Tokyo – Fuji - Hakone – Kyoto – Uji – Nara – Kyoto – Hiroshima – Osaka – Tokyo

Adventurous, unique, vibrant, traditional!

Recommended period:

March-April -> What could be more classic than Japan during cherry blossom season? Thus, spring is one of the most popular seasons in Japan, both for Japanese people and for tourists. Whether you want to have a hanami picnic under the cherry blossoms or be enchanted by the happiness on the faces of the Japanese people during this beautiful season, this time offers you one of the most authentic Japanese experiences possible.

Recommended for:

Why Classic Japan?

*We continue below by presenting the recommended itinerary with the mention that it can be modified and personalised according to your own desires.

Day 1 Home → Tokyo

Nihon e yokoso!

  • You’re embarking on a flight to Tokyo. You’ll land on the main island of Japan, in the world’s largest metropolis.


Day 2 Tokyo

Lively, cosmopolitan and vibrant 

  • A day where you get lost in Tokyo or discover it guided by our colleagues. Your list of objectives in exploring the city with crazy energy includes a “technical” stop at Shinjuku Station to exchange JR vouchers for passes. Next is Shinjuku, followed by a stroll through Yoyogi Park and a visit to Meiji Shrine. Afterward, you’ll enjoy the vibrant colours of Harajuku district, and in the evening, you’ll delight in a walk through Shibuya, where you’ll find the well-known statue of Hachiko and the world’s largest pedestrian intersection. You can catch the sunset from the top of Shibuya Sky.
  • Accommodation Tokyo
Day 3 Tokyo

Modern Japan

  • After a day spent exploring Tokyo, today your first stop is Akihabara, the paradise of electronics, anime and maid cafes. Then, for a completely unique experience, you’ll head to the Tokyo Skytree, considered the tallest tower in the world, to admire the entire city of Tokyo and with a bit of luck, even Mount Fuji. But the day won’t end there and finally, you’ll make one last stop in the Odaiba area, known as an artificial island where many companies have their headquarters. Additionally, here lies the famous Rainbow Bridge, connecting Odaiba with the rest of the city, where you can admire the sunset over the entire metropolis.
  • Accommodation Tokyo
 
Day 4 Tokyo → Fuji Hakone

Nature among Mountains and Relaxation at an Onsen in the Fuji-Hakone National Park 

  • After two days full of positive but overwhelming excitement, you board the shinkansen and after just an hour, you arrive near Japan’s symbol, Mount Fuji. If you still have energy, we suggest a sightseeing route with various fun modes of transportation: from tourist trains to funiculars, cable cars and even a boat ride in the Hakone Fuji National Park. This route will give you the opportunity to see magnificent landscapes and, if the weather is clear, Mount Fuji in all of its splendour. If you’re low on energy and just want to relax, there’s no better place than a traditional Japanese inn with an onsen.
  • Accommodation Hakone
 
Day 5  Fuji Hakone → Kyoto

The Old Capital of Japan 

  • After a day spent in nature, you board the shinkansen once again and head towards Japan’s ancient capital, Kyoto. Kyoto is a city visited by thousands of tourists who admire and stroll through temples and gardens, once intended to relax the mind and enlighten the soul. It may be the best place to enjoy Japanese Zen. Whether alone or accompanied by our colleagues, we suggest for an afternoon in Kyoto to visit: Ginkakuji or Temple of the Silver Pavilion, where visitors can enjoy one of the most beautiful Zen gardens in Japan, Higashiyama District with narrow streets and traditional houses, Kiyomizu-dera or the Pure Water Temple, which houses one of the most visited tourist attractions in Kyoto, and in the evening, the Gion district in search of geishas.
  • Accommodation Kyoto
Day 6 Kyoto 

Bamboo and Zen

  • We continue with the harmony amidst nature, this day is dedicated to Zen, shifting the focus towards the district of Arashiyama, a place appreciated for its mountain views since the Heian Period.
  • Your first stop is the Bamboo Forest, where the sound created as the wind passes through the bamboo leaves has been included in the list of Japan’s top 100 heritage sounds that must be preserved.
  • From here, you’ll move on to the next point of interest, namely the Tenryuji Temple, renowned for its Zen garden. During this visit, it’s recommended to try the room dedicated to viewing the garden, where people used to sit just to admire the natural beauty and find inner peace.
  • After a short stroll through the centre of Arashiyama, where there are plenty of traditional shops and boutiques, the rest of the day is dedicated to the two temples, Kinkakuji and Ryoanji, in the northern part of Kyoto. Kinkaku-ji, translated as the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, gets its name from the fact that the exterior walls of the building’s upper floors are covered with gold leaf. Additionally, you’ll be amazed by the Ryoanji Temple, located near the Kinkaku-ji, famous for its Zen garden with the 15 stones arranged in an interesting way, as no matter where you look, you won’t be able to see all the stones before your eyes.
  • Accommodation Kyoto
 
