11 days 10 nights
Specific Tour
14 people
English
Quick answer
An 11-day private autumn tour of Japan: two nights in Tokyo, two in Takayama in the Japanese Alps, Shirakawa-go and a night in Kanazawa, four nights in Kyoto for the maples and a day in Nara before Osaka. You travel by train with a private guide.
From US$1,540 per person for the whole tour, as an indicative price for a small private group in 4★ hotels. It changes with group size, hotel level and season, and is confirmed in your tailor-made quote.
| Day | Route and highlights | Overnight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrive in Tokyo | Tokyo |
| 2 | Tokyo: Meiji Shrine, Jingu Gaien and Rikugien | Tokyo |
| 3 | Into the Alps to Takayama | Takayama |
| 4 | Takayama markets and Hida Folk Village | Takayama |
| 5 | Shirakawa-go to Kanazawa | Kanazawa |
| 6 | Kanazawa and the train to Kyoto | Kyoto |
| 7 | Kyoto: Tofuku-ji and Fushimi Inari | Kyoto |
| 8 | Kyoto: Nanzen-ji, Eikan-do and Kiyomizu-dera | Kyoto |
| 9 | Kyoto: Arashiyama and the Golden Pavilion | Kyoto |
| 10 | Nara and on to Osaka | Osaka |
| 11 | Depart Osaka | — |
Private tour with your own English-speaking guide · 11 days / 10 nights · Tokyo – Takayama – Shirakawa-go – Kanazawa – Kyoto – Nara – Osaka
This Japan autumn tour takes you beyond the usual Tokyo to Kyoto line and into the mountains of central Japan, where the leaves turn first. After two days in Tokyo, with its golden ginkgo avenue at Jingu Gaien and the maple garden of Rikugien, you ride the train into the Japanese Alps to Takayama, a merchant town of dark wooden houses, sake breweries and morning markets beside the river.
From Takayama, a short bus ride brings you to Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO-listed village of steep thatched farmhouses set among rice fields and wooded hills. You continue to Kanazawa on the Sea of Japan coast, home to Kenroku-en, one of Japan's three great gardens, the old teahouse district of Higashi Chaya and a busy seafood market.
The second half of the trip is spent in Kyoto, where four nights give you time to see the temples at their most colorful: Tofuku-ji's sea of maples, Eikan-do's lantern-lit evening garden, Kiyomizu-dera, and Arashiyama's hillsides. A day in Nara and a last night in Osaka round off the journey.
Moderate. Expect 10,000 to 15,000 steps on most days, with stairs at stations and temples. The longest journeys are the train from Tokyo to Takayama (about four and a half hours with one change) and from Kanazawa to Kyoto (about two and a quarter hours). Luggage is sent ahead on travel days where possible. Suits couples, families with children over 10 and active older travelers.
Ten nights: a 4-star hotel in Tokyo (two nights), a ryokan or 4-star hotel with hot-spring baths in Takayama (two nights), a 4-star hotel in Kanazawa (one night), a 4-star hotel in Kyoto (four nights) and a 4-star hotel in Osaka (one night).
Autumn colors move south and down from the mountains through the season. Takayama and Shirakawa-go are usually at their best from late October to early November, Kanazawa in early to mid-November, and Kyoto and Tokyo from mid-November to early December. Departures in the first half of November catch good color along most of the route. Days are crisp and mostly dry, with cold mornings in the Alps.
Your guide and driver are yours alone for the whole trip, so the pace, the stops and the start time each morning follow you. The standard version has an English-speaking guide; guides who speak French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese or Vietnamese can be arranged on request.
More ideas: All private tours in Japan · Japan Cherry Blossom Tour: Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Kyoto, Nara and Himeji in 11 Days · Japan's Golden Route: Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka in 10 Days
Photos: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons; Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Ankur P from Pune, India, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; dres2222, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; 663highland, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons; Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Netherzone, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; DXR, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Japan in Autumn: Tokyo, Takayama, Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa and Kyoto in 11 Days is a starting point. Our Hanoi travel designers adjust every day to your pace, interests and hotel style, then run the trip with your own guide and driver.
On arrival at Narita or Haneda airport, you are met and taken by private car to your hotel in central Tokyo. After check-in, rest or take a gentle walk around the neighborhood. Your guide will contact you to confirm the plan, share the latest autumn color reports along the route and give you a transport card for the trains and subway. In the evening, try a bowl of ramen or a simple izakaya near your hotel.
Overnight: Tokyo
Visit the Meiji Shrine, set in a quiet forest, then walk to the nearby ginkgo avenue of Jingu Gaien, where two rows of trees turn bright gold in late autumn. Continue to Asakusa for Senso-ji, Tokyo's oldest temple, and the stalls of Nakamise Street. In the late afternoon, visit Rikugien, an Edo-period strolling garden whose maples are lit up in the evening during the autumn season.
