six is a starting point, not a fixed menu. Send us the dates and who's travelling, and a planner will come back with a version built round you — usually within twelve hours.