Luxury · 13D | 12N
Ryokan & Rail, First Class
Green Car throughout, three of Japan's best ryokan, two Michelin counters, a private garden opening in Kanazawa, and Naoshima's museums with a guide.
- Best time
- Late March to May, and November
- Route
- Tokyo · Hakone · Kanazawa · Kyoto · Naoshima
Day by day
13 days, planned in full
Green Car throughout, three of Japan's best ryokan, two Michelin counters, a private garden opening in Kanazawa, and Naoshima's museums with a guide.
Day 1
Arrive in Tokyo
Met inside the terminal, a private car to a suite in Marunouchi, and dinner at the hotel's counter with the station below.
- Night
- Tokyo
- Meals
- Dinner
Day 2
Tokyo with a curator
The Nezu collection and its garden, the Suntory museum's craft, and an eight-seat sushi counter in Ginza booked three months ahead.
- Night
- Tokyo
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
Day 3
Craft, and the old city
A morning with an indigo dyer in Kuramae, Yanaka's lanes on foot, and a kaiseki dinner in Kagurazaka.
- Night
- Tokyo
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
Day 4
To Hakone
A private car rather than the train, the open-air museum en route, and a ryokan suite with its own cypress bath and valley view.
- Night
- Hakone
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
Day 5
Fuji, and nothing else
Lake Ashi early for the mountain, then a full day held empty: the bath, the garden, a massage, and dinner served in the room.
- Night
- Hakone
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
Day 6
North to Kanazawa
Green Car on the Hokuriku line to a city the bombers missed, and a ryokan in the Higashi Chaya district of old teahouses.
- Night
- Kanazawa
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
Day 7
Gold leaf and a private garden
Kenroku-en before opening by arrangement, a gold-leaf workshop, the 21st Century Museum, and Omicho market for lunch.
- Night
- Kanazawa
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch
Day 8
Down to Kyoto
Two hours south on the Thunderbird to a machiya-style suite in the Higashiyama hills, luggage sent ahead that morning.
- Night
- Kyoto
- Meals
- Breakfast
Day 9
Kyoto's gardens, out of hours
Ryoan-ji's rock garden and Daitoku-ji's sub-temples before general admission, and a two-star kaiseki dinner in Higashiyama.
- Night
- Kyoto
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
Day 10
Tea, and a temple stay lunch
A tea master in the morning, shojin ryori — Buddhist temple cooking — for lunch, and the afternoon in Gion with a guide.
- Night
- Kyoto
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch
Day 11
Across to Naoshima
Rail and ferry to the art island, a Benesse House room with a work of art in it, and the outdoor sculptures at dusk.
- Night
- Naoshima
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
Day 12
Chichu, and the Art House projects
Ando's buried museum with its Monets and its Turrell, the village Art House projects after, and a last dinner over the Inland Sea.
- Night
- Naoshima
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
Day 13
Fly home
Ferry and a private car to Kansai or Okayama, whichever the return routing favours, with lounge access on both legs.
- Meals
- Breakfast
What's included
- 12 nights in 5-star suites and three of Japan's finest ryokan
- Return business-class airfare and airport fast-track both ways
- Green Car rail throughout, with all seats reserved
- Luggage forwarding between every city
- All named kaiseki, sushi and shojin ryori reservations
- Out-of-hours garden access in Kanazawa and Kyoto, and private guides
- Chichu, Benesse and Art House museum entries on Naoshima
Not included
- Japanese e-Visa fees
- Drinks outside the named meals
- Travel insurance
- Anything charged to the room
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*Per person on twin sharing. Prices move with season and availability — we confirm yours in writing before anything is booked.
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