Day 7 Kyoto

Bambus și zen

  • Early in the morning you will go on an adventure that will give you the energy you need: a hike up the mountain hosting the Fushimi Inari Shrine. This shrine is dedicated to the god Inari, the god of rice. It is said that his messengers were foxes, so around the shrine there are many fox statues. The shrine is renowned for the hundreds of vermillion gates leading up the mountain.
  • Your adventure will continue in the city of Uji, known not only for its green tea and matcha products but also for Byodou-in Temple, an important Buddhist temple, which is also depicted on the 5 yen coin. 
  • Once you have indulged in the tea delights, the next and final stop for the day will be Nara, the home of deer roaming freely through the city streets. Nara Park not only hosts the deer, historically considered messengers of the gods, but also the Todaiji Temple, the largest wooden building in the world and the Kasuga Taisha Shrine.
  • Accommodation Kyoto
Day 8 Kyoto → Hiroshima → Osaka

The peace after the storm

  • You will travel to Hiroshima, the capital of a highly industrialised coastal area, a new and flourishing city whose optimistic residents rarely mention the bomb. “Hiroshima” is synonymous with the horrors of war. Your first stop will be at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which offers warnings of the past to current and future generations. The skeletal remains of a building known as the Atomic Bomb Dome appear in history textbooks worldwide.
  • The next stop will be Miyajima Island, reached by ferry from Hiroshima. Miyajima Island is one of the three places traditionally designated as having the most beautiful landscapes in Japan, and Itsukushima Shrine is internationally recognized for its “torii” gate seemingly floating on the water.
  • Accommodation Osaka
 
Day 9 Osaka

The Beautiful Crazy City

Today, you’ll explore Osaka, from traditional to super modernism

  • This day will be dedicated to discovering the city of Osaka, the second largest city in Japan. Your first stop will be the Dotonbori district, known to be the liveliest district in the city. Here, you’ll find not only a plethora of restaurants with various gigantic decorations and neon signs, but also commercial arcades with shops and small izakaya bars. You can have an unforgettable experience viewing the entire city of Osaka from the top of Abeno Harukas, a symbol of the city and the tallest building in Japan. It’s best to go at sunset when the city is covered in the colours of the setting sun. In the evening, you can walk from Abeno Harukas to the Shinsekai district, an important historical area of the city. The name translates to “New World,” as it was built in 1903, featuring the Tsutenkaku Tower, its construction inspired by the Eiffel Tower. Here, you can enjoy dinner at some of the small restaurants that still carry the nostalgia of bygone times.
  • Accommodation Osaka
 
Day 10 Osaka

Cosmopolitan and traditional

  • You’ll start this day by visiting the Kaiyukan Aquarium, which houses hundreds of species of fish from the Pacific Ring of Fire, as well as animals from around the world. The main attraction is the two whale sharks housed within the aquarium. 
  • Next, you’ll make your way to Osaka Castle, which was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who wanted this castle to become the centre of a new Japan united under his rule. 
  • At the end of the day, the last destination will be the Umeda Sky Building, located in one of the most important districts of Osaka, Umeda. From the observatory of the building, you can see the city at sunset. Additionally, around the building, there are plenty of restaurants and shops where you can have dinner at a reasonable price! The cherry on top is that to reach the building, you need to use escalators suspended in the air!
  • Accommodation Osaka
Day 11 Osaka → Tokyo  

The last joyful moments in Japan

  • You will enjoy your final journey on the shinkansen before leaving the Land of the Rising Sun. Today, you return to Tokyo and spend the last hours in Japan shopping or having a quiet dinner.
  • Accommodation Tokyo
 
Day 12 Tokyo → Home

Sayōnara, Japonia

Today you will bid farewell to Japan and head to the airport for the flight home.

For this itinerary, you can choose one of our consultancy and services packages!

Ideal for a journey you’ll remember as the most spectacular, well-organized and balanced, we recommend the JBM PREMIUM package, which includes:

Dedicated consultation meetings for crafting the program down to the smallest detail.

All tourist services: flight tickets, accommodation, travel passes, transfers, local guides, restaurant reservations, portable WiFi device.

A personalised travel guidebook with information to guide you throughout the entire experience.

A WhatsApp group where we communicate daily and send you audio information about the next day to ensure you have a smooth journey without any unpleasant events and make the most of your time and the Japanese experience.

A customised itinerary based on your interests and passions.

24/7 consultancy at the destination.