10 days 9 nights
Specific Tour
14 people
English
Quick answer
A 10-day private Japan tour along the Golden Route: three nights in Tokyo, a ryokan night in Hakone, three nights in Kyoto with a day in Nara, and two nights in Osaka. You travel by bullet train with a private guide and send luggage ahead.
From US$1,400 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: Asakusa, Meiji Shrine and Shibuya | Tokyo |
| 3 | Tokyo: Tsukiji, gardens and the Imperial Palace | Tokyo |
| 4 | Hakone: ropeway, Lake Ashi and a ryokan night | Hakone |
| 5 | Bullet train to Kyoto and Fushimi Inari | Kyoto |
| 6 | Kyoto: Golden Pavilion and Arashiyama | Kyoto |
| 7 | Kyoto: Kiyomizu-dera, Higashiyama and Nishiki Market | Kyoto |
| 8 | Nara and on to Osaka | Osaka |
| 9 | Osaka: castle, markets and Shinsekai | Osaka |
| 10 | Depart Osaka | — |
Private tour with your own English-speaking guide · 10 days / 9 nights · Tokyo – Hakone – Kyoto – Arashiyama – Nara – Osaka
This Japan Golden Route tour follows the path most first-time visitors dream of, from the energy of Tokyo to the temples of Kyoto and the food streets of Osaka. You spend three nights in Tokyo, exploring Asakusa's Senso-ji temple, the Meiji Shrine and the famous Shibuya crossing with a private guide who also shows you how to use the trains and subway with ease. Then you leave the city for Hakone, a hot-spring area in the mountains near Mount Fuji.
In Hakone you ride a ropeway over volcanic valleys, cross Lake Ashi by boat and spend the night in a traditional ryokan with its own hot-spring baths and a multi-course dinner. The next morning the bullet train takes you to Kyoto, Japan's capital for more than a thousand years, for Fushimi Inari's red gates, the Golden Pavilion, the bamboo grove of Arashiyama and the old lanes of Higashiyama.
From Kyoto, a day in Nara brings you to the Great Buddha of Todai-ji and the deer that roam its park, before you finish in Osaka with its castle and the bright lights of Dotonbori. Your luggage can travel ahead by courier between hotels, so you travel light on the trains.
Moderate. Japan is best explored on foot and by train, so expect 10,000 to 15,000 steps on most days, with some stairs at stations and temples. Train rides are short and comfortable; the longest is the bullet train from Hakone to Kyoto, about two hours. Suits families with children over 10 and active older travelers.
Nine nights: a 4-star hotel in central Tokyo (three nights), a traditional ryokan with hot-spring baths in Hakone (one night, Japanese-style room), a 4-star hotel in Kyoto (three nights) and a 4-star hotel in Osaka (two nights). 5-star hotels and ryokan rooms with a private open-air bath are available on request.
Spring (late March to May) and autumn (October to early December) are the most beautiful seasons, with cherry blossoms in late March and early April and maple colors in Kyoto from mid-November. Summer is hot and humid with a rainy season in June. Winter is cool, dry and clear, with the best chance of seeing Mount Fuji from Hakone and fewer crowds in Kyoto. Golden Week (late April to early May) is very busy.
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 in Autumn: Tokyo, Takayama, Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa and Kyoto in 11 Days
Photos: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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; Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Kentagon, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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; Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; DXR, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Japan’s Golden Route: Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka in 10 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, take some time to rest. In the early evening, take a gentle walk around your neighborhood, perhaps to the lights of Shinjuku or the backstreet bars of Omoide Yokocho, where tiny counters serve grilled skewers. Your guide will contact you to confirm the plan for the coming days and give you a transport card for the trains and subway.
Overnight: Tokyo
Meet your guide in the morning and travel by subway to Asakusa for Senso-ji, Tokyo's oldest temple, reached through the Kaminarimon gate and the stalls of Nakamise Street. Continue to the Meiji Shrine, set in a forest in the middle of the city, and walk through Harajuku and the elegant avenue of Omotesando. End the afternoon at the Shibuya crossing, one of the busiest intersections in the world, best seen from above. Your guide will show you how to use the trains with confidence.
