Japan Rail Adventure: Japan’s Gems by Train

Welcome at Tokyo airport. Our assistant will hand you your travel documents and your Pocket WiFi.
Transfer to the city centre by shared shuttle.
Departure is between 1:30 and 3:00 hours, depending on your flight’s scheduled arrival.
Optional: Private taxi
Overnight in Tokyo, 3* hotel (available from 3:00 pm).

Free time on your first day in Japan’s capital.

You can start your city discovery with its western neighbourhoods:

• Harajuku: the avant-garde district
• Meiji Jingû : the imperial sanctuary
• Takeshita-Dori: Japan’s most famous street
• Omotesando: Tokyo’s “Champs-Élysées”
• Shibuya : the district and its must-see iconic crossing

Optional: French-speaking guide
Overnight in Tokyo, 3* hotel

Your second day in Tokyo can be planned as a loop.
From Tokyo’s central station, with its original red-brick architecture, you’ll discover:

• Ginza : Tokyo’s upscale district
• Tsukiji : a small outdoor food market
• Hamarikyu : a Japanese garden between Tokyo’s skyscrapers
• Asakusa : traditional neighbourhood and a place of pilgrimage (accessible by cruise)
• Sensô-ji: magnificent Buddhist temple and its original shopping street
• Tokyo Sky Tree: Tokyo’s tower, reaching 643 m (panoramic views of Tokyo at sunset…)

Between Hamarikyu and Asakusa, treat yourself to a Sumida River cruise that flows at the foot of Tokyo’s tower.
Overnight in Tokyo, 3* hotel

In the morning, you’ll then head to Shinjuku Station.
Optional : arrange for your luggage to be sent to your Kyoto hotel so you can travel light during your stay in Hakone

You activate your Hakone Free Pass and board a train to Hakone Yumoto (1h30).
Step by step, Japan’s megalopolis fades away as you travel through the valleys of the Mount Fuji region.
Arrive in Hakone towards the end of the morning. You’ll check in at your ryokan to drop off your belongings and explore the region.

Hakone’s hot spring station offers stunning scenery over the Lake Ashi and Mount Fuji. You can also enjoy the volcanic site of Owakudani, accessible by cable car. All transport (train, bus, cable car, and funicular) is included in your package.
Optional: French-speaking guide

Return to the ryokan not too late in the late afternoon for a traditional Japanese dinner.
Get ready for a real Japanese-style night!
Overnight in Hakone at a 3* ryokan, traditional half-board

Discover the ritual of a traditional Japanese breakfast at the ryokan.

Then meet at the Hakone Yumoto Station. Your regional train will take you to Odawara, where you board one of the fastest trains in the world: the Shinkansen!

In 2h30, you reach Kyoto. and check in at the hotel.

You now have 3 days to explore Kyoto. Start right away in the afternoon with its historic district, the Gion district, near your accommodation, and discover:

• Kiyomizu-Dera, the Great Water Temple
• The historic alleys Sannen-zaka & Ninnen-zaka
• Kodai-ji, Kyoto’s temple of maples and bamboo

At 7:00 pm, meet your guide in Gion for an evening stroll through this historic district (1h30) – where photos are not allowed. Don’t hesitate to ask your guide for great recommendations for dinner.
Overnight in Kyoto, 3* hotel

For your second day of sightseeing in Kyoto, we recommend the following itinerary:

• The Zen garden of Ryoan-ji
• Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)
• Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion)
• The enchanting Philosopher’s Path
• Nanzen-ji temple

Optional: French-speaking guide
Overnight in Kyoto, 3* hotel

Continue your free time sightseeing in Kyoto with its western side:

• Nishiki, Kyoto’s food market
• Nijo Castle, the former residence of the shogun
• Arashiyama, to visit the bamboo grove and its monkey mountain

Optional: off the beaten path, we can offer:

• Nature : a cycling ride along the Kamogawa or a hike in the Takao gorges!
• Japanese arts : a ctea ceremony, a meditation activity, or a private tour of secret gardens.
• Japanese countryside : an excursion to Ohara or a discovery of the Tea Road (our favourite!)

Overnight in Kyoto, 3* hotel

For your final day in Kyoto, take the train to reach Nara (50 min, travel included in your pass).
This city was Japan’s first permanent capital in the 8th century. Here’s what you can see:

• Kasuga Taisha Shinto shrine and its thousands of lanterns
• Todaiji, its great bronze Buddha and the impressive Nan-Daimon gate
• Kofukuji temple and its lovely pagoda

Return to Kyoto and stop for sunset at Fushimi Inari, the immense sanctuary with 10,000 torii gates in Kyoto.

Optional: French-speaking guide departing from Kyoto to discover Nara.
Overnight in Kyoto at a 3* hotel

From Kyoto, the Shinkansen journey to Hiroshima takes about 2 hours (included in your Japan Rail Pass).
You arrive in the early afternoon. Check in at the hotel and head out for a long walk to discover:

• the Peace Park and the Peace Memorial
• the castle and its cherry blossom park

Don’t forget to try one of Hiroshima’s specialities: okonomiyaki!
Overnight in Hiroshima, 3* hotel

Get ready to experience an unforgettable day!

After a short train ride and a 30-minute boat crossing, you arrive on the island of Miyajima.
Miyajima is known for its Itsukushima-jinja shrine, its large gateway (ootorii) standing in the sea (currently under renovation), and the many deer that roam freely through the streets and on the beach.

You take the cable car up to Mount Misen and then head back down on foot. The view over Hiroshima Bay is breathtaking.

In the late afternoon, head back to Hiroshima.
Overnight in Hiroshima, 3* hotel

Before leaving the hotel, you can arrange for your luggage to be sent directly to Tokyo.
You’ll take the Shinkansen again towards Osaka, where you board a direct train to Kanazawa (4 hours total)
On the way, we recommend stopping at the Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Overnight in Kanazawa, 3* hotel

After breakfast at the hotel, set off to discover Ka nazawa, between the northern sea and the Japanese Alps:

• Kenroku-en : Kanazawa’s magnificent Japanese garden
• The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art and its outdoor gallery
• Omicho : the fish market of the Sea of Japan
• Nomura House : residence of the samurai and its charming old district

Overnight in Kanazawa, 3* hotel

After breakfast, send your luggage to Tokyo so you can travel light to Takayama and set off lightly for this day devoted to the Japanese mountains.

You can reach Takayama directly by shinkansen and regional train (1 change, total 2 hours).
Optional: go to Takayama by bus via the famous mountain village of Shirakawago (1 hour – Tickets not included).

Check in at your hotel in the heart of this well-known mountain town.
Optional: overnight at a ryokan with half-board

Overnight in Takayama, 3* hotel

Breakfast at the hotel.

Enjoy, at your own pace, the charms of Takayama, its centuries-old residences, its temples and museums.

We recommend visiting:
– The Kusakabe and Yoshijima traditional houses
– The Yatai Kaikan, where old festival floats (matsuri) are displayed
– The picturesque Shôwa-Kan, a museum of the 1940s to 1970s
– The old shopping district Sannomachi
– The folk art museum Fuji

Late-afternoon journey to Tokyo by train and shinkansen (1 change, 4 hours) and check in at your hotel B Akasaka Mitsuke or a 3* hotel of the same category.

Overnight in Tokyo, 3* hotel

Transfer to Tokyo Haneda or Narita airport by shared shuttle.
These transfers arrive between 3 hours and 1 hour 30 minutes before your flight’s actual departure.)

Optional: Private Transfer
Return flight to Europe.

Feel free to extend your trip by one or more days, in Tokyo or elsewhere… We’ll be happy to advise you!