Grand Tour of Japan

Your overland Japanese adventure begins on landing in Sapporo today. This city is the capital of mountainous Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's main islands, and on arrival you transfer to our central hotel for the next two nights.

Making up more than a fifth of Japan's landmass, this nature-lover's paradise accounts for just 5% of its population. More than a third of those people live in Sapporo, a dynamic city with a thriving food scene, attractive parks and lively streets illuminated by neon signs. Sapporo is a modern city - in 1857, it was home to just seven people - and became well known in the west after holding the winter Olympics in 1972. Today, tourists head to Sapporo for its food, beer and gorgeous mountainous surroundings.

Our hotel is near the university's Botanic Gardens and the Japan Railways Tower Observatory. After checking in, there is free time to relax and acclimatize before gathering for our first dinner together this evening.

• Breakfast, Dinner

After breakfast at our hotel this morning, we're introduced to Hokkaido's history in nearby Otaru with our English-speaking guide who accompanies us throughout the vacation. This small port city has a wonderfully preserved canal area lined with warehouses dating from the late-19th century when Otaru was the island's financial center. As an important hub for trade with Russia and China, the architecture blends Japanese and western style, leading to views that seem familiar to the western eye yet charmingly off-kilter.

We also explore the beautiful Old Aoyama Villa, one of the best-preserved mansions on Hokkaido. As well as an ornate wooden façade and tiled roof, it is also famed due to its artworks and displays of traditional calligraphy. At the Otaru Music Box Museum later, we view some of the thousands of intricately designed music boxes of all shapes and sizes.

Returning to Sapporo, there is a free evening to explore and dine independently. Hokkaido is famed for its seafood as well as ramen, while the local beer is popular all over the world.

• Breakfast

Leaving Sapporo after breakfast this morning, the Hokuto limited express train takes us to Hakodate. As the route heads to Hokkaido's eastern shores, we skirt around Uchiura Bay and can admire the coastal scenes before arriving in Hakodate.

One of Hokkaido's main cities, Hakodate was the first Japanese port open to foreign trade and is watched over by the imposing Mount Hakodate. This afternoon, a sightseeing tour of the city's main sights by coach includes Goryokaku. This vast, star-shaped fortress was completed in 1866 based on a design by a French architect. We explore foreign influence in the Motomachi district, a former residential area for traders, home to a Russian Orthodox church, the old British Consulate and a Chinese memorial hall. This evening, we ascend Mount Hakodate by a ropeway cable car to admire fabulous views stretching out across the city and coast.

Tonight, we experience a local beer hall, dining on western food in a convivial setting.

• Breakfast, Dinner

An early morning visit to the Hakodate market follows breakfast at our hotel. Specializing in seafood, stallholders display wonderfully fresh crab, squid and oysters, with many delicacies available to buy and eat on the spot.

Later, we head to Hakodate train station to enjoy our first experience of Japan's world-famous bullet trains. In a little over four hours, the Shinkansen carries us the 513 miles to the nation's capital. Traveling beneath the Tsugaru Strait, we emerge on Honshu, Japan's main island, and dash towards Tokyo, arriving mid-afternoon. With a population similar to that of Canada in an area roughly the same size as North Yorkshire, urban Tokyo is the world's most populus city. Yet, it regularly finds itself amongst the top-ranking cities for livability due to its well-organized dynamism and cleanliness.

Our four-star hotel is in lively Shinjuku, where you have a free evening to explore at leisure. Japan's most well-known dishes are available in this vibrant district, so you could find yourself eating fresh sushi or embracing local culture at a yakiniku barbeque.

• Breakfast

With our English-speaking guide, we embark on a coach tour of Tokyo after breakfast. In stark contrast to the gleaming skyscrapers in the background, the vast landscaped Hama Rikyu Gardens is an oasis of calm. Maple, ginkgo and peonies gather round sea-fed lakes on the site of a former 17th-century shogun villa.

Next, we visit the serene Meiji Jingu. Nestled in beautiful, forested surrounds, this dark wood Shinto shrine is dedicated to the 19th-century emperor and his wife. Continuing to the enchanting Senso-Ji temple in Asakusa, we uncover this symbol of Tokyo dating from the 7th century, built to honor the Buddhist goddess of mercy. With its sweeping, tiled roof, intricate carvings and giant red lanterns, Senso-Ji is the epitome of Japanese Buddhist architecture.

