TOKYO · KYOTO · OSAKA · MT FUJI
Old shrines, neon nights, and Fuji beyond.
Tours and day trips across Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and the country in between. Mount Fuji, sushi counters, sumo and geisha districts, and the bullet-train routes that link them all.
Only in Japan
Things you can only do in Japan.
Cooking classes and cultural shows turn up in every country. Sumo, a tea ceremony done the old way, sushi shaped at a master’s counter, these belong to Japan. Build the rest of the trip around them.
The national sport
Ringside at the Sumo
Sumo is fought nowhere else on earth. Watch the morning training at a Tokyo stable, or take ringside seats at a grand tournament, then share the wrestlers’ chanko hot pot. Two giants, a clay ring, and a bout that can be over in seconds.
- 1 Tokyo: Sumo Show Experience with Chicken Hot Pot and a Photo
- 2 Tokyo: Sumo Show and Dining Experience
- 3 the SUMO show
The old capital
Tea Ceremony & Geisha
The tea ceremony took four centuries to perfect, and Kyoto still keeps it. Kneel for a bowl of matcha whisked the old way, slip on a kimono, then walk the lanes of Gion at dusk as the geiko hurry to their evening appointments.
- 1 Kyoto: Tea Ceremony in a Traditional Tea House in Kiyomizu
- 2 Kyoto Geisha Walking Tour: Gion District & Hidden Gems
- 3 Kyoto: Tea Ceremony Ju-An at Jotokuji Temple
Straight from the counter
Sushi, Ramen & Sake
Sushi, ramen and sake were all raised to an art here. Stand at a counter while a chef shapes nigiri to your order, squeeze into a six-seat ramen bar, then tour a centuries-old brewery and taste the rice turned to sake.
- 1 Sushi Making Tokyo Roll and Authentic Japanese Sushi Class
- 2 Osaka: Shinsekai Food Tour with 13-15 Dishes at 5 Eateries
- 3 Osaka Food Tour: 13 Dishes at 5 Local Eateries
Kyoto
A thousand vermilion gates.
Kyoto was the imperial capital for over a thousand years, and it still wears that history in plain sight. Climb the tunnel of vermilion torii at Fushimi Inari, stand under the gold leaf of Kinkaku-ji, then lose an afternoon in the temples and tea houses in between.
Explore Kyoto →Start here
The trip almost everyone books first.
New to Japan and not sure where to begin? This is the day out most first-timers reach for.
The classics
Japan's Most Popular Tours
Mount Fuji, the Kyoto temples, Tokyo's backstreets, the sumo and the sushi. The experiences travellers book most.
By place
Pick a part of Japan.
Tokyo for the neon and the food. Kyoto for temples and geisha. Osaka for the street food. Mount Fuji for the mountain everyone comes to see.
By tour type
Or pick the kind of day.
Food tours if you came to eat. Walking tours for the backstreets. Tea ceremonies and kimono for the old culture, go-karts and nightlife for the new.
First trip to Japan
Tokyo, Kyoto, or Osaka?
Most first trips split their time between the big three. Here is what each one is for, and how long to give it.
Mount Fuji & Hakone
Japan's mountain, in a day.
Fuji-san is closer to Tokyo than most people expect. Day trips run out to the Fifth Station, up the Hakone ropeway and across Lake Ashi by boat, with the snow cone in view most of the way. Clearest, they say, on a crisp winter morning.
- 1 From Tokyo: Mount Fuji Full-Day Sightseeing Trip
- 2 Tokyo: Mt. Fuji Tour, Hakone Ropeway, Owakudani, Lake Ashi
- 3 Tokyo:Mt.Fuji,Kawaguchiko Oishi Park,Arakurayama Sengen Park
When the neon comes on
Japan after dark.
Izakaya counters, tiny bars stacked up narrow alleys, and a guide who knows which sliding door to open. Three nights out worth staying up for.
Make something
Learn it from a local.
Shape your own sushi, fold gyoza, whisk a bowl of matcha, or sit down to a craft older than Japan’s cities. Half a day, and the skill comes home with you.
When to come
Japan changes with the seasons.
Few countries remake themselves four times a year like this one. Here is what each season brings, and when to plan around it.
Plan it
Your first week in Japan.
Never been? A week that takes in the capital, the old temples and the food, with the bullet train doing the hard work between them.
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