Grand Tour of Japan by Rail

Your grand tour of Japan begins by meeting the Tour Manager and fellow travellers at London Heathrow, ready for our flight to the magical 'Land of the Rising Sun'.

Japan brims with fascinating culture, spirituality and modernity. It is spread over an archipelago of more than 14,000 islands and has an incredibly mountainous interior carpeted by pristine forests and picture-perfect villages. Amid the neon-lit futuristic cities are beautifully ornate Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, sitting side-by-side with angular glass skyscrapers. This fusion of the traditional and contemporary creates a captivating mix of scenery that has entranced visitors since Japan ended 200 years of self-imposed isolation, during which it closed itself off from the outside world.

Its intrigues span far and wide and are ours to discover when we touch down tomorrow.

After a night and morning of travel we arrive in Sapporo, the mountainous capital of Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's main islands. As our plane touches down, we transfer to our hotel for the next two nights.

Making up more than a fifth of Japan's landmass, this nature-lover's paradise accounts for just 5% of its population. More than a third of those people live in Sapporo, a dynamic city with a thriving food scene, attractive parks and lively streets illuminated by neon signs. While Sapporo is a modern city, in 1857, it was home to just seven people. It became well known in the West after hosting the winter Olympics in 1972, and today, tourists head to Sapporo for its food, beer and mountainous surroundings.

Our hotel is near the university's Botanic Gardens and the Japan Railways Tower Observatory. After checking in, we gather for a welcome meeting to discuss the events to come and a welcome drink before heading out for our first dinner together at a local restaurant.

• Dinner

After breakfast at our hotel this morning, we're introduced to Hokkaido's history in nearby Otaru with our English-speaking guide who accompanies us throughout the holiday. This small port city has a wonderfully preserved canal area lined with warehouses dating from the late 19th century, when Otaru was the island's financial centre. As an important hub for trade with Russia and China, the architecture blends Japanese and Western styles, leading to views that seem familiar to the Western eye yet charmingly off-kilter.

We also explore the beautiful Old Aoyama Villa, one of the best-preserved mansions on Hokkaido. As well as an ornate wooden façade and tiled roof, it is also famed due to its artworks and displays of traditional calligraphy. Later, at the Otaru Music Box Museum, we view some of the thousands of intricately designed music boxes of all shapes and sizes.

Returning to Sapporo, there is a free evening to explore and dine independently. Hokkaido is famed for its seafood and ramen, while its local beer is popular worldwide.

• Breakfast

Leaving Sapporo after breakfast this morning, the Hokuto limited express train takes us to Hakodate. As the route heads to Hokkaido's eastern shores, we skirt around Uchiura Bay and admire the coastal scenes before arriving in Hakodate.

One of Hokkaido's main cities, Hakodate was the first Japanese port open to foreign trade and is watched over by the imposing Mount Hakodate. This afternoon, a sightseeing tour by coach introduces the city's main sights, including Goryokaku. This vast, star-shaped fortress was completed in 1866 based on a design by a French architect. We explore foreign influence in the Motomachi district, a former residential area for traders, home to a Russian Orthodox church, the old British Consulate and a Chinese memorial hall. This evening, we ascend Mount Hakodate by a ropeway cable car to admire views stretching out across the city and coast before having dinner at a local beer hall, dining on Western food in a convivial setting.

• Breakfast, Dinner

An early morning visit to the Hakodate fish market follows breakfast at our hotel. Specialising in seafood, stallholders display wonderfully fresh crab, squid and oysters, with many delicacies available to buy and eat on the spot.

Later, we head to Hakodate train station to enjoy our first experience of Japan's world-famous bullet trains. In a little over four hours, the Shinkansen carries us 513 miles to the nation's capital. Travelling beneath the Tsugaru Strait, we emerge on Honshu, Japan's main island, and continue towards Tokyo, arriving mid-afternoon. With a population similar to that of Canada in an area roughly the same size as North Yorkshire, urban Tokyo is the world's most populous city. However, it regularly finds itself amongst the top-ranking cities for liveability due to its well-organised dynamism and cleanliness.

Our four-star hotel is in lively Shinjuku, where you have a free evening to explore at leisure. Japan's most well-known dishes are available in this vibrant district, so you could find yourself eating fresh sushi or embracing local culture at a yakiniku barbecue.

• Breakfast

With our English-speaking guide, we embark on a coach tour of Tokyo after breakfast, witnessing the city's contrasts. Starting at Harajuku's Meiji-Jingu shine, we admire its fantastic Shinto design dating from its construction in 1920 to honour modern Japan's first emperor.