As if to demonstrate the incredible intertwining of the tranquil and bustling, we travel to the famed Shibuya crossing, where up to 3,000 people at a time inundate the crossing from all directions, and the charming memorial honoring Hachiko, renowned as Japan's most loyal dog. This evening is free to dine at leisure.

• Breakfast

A relaxed morning with breakfast at our hotel is followed by a trip on Japan's famous railways. Walking the short distance to Shinjuku station - the world's busiest - we board the Shonan Express to Odawara.

Transferring into the mountains, an incredible ride on the Hakone Ropeway takes us on a 20-minute cable car journey, with amazing views of iconic Mount Fuji in the distance. As we travel above this area of outstanding natural wonders, we can view rising plumes of steam from the sulfurous hot springs that dot Mount Hakone - a volcano that last erupted in 1170. Arriving on the glistening shores of Lake Ashi, our trip concludes with a pirate boat cruise across the crater lake to our hotel. Enroute, look for the striking red of Shinto torii gates along the shoreline and keep an eye out for more beautiful views of Mount Fuji.

Our hotel overlooks this beautiful lake, framed by overlapping mountains dipping towards the tranquil waters. There is time to relax before dinner at the hotel's restaurant this evening.

• Breakfast, Dinner

Today is all about Japan's most revered peak, Mount Fuji - the UNESCO-listed active volcano. Instantly recognizable from artworks including woodcut prints by Hokusai, the country's sacred symbol is astonishing due to its symmetry and prominence.

After breakfast at our lakeside hotel, we set out by coach to explore the area surrounding Mount Fuji, visiting the World Heritage Center to learn more about Japan's national emblem and absorb incredible vistas from its observation deck. Mount Fuji is one of nature's greatest masterpieces with its almost perfectly symmetrical, snow-capped peak rising above a landscape of forests and glistening lakes.

From here, we travel across the mountains to the alpine city of Matsumoto, visiting the nearby Chihiro Art Museum in Azumino. Set amid acres of picturesque countryside, this museum honors renowned artist Chihiro Iwasaki who was known for her delightful watercolors of flowers and children. After checking in to our hotel, there is a free evening in Matsumoto to sample the region's culinary delights including soba noodles and piquant fried chicken called sanzoku-yaki.

• Breakfast

With our guide, we explore Matsumoto after breakfast. First, we take a guided tour of a miso factory to discover why this paste - a mixture of fermented soybeans with salt and other umami-based ingredients - is so important in Japanese cooking. Continuing to Matsumoto Castle, we encounter a five-floor pagoda-style fortress known as 'Crow Castle' due to its unusual black exterior. Built in the 1500s, this is the oldest remaining castle of its kind in Japan.

After time to look around, we continue to Takayama on the renowned Mitsuboshi Kaidou road. This scenic route presents Japan in all its verdant glory, with steep-sided mountains carpeted with forests. In Takayama, we visit the Hida Folk Village, an open-air museum which depicts more than 30 rustic farm dwellings from the Edo Period, with their dark-wood exteriors and deep thatched roofs.

There is a free evening after checking in to our hotel on the edge of Takayama, a fascinating town of narrow streets and wooden houses.

• Breakfast

Exploring Takayama with our guide after breakfast this morning, we take in the Miyagawa open-air market. Lining the bank of the babbling river, it's replete with neat stalls selling local farm products and handicrafts. A walk down historic Sannomachi Street reveals dark-wood houses and sake breweries in this beautifully preserved example of traditional Edo architecture, before we view the 17th-century wood-framed government building with tranquil tatami-walled rooms.

Leaving Takayama, a train journey along the Hida River valley takes us to Nagoya before boarding the Shinkansen bullet train. Traveling at speeds up to 178 miles per hour, we dash to Kyoto for two nights.

Japan's former capital is a living museum of the country's artistic heritage, with an impressive 17 UNESCO-listed sites. After checking in to our hotel, there is a free evening to dine independently. Japan is famed for its delicious food, and you might like to find a restaurant serving fresh sushi, ramen noodles, yakiniku barbeque or revered wagyu beef.