Overnight: Tokyo · Meals: B
Start at the Tsukiji Outer Market, where small stalls sell fresh seafood, knives and snacks such as tamagoyaki, the sweet rolled omelet. Walk on to the Hamarikyu Gardens, a former shogun's garden with a teahouse on a pond, and then to the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, laid out on the grounds of Edo Castle. Spend the late afternoon in Ginza, Tokyo's smartest shopping district. The evening is free to explore on your own.
Overnight: Tokyo · Meals: B
Send your large luggage ahead to Kyoto by courier and take the train to Hakone with an overnight bag. Visit the Hakone Open-Air Museum, with sculptures set in gardens, then ride the ropeway over Owakudani, a steaming volcanic valley. Cruise across Lake Ashi, where on clear days Mount Fuji appears above the hills, and walk to the red torii of Hakone Shrine at the water's edge. Spend the evening at your ryokan, with hot-spring baths and a traditional kaiseki dinner.
Overnight: Hakone · Meals: B, D
After a Japanese breakfast at the ryokan, travel to Odawara and board the Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto, about two hours. Meet your Kyoto guide and head to Fushimi Inari Shrine, where thousands of vermilion torii gates form tunnels up the wooded slopes of Mount Inari. Walk as far up as you like before returning to town. In the evening, stroll through Gion, the old geisha district, along the stone lanes of Hanamikoji and the willow-lined Shirakawa canal.
Overnight: Kyoto · Meals: B
Visit Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, its gold-leaf walls reflected in a mirror pond, and the nearby Zen rock garden of Ryoan-ji. In the afternoon, head west to Arashiyama. Walk through the tall bamboo grove, then visit Tenryu-ji, a Zen temple whose garden borrows the view of the hills behind it. Cross the Togetsukyo bridge over the river and, if you like, take the short climb to Okochi Sanso villa for its garden and tea.
Overnight: Kyoto · Meals: B
Start early at Kiyomizu-dera, the hillside temple whose wooden stage looks out over the city. Walk down the old stone lanes of Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka, lined with tea shops and pottery stores, to Yasaka Shrine. After lunch, browse Nishiki Market, known as Kyoto's kitchen, for pickles, sweets and grilled snacks. Later, visit Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, and walk the Philosopher's Path beside a quiet canal. The evening is free.
Overnight: Kyoto · Meals: B
Take the train to Nara, Japan's first permanent capital. Walk through Nara Park, where hundreds of deer wander freely and bow to visitors, to Todai-ji, one of the largest wooden buildings in the world and home to a 15-meter bronze Buddha. Continue through the forest to Kasuga Taisha, famous for its hundreds of stone and bronze lanterns. In the afternoon, travel on to Osaka, where your luggage awaits. In the evening, walk the neon-lit canal of Dotonbori.
Overnight: Osaka · Meals: B
Visit Osaka Castle, rebuilt in the 20th century on its original stone walls, and walk the moats and park around it. Continue to Kuromon Market to graze on fresh seafood and fruit, then explore the retro district of Shinsekai below Tsutenkaku Tower, known for kushikatsu, deep-fried skewers. In the late afternoon, enjoy the view from the Umeda Sky Building. Alternatively, take a day trip to Himeji Castle, the finest original castle in Japan.
Overnight: Osaka · Meals: B
Enjoy breakfast and some free time for last-minute shopping, depending on your flight. You are then taken to Kansai International Airport, about an hour away, for your flight home. Osaka has direct flights to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Seoul and Shanghai, so it is easy to continue your journey to Vietnam, Korea or China with us.
Meals: B
In Japan, trains are faster, more punctual and more comfortable than driving in city traffic, and most sights are close to stations. Your guide travels with you and handles tickets and connections. A private car with driver can be added for any day.
Yes, if you are comfortable walking several kilometers a day. We send luggage ahead between cities, keep train changes simple and can add taxis on busy days to save walking.
Mount Fuji is often hidden by cloud, especially in summer. Your best chances are early mornings from late autumn to early spring. If the view matters most, we can add a night at Lake Kawaguchiko instead of Hakone.
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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