As if to demonstrate the intertwining of the tranquil and bustling, we travel a short distance to the famed Shibuya crossing, where up to 3,000 people at a time inundate the crossing from all directions. A symbol of the city, the Senso-Ji temple in Asakusa is our next destination. Dating from the 7th century, it was built to honour Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy. With its sweeping, tiled roof, intricately carved wood and giant red lanterns, Senso-Ji is the epitome of Japanese Buddhist architecture.

Our tour ends in Asakusa, and with the rest of the day free, you can return to the hotel by coach or begin exploring independently. This evening, you may like to seek out some Japanese cuisine, with Tokyo renowned for its sushi, ramen and tempura.

• Breakfast

Breakfast is at our hotel before we set out on a trip on Japan's famous railways. Walking the short distance to Shinjuku station - the world's busiest - we board the Shonan Express to Odawara. On arrival, we transfer into the mountains, where an incredible ride on the Hakone Ropeway takes us on a 20-minute cable car journey that could reveal views of Mount Fuji in the distance.

As we travel above this area of outstanding natural wonders, we can view rising plumes of steam from the sulphurous hot springs that dot Mount Hakone, a volcano that last erupted in 1170. Arriving on the glistening shores of Lake Ashi, our trip concludes with a pirate boat cruise across the crater lake to our hotel. Enroute, look for the striking red of Shinto torii gates along the shoreline.

Our hotel overlooks this beautiful lake, framed by overlapping mountains dipping towards the tranquil waters. There is time to relax before dinner at the hotel's restaurant this evening.

• Breakfast, Dinner

Today is all about Japan's most revered peak, Mount Fuji - the UNESCO-listed active volcano. Instantly recognisable from artworks, including woodcut prints by Hokusai, the country's sacred symbol is astonishing due to its symmetry and prominence.

After breakfast at our lakeside hotel, we set out by coach to explore the area surrounding Mount Fuji, visiting the World Heritage Centre to learn more about Japan's national emblem and absorb incredible vistas from its observation deck. Mount Fuji is one of nature's greatest masterpieces and seeing it in real life is truly astonishing, with its snow-capped peak rising above a landscape of forests and lakes.

From here, we travel across the mountains to the alpine city of Matsumoto. Here, we visit Matsumoto Castle, a five-storey pagoda-style fortress known as 'Crow Castle' due to its unusual black exterior. Built in 1504, this is the oldest remaining castle of its kind in Japan. Afterwards, there is time in the popular Nakamachi District, known for its traditional shops and handicrafts. We then continue to our hotel, where the evening is at leisure.

• Breakfast

With our guide, we enjoy a tour of a miso factory to discover why this paste - a mixture of fermented soya beans with salt and other umami-based ingredients - is so important in Japanese cooking.

Continuing along the renowned Mitsuboshi Kaidou road, we visit Takayama Jinya, a 17th-century wood-framed government building with tatami-walled rooms. A stop at the preserved village of Shirakawa reveals Japan in all its rustic glory. Famed for its traditional gassho-zukuri houses, we view these charming, thatched homes with high-pitched roofs similar to Swiss chalets, but distinctively Japanese.

Afterwards, we arrive in Kanazawa, a city looking over the Sea of Japan. Rich in culture and history, Kanazawa is famed for its geisha districts and samurai heritage. After checking in to our hotel, there's a free evening to get to know our new surroundings or dine independently in a local restaurant.

• Breakfast

After breakfast, we stroll among one of Japan's most cherished gardens, Kenrokuen. The spacious grounds were constructed by the Maeda family over two centuries. Admire neat displays of cherry, maple and pine trees alongside landscaped ponds and waterfalls. A visit to the Nomura House, a former samurai residence, follows. Beautifully painted screen doors, cypress detailing and authentic samurai armour are on display in this historic house with more than 400 years of history.

There's free time over lunch to wander the stalls or dine in a restaurant at Omicho market, the largest in Kanazawa since the Edo Period. After, we board the Shinkansen bullet train to Tsuruga, where we change to a regional train for the final leg of our journey to Kyoto.

Japan's former capital is a living museum of the country's artistic heritage, with an impressive 17 UNESCO-listed sites. After checking in to our hotel, there is a free evening to dine independently. Japan is famed for its delicious food, and you might like to find a restaurant serving fresh sushi, ramen noodles, yakiniku barbecue or wagyu beef.

• Breakfast

A historic city overflowing with the authentic beauty of old Japan, we explore Kyoto after breakfast. Our guide helps us uncover its history and traditions, first by visiting Kinkakuji temple. The 'Golden Pavilion' temple dates from 1397 and shimmers in brilliant gold leaf on the edge of a reflecting pond, surrounded by lush forest. Afterwards, we partake in a zen tea ceremony. Learning how to brew, serve and sip this celebrated drink also gives us a glimpse into the spirituality and culture of Japan.

