Japan In-Depth Discovery: 10-Day Classic Tour with Central Japan — Tokyo, Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go, Kyoto & Osaka

Tour Overview

Itinerary Highlights

Day 1-2: Tokyo — The Capital in Depth

Arrive Tokyo. Two full days exploring Japan’s capital: Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, Meiji Jingu Shrine, Shibuya Crossing, teamLab Borderless digital art museum (10,000 square meters of immersive light art, reopened in 2024 at Azabudai Hills), Tsukiji Outer Market for sushi breakfast, and Akihabara for Japan’s otaku culture. Overnights in Tokyo.

Day 3: Mt. Fuji & Hakone

Full day excursion to Fuji Five Lakes and Hakone. Lake Kawaguchi, Chureito Pagoda viewpoint, Hakone Ropeway, Owakudani volcanic valley, optional onsen with Fuji views. Overnight in Tokyo.

Day 4: Kanazawa — The Samurai City

Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kanazawa (2.5 hours). Kanazawa was Japan’s second-largest city not bombed in WWII (after Kyoto), preserving its Edo-period architecture intact. Visit Kenroku-en, one of Japan’s “Three Great Gardens,” created by the Maeda lords over 200 years (1620s-1840s). Its name means “Garden of Six Attributes” — spaciousness, seclusion, artifice, antiquity, water-courses, and panoramas. In winter, yukitsuri — ropes tied in conical arrays from trees to protect branches from heavy snow — create a distinctive silhouette. Walk through the Nagamachi samurai district — narrow lanes of earthen walls and water channels where samurai families lived for 400 years. Visit the Nomura-ke, a restored samurai residence with a garden awarded two Michelin stars. Afternoon: Higashi Chaya District, Kanazawa’s geisha quarter with wooden lattice-fronted teahouses. Try gold leaf ice cream (Kanazawa produces 99% of Japan’s gold leaf). Overnight in Kanazawa.

Day 5: Shirakawa-go — The Hidden Mountain Village

Full day excursion to Shirakawa-go (UNESCO World Heritage), a remote mountain village in the Japanese Alps whose gassho-zukuri farmhouses — with their steep thatched roofs like praying hands (gassho means “praying hands”) — are architectural marvels designed to withstand 3 meters of snow. Built without nails, the A-frames can be 250 years old and house extended families of 30+ people. The village is a living museum — over 600 people still live in and maintain these houses. Visit the Wada House, one of the largest gassho-zukuri houses, to see the multi-story structure where silkworms were raised in the upper floors (sericulture was the village’s main industry). The view from Shiroyama Viewpoint encompasses the entire village in its valley — a scene so perfectly preserved it seems frozen in the Edo period. Overnight in Kanazawa.

Days 6-7: Kyoto — 1,000 Years of Culture

Train to Kyoto (2 hours). Two full days: Kinkaku-ji, Fushimi Inari (10,000 torii gates), Kiyomizu-dera, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove (a tunnel of towering bamboo that filters sunlight into an ethereal green glow), Tenryu-ji Temple garden, traditional tea ceremony in a machiya, Gion geisha district at dusk. Optional: day trip to Nara Park to meet the sacred deer and visit Todai-ji’s Great Buddha. Overnights in Kyoto.

Day 8: Kyoto to Osaka — Japan’s Kitchen

Morning in Kyoto. Afternoon: short train to Osaka. Visit Osaka Castle, the Umeda Sky Building’s Floating Garden Observatory (two 40-story towers connected by a rooftop bridge), and the vibrant Dotonbori district for street food. Evening: sample kushikatsu (deep-fried skewers), okonomiyaki, and takoyaki. Overnight in Osaka.

Day 9: Osaka — Kuromon Market & Departure Prep

Morning at Kuromon Market — over 150 years old, 580 meters of fresh seafood, wagyu beef, and street food stalls where you eat standing. Afternoon: Shinsekai district, a nostalgic 1912 entertainment quarter dominated by the Tsutenkaku Tower. Farewell dinner at a teppanyaki restaurant. Overnight in Osaka.

Day 10: Departure

Transfer to Kansai International Airport.

Included

• 9 nights accommodation (4-star hotels + 1 night ryokan)
• English-speaking guide throughout
• 7-day Japan Rail Pass (Shinkansen + local trains)
• All breakfasts + 3 dinners
• All entrance fees & activities
• Airport transfers