• Breakfast

A historic city overflowing with the authentic beauty of old Japan, we explore Kyoto after breakfast. Our tour begins at Kyoto Railway Museum, where we learn about the history of Japanese railways and its iconic locomotives. We then spend time in the bamboo forest of Arashiyama, strolling down the Sagano path, marveling at the jade-hued sunlight piercing through the towering stalks.

This afternoon, our guide helps us uncover the history and traditions of Kyoto, first by visiting Kinkakuji temple. The 'Golden Pavilion' temple dates from 1397 and shimmers in brilliant gold leaf on the edge of a reflecting pond, surrounded by lush forest. Afterwards, we partake in a zen tea ceremony. Learning how to brew, serve and sip this celebrated drink also gives us a glimpse into the spirituality and culture of Japan. Our tour concludes amongst the beautiful backstreets of the Gion neighborhood. Lined by traditional dark-wood homes, this district was historically home to kimono-wearing geishas.

The evening is free to dine independently, and Kyoto has many excellent restaurants serving refined and traditional cuisine.

• Breakfast

Between 710 and 784AD, Nara was Japan's capital - before Kyoto adopted the mantle. It's a beautiful and compact city that oozes history and grace, backdropped by wooded hills.

A guided walking tour first takes us to Todaji Temple to we view one of the world's largest bronze statues. The Great Buddha or 'Daibutsu' was installed in 752AD and is set within an ornate temple recorded as the largest wooden building in the world. Nearby, the landscaped grounds of Nara's serene deer park are full of delightful ponds and tame deer. These beautiful animals were once revered as messengers of the gods and now roam freely. They are so used to human visitors that they often bow in greeting. Leaving Nara, we travel from Osaka to Hiroshima by bullet train.

Hiroshima is an emotive city known for the unprecedented devastation it suffered during World War Two. Today however, its parks and museums now stand as embodiments of peace. After checking in to our hotel, there is a free evening to dine independently.

• Breakfast

This morning, we embark on a tour of Hiroshima's most moving locations with our English-speaking guide.

Now a welcoming city, it became a byword for the horrors of war after an atomic bomb was dropped by the US Air Force at 8:15 AM on Monday, August 6th, 1945. Building remains from the fateful day are viewable at the Atomic Bomb Dome, while you can wander the Peace Memorial Park that honors the victims and view items salvaged from the rubble at the museum.

In the afternoon, we travel via train and boat to Miyajima, leaving modern life behind to soak up the tranquility of this secluded destination. Also known as Itsukushima (Island of the Gods), we enjoy a walking tour which includes a visit to Itsukushima Shrine and the iconic O-Torii Gate that guards its entrance. Partially submerged at high tide, this stunning red structure was built in the 12th century and is an enduring image of traditional Japan. Returning to Hiroshima, we dine on our own this evening.

• Breakfast

Leaving Japan's main island today, a bullet train takes us from Hiroshima to Hakata on the southern island of Kyushu. Covering the distance of 150 miles in a little over an hour, we cross the Hayatomonoseto Strait, reaching the Hakata ward of Fukuoka by late morning.

Once here, a guided sightseeing tour takes in the Dazaifu Tenman-gu Shrine, dedicated to Tenjin, the Shinto god of learning. Said to have been built over the grave of a 9th-century poet, there has been a shrine here since 905AD, although the pavilion we see today dates from 1591. In the charming grounds of pretty bridges and serene pools stand 6,000 plum trees. The modern exterior of the nearby Kyushu National Museum contrasts brilliantly with the serenity of the shrine, with a glass façade reflecting the surrounding forests and sky. Here, we uncover the history of Japanese culture through an impressive collection of artifacts and exhibitions.

Checking in to our four-star hotel in Fukuoka, there is time to relax before we visit a local restaurant for a western-style dinner.

• Breakfast, Dinner

From the verdant surroundings of Hokkaido's welcoming cities of Sapporo and Hakodate to friendly Fukuoka, Japan has revealed an enchanting blend of peaceful spirituality and frenetic cities. Tranquil mountain towns, neon-draped streets and iconic sights have been uncovered by traveling on the famous Shinkansen bullet trains.

Your amazing overland tour of Japan concludes today, and you can make your way to the airport for your flight home. However, if you have time, you could explore Fukuoka on your own, perhaps wandering through Ohori Park beside the ruins of Fukuoka's ancient castle.

• Breakfast