Overnight: Tokyo · Meals: B
Send your main luggage ahead to Kyoto and take the Shinkansen to Nagoya, then the scenic Hida limited express up the Hida River valley to Takayama, about four and a half hours in total. In the afternoon, walk through Sanmachi Suji, the preserved merchant quarter of dark wooden houses, small sake breweries marked by cedar balls above the doors and craft shops. Spend the evening at your ryokan or hotel, with time for a hot-spring bath.
Overnight: Takayama · Meals: B, D
Start with the morning market beside the Miyagawa River, where local farmers sell vegetables, pickles and crafts. Visit Takayama Jinya, a former government office from the Edo period, then the Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall to see the ornate floats used in the town's famous festival. In the afternoon, explore Hida Folk Village, an open-air museum of thatched farmhouses moved here from the surrounding mountains, beside a pond reflecting the autumn leaves.
Overnight: Takayama · Meals: B, D
Take a bus of about 50 minutes to Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO World Heritage village of gassho-zukuri farmhouses, whose steep thatched roofs are built to shed heavy winter snow. Walk through the village, visit the inside of one of the larger houses and climb to the Shiroyama viewpoint for the classic view over the rooftops. In the afternoon, continue by bus to Kanazawa, about 75 minutes, and check in to your hotel.
Overnight: Kanazawa · Meals: B
Visit Kenroku-en early, one of Japan's three great gardens, where ponds, stone lanterns and trees supported with ropes against the snow glow in autumn color. Walk through the grounds of Kanazawa Castle and on to Higashi Chaya, a district of old teahouses where you can see local gold-leaf craft. After lunch at Omicho Market, known for its fresh seafood, take the train to Kyoto, about two and a quarter hours.
Overnight: Kyoto · Meals: B
Go early to Tofuku-ji, one of Kyoto's most famous autumn sights, where the wooden Tsutenkyo bridge looks over a valley filled with maple trees. Visit the temple's modern checkerboard moss garden. Later, walk through the tunnels of red torii gates at Fushimi Inari Shrine, climbing as far up the mountain as you like. Return to central Kyoto in the late afternoon and enjoy an evening walk through Gion.
Overnight: Kyoto · Meals: B
Walk the Philosopher's Path from Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, to Nanzen-ji, a large Zen temple with a brick aqueduct and a fine sub-temple garden. Next door, Eikan-do is known as the temple of autumn leaves, and its pond garden is spectacular in November. In the late afternoon, visit Kiyomizu-dera, whose wooden stage looks over a hillside of maples, and stay for the evening illumination if it is running during your visit.
Overnight: Kyoto · Meals: B
Head west to Arashiyama, where maples cover the hills above the river. Walk through the bamboo grove and visit Tenryu-ji, whose garden borrows the colors of the mountain behind it, then the hillside temple of Jojakko-ji, known for its mossy steps under the maples. In the afternoon, visit Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, and the rock garden of Ryoan-ji. The evening is free to explore the restaurants of Pontocho.
Overnight: Kyoto · Meals: B
Take the train to Nara and walk through Nara Park, where deer wander freely beneath the trees, to Todai-ji, home to a giant bronze Buddha in one of the largest wooden halls in the world. Visit Kasuga Taisha, with its hundreds of lanterns, and the gardens of Isuien. In the afternoon, travel to Osaka, where your luggage awaits. Spend your last evening among the lights and food stalls of Dotonbori.
Overnight: Osaka · Meals: B
Enjoy breakfast and some free time, depending on your flight. You are then taken to Kansai International Airport, about an hour away, for your flight home. November is also a good month in Vietnam, especially the north, and direct flights from Osaka reach Hanoi in about five hours if you would like to extend your trip.
Meals: B
The first half of November usually works best for the whole route, with the mountains still colorful and Kyoto beginning to turn. If Kyoto's peak matters most to you, travel in the second half of November.
Only an overnight bag for the three nights in Takayama and Kanazawa. Your main luggage is sent ahead to Kyoto and then to Osaka by courier.
Yes, for those comfortable walking a few kilometers a day. Trains are comfortable and punctual, and your guide can add taxis on busy days to save walking.
Yes. This is a private tour with your own English-speaking guide. We also arrange private guides who speak French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese or Vietnamese: tell us when you enquire and we confirm your guide in the quote. Book early for the busiest seasons, such as spring and autumn.
Nothing is payable until you approve your written quote. We then ask for a 30% deposit to confirm, and the balance 45 days before arrival, by bank transfer or card. Bank details come with your booking confirmation; always confirm them with us by phone or WhatsApp (+84 812 247 572) before any transfer.
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