Cherry Blossom Japan Tour: Tokyo & Kyoto

Day 1: Welcome to Tokyo

Arrive in Tokyo, where an English-speaking assistant will meet you at the airport and introduce you to your private driver for the transfer into the city.

Check in at Park Hotel Tokyo, where your Deluxe Twin or King Room looks out across the Tokyo skyline. The rest of the day is free. After the flight, you may want to stay close to the hotel, but Shiodome puts you within easy reach of Ginza and the waterfront if you feel like heading out.

It is a deliberately light first day, giving you time to settle in before the sightseeing begins properly the following morning.

Day 2: Asakusa and Meiji Shrine

Spend the day with your private guide, starting in Asakusa, one of the best places to see an older side of Tokyo.

Visit Senso-ji before walking through Nakamise, the shopping street leading up to the temple. From here, cross the city to Meiji Shrine, set within a large wooded area beside Harajuku.

If time allows, continue into Omotesando, where contemporary architecture and designer stores provide a very different setting from the morning.

Because this trip takes place during cherry blossom season, the precise route can also be adjusted according to where the trees are flowering particularly well during your stay.

Day 3: Shibuya, Harajuku and Akihabara

Spend the afternoon with your private guide exploring three very different sides of contemporary Tokyo.

Begin in Shibuya, where the famous crossing gives you one of the clearest impressions of the city at full scale. From there, continue to Harajuku, long associated with youth fashion and street style. Takeshita Street is the obvious starting point, but your guide can take you beyond the busiest stretch depending on what interests you.

Later, head to Akihabara, Tokyo’s best-known district for anime, gaming and electronics. Browse arcades, specialist stores and retro gaming shops before returning to Park Hotel Tokyo.

Day 4: The Natural Beauty of Hakone & Mt. Fuji

Leave Tokyo and travel into Hakone, part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.

Spend time around Owakudani, the volcanic valley where steam rises from the ground and the local black eggs are cooked using geothermal heat. From there, continue toward Lake Ashi and take a cruise across the water. On a clear day, Mount Fuji can appear beyond the lake, although visibility always depends on the weather.

Later, check in at Kinnotake Matsuzakaya Honten. Your Ashikariso Ashibue Room has its own open-air bath, so you can enjoy the hot spring water privately rather than using the communal bathing areas.

Day 5: Arrival in Kyoto & The Philosopher’s Path

Travel from Hakone to Kyoto and check in at Kyoto Tokyu Hotel.

Later, head to the Philosopher’s Path in northern Higashiyama. The canal-side walk is lined with cherry trees, making this one of the most popular places in Kyoto during spring. It is named after philosopher Nishida Kitaro, who is said to have used the route during his daily walks.

The area also gives you an easy introduction to this part of Kyoto, with temples and smaller streets close by if you want to continue exploring.

The evening is free, giving you some breathing room before the fuller sightseeing day that follows.

Day 6: Arashiyama and Dinner with a Maiko

Spend the morning in Arashiyama, starting with the bamboo grove before continuing to Nonomiya Shrine and Okochi Sanso.

Later, visit Tenryu-ji, one of Kyoto’s major Zen temples, where lunch is a traditional Buddhist vegetarian meal.

In the evening, sit down for a kaiseki dinner accompanied by a maiko. During the meal, she performs traditional dance with shamisen music, while your host explains more about the training, customs and etiquette surrounding Kyoto’s geiko and maiko traditions.

It is a very different kind of Kyoto experience from the temples and gardens earlier in the day, and one that is difficult to arrange independently.

Day 7: The Spirit of Kyoto & Sake Tasting

Begin the day at Fushimi Inari, one of Kyoto’s best-known shrines. Thousands of vermilion torii gates lead away from the main buildings and climb into the wooded slopes of Mount Inari.

Later, stay in Fushimi and visit the Gekkeikan Sake Museum, where you can learn more about the area’s long association with brewing. Afterward, sit down for a guided tasting and try a selection of different sake styles.

The rest of the day is free. You may want to return to Higashiyama, spend more time around central Kyoto or simply leave the final evening unplanned before your flight the following day.

Day 8: Departure from Kyoto

Your final morning is free, depending on the timing of your flight.

A private driver will then collect you from the hotel and take you to Kansai International Airport for your journey home.