This afternoon, we continue to the Kyoto Railway Museum, where we learn about the history of Japanese railways and its iconic locomotives. Our tour concludes amongst the beautiful backstreets of the Gion neighbourhood. Lined by traditional dark-wood homes, this district was historically home to kimono-wearing geishas, and we enjoy a performance at the Gion Corner Theatre.

The evening is free to continue wandering the lantern-lit streets and dine independently. Kyoto has many excellent restaurants serving refined and traditional cuisine.

• Breakfast

Between 710 and 784AD, Nara was Japan's capital - before Kyoto adopted the mantle. It's a beautiful and compact city that oozes history and grace, backdropped by wooded hills.

Arriving by coach this morning, a guided walking tour first takes us to Todaji Temple to view one of the world's largest bronze statues. The Great Buddha, or 'Daibutsu', was installed in 752AD and is set within an ornate temple recorded as the largest wooden building in the world. Nearby, the landscaped grounds of Nara's serene deer park are full of delightful ponds and tame deer. These beautiful animals were once revered as messengers of the gods and now roam freely. They are so used to human visitors that they often bow in greeting. Leaving Nara, we travel to Osaka by coach before boarding the bullet train to Hiroshima.

Hiroshima is an emotive city known for the unprecedented devastation it suffered during World War II. However, today, its parks and museums now stand as embodiments of peace. After checking in to our hotel, there is a free evening to dine independently.

• Breakfast

This morning, we embark on a tour of Hiroshima's most moving locations with our English-speaking guide.

Now a welcoming city, it became a byword for the horrors of war after an atomic bomb was dropped by the US Air Force on 6 August 1945. The Peace Memorial Park commemorates the victims, while the Atomic Bomb Dome emotively showcases the remains of the scorched shell of a building destroyed on that fateful day. In the Peace Memorial Museum, we view items salvaged from the rubble.

In the afternoon, we travel via train and ferry to Miyajima, leaving modern life behind to soak up the tranquillity of this secluded destination. Also known as Itsukushima (Island of the Gods), we enjoy a walking tour which includes a visit to Itsukushima Shrine and the iconic O-Torii Gate that guards its entrance. Partially submerged at high tide, this stunning red structure was built in the 12th century and is an enduring image of traditional Japan.

Returning to Hiroshima, we dine on our own this evening.

• Breakfast

Leaving Japan's main island today, a bullet train takes us from Hiroshima to Hakata on the southern island of Kyushu. Covering the distance of 150 miles in a little over an hour, we cross the Hayatomonoseto Strait, reaching the Hakata ward of Fukuoka by late morning.

Once here, a guided sightseeing tour takes in the Dazaifu Tenman-gu Shrine, dedicated to the Shinto god of learning. Said to have been built over the grave of a 9th-century poet, there has been a shrine here since 905AD, although the pavilion we see today dates from 1591. In the charming grounds of pretty bridges and serene pools stand 6,000 plum trees. The modern exterior of the nearby Kyushu National Museum contrasts brilliantly with the serenity of the shrine, with a glass façade reflecting the surrounding forests and sky. Here, we uncover the history of Japanese culture through an impressive collection of artefacts and exhibitions.

Checking in to our four-star hotel in Fukuoka, there is time to relax before we visit a local restaurant for a Western-style farewell dinner to celebrate our holiday.

• Breakfast, Dinner

There is free time after breakfast today to explore Fukuoka on your own. In 1889, this fortress city absorbed the neighbouring merchant town of Hakata to create the Fukuoka we see today.

On the Hakata side of the Naka River, you can find the stunning 8th-century Kushida Shrine, as well as many museums, including the Asian Art Museum, which showcases contemporary and historic works from various countries. Ohori Park sits beside the ruins of Fukuoka's ancient castle and is a great location for a gentle stroll across the bridges linking small islands in the middle of a large boating lake. On the southern shore is an ornamental Japanese Garden featuring a traditional teahouse and beautiful landscaped gardens.

This afternoon, your grand tour of Japan concludes as we leave our Fukuoka hotel and travel to the airport, ready for an overnight spent flying back to London.

• Breakfast

From the verdant surroundings of the welcoming cities of Sapporo and Hakodate on Hokkaido to the fortress city of Fukuoka, Japan has revealed an enchanting blend of peaceful spirituality and frenetic cities. Tranquil mountain towns, neon-draped streets and iconic sights have been uncovered one destination at a time as we travelled through the country on the famous Shinkansen bullet trains. Each stop brought us a new way to experience Japan's fascinating history, beautiful landscapes and captivating culture.

Landing back in the United Kingdom this morning, your journey comes to a close and you are free to continue your onward travels home.