Along with the must-see sites on the island of Honshu and a day trip to Nikko, this is a tour of varying landscapes as it journeys south from Hokkaido uncovering the charming cities of Sapporo, Otaru and Hakodate.
Our Journey through Japan tour will see you exploring the most iconic sites, delving into deep-rooted culture and dining on delicious cuisine and thoroughly researched to bring you a range of once-in-a-lifetime experiences, many of which are entirely exclusive to us.
Discover the less-visited island of Hokkaido
Tour a traditional sake brewery
Explore the beautiful surroundings of Nikko
Ascend Japan's iconic and inspirational mountain
Try your hand at the traditional art of handkerchief dyeing in a workshop of a handicraft village – you'll get to create beautiful colours and patterns working with the dyes.
Spend the night in a ryokan, a centuries-old style of guesthouse that offers the ultimate Japanese experience! Sleep on futons and tatami mats, dine on traditional food and bathe in the relaxing warm waters of an onsen.
Embark on a tour of a sake brewery, where you'll see first hand the traditional process used to brew the rice wine that is Japan's national beverage and have a few cheeky tasters.
Fly to the vibrant city of Sapporo, capital of the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. Depending on your time of arrival, the rest of the day is yours to start soaking up the local culture.
This morning, ascend to the Okurayama viewing point, soaring up to the summit of the Sapporo Winter Olympics ski jump by chair lift. Continue to the pretty port town of Otaru and take some time to walk along the streets of the village and stroll along the picturesque canal. This evening sample some of the beer on offer before heading to a local restaurant to dine on a Genghis Khan dinner – barbeque lamb, a Sapporo special!
Depart Sapporo and travel to a lovely lakeside spot to visit a museum of Ainu culture, an indigenous people of the area. Continue to Noboribetsu Jigokudani (Hell Valley) and walk through a volcanic caldera where you can see steam jets, vents and hot springs. After lunch, hop on a train to the harbour city of Hakodate, set on Hokkaido’s southern tip, where you’ll embark on a night tour with time to ascend the ropeway up Mount Hakodate, for magnificent views over the illuminated city.
Start the day wandering Hakodate's bustling asaichi (morning market), where hundreds of stores and stalls sell fresh local produce, seafood and the odd souvenir. Ascend Goryokaku Tower for views over Goryokaku Fort and Mount Hakodate before boarding the bullet train to the lovely city of Aomori in the north of Honshu, Japan's largest island. Visit the Nebuta Warasse, a museum dedicated to Aomori's famous, 300-year-old Nebuta Matsuri, a lively summer festival.
Depart Hirosaki for Kakunodate, an old samurai stronghold still known for its samurai traditions. Visit the Aoyagi Samurai Manor Museum for a fascinating look at samurai culture and stroll around Ishiguro House, a traditional samurai residence. Continue to the hot spring resort of Tsunagi, where you can make use of the onsen facilities at the traditional Japanese ryokan where you'll stay overnight.
Travel to Hiraizumi, where you’ll explore the peaceful Chusonji with its beautiful old gold leaf-covered hall. Continue to Matsushima to enjoy a relaxed cruise on Matsushima Bay, passing amongst the small pine tree-covered islands of this picturesque seascape.
Walk to Sendai station and take the bullet train to the culture-filled town of Nikko. Start your explorations in the beautiful surroundings of Nikko National Park, where you’ll visit Toshogu shrine. Built in the 1600s, this is Japan’s most lavish shrine, built as the final resting place of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Continue to the magnificent Kegon Waterfall, taking a 100-metre tall elevator up to the perfect viewing spot. Transfer to Tokyo.
Tokyo, Japan’s capital, is the ultimate 24- hour city, but look behind its frantic, high-tech frontage and you’ll find plenty of tranquil backstreets and old temples to explore. Start the day in the vibrant district of Asakusa, where you will visit Sensoji, Tokyo’s oldest temple, and wander down Nakamise shopping street before a visit to Edo Tokyo Museum. After lunch, stroll through the peaceful Meiji Jingu Shrine complex, before ascending to the observatory deck of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building for exceptional views over the city.
Travel by road from Tokyo to Mount Fuji, where you’ll ascend 2,400 metres up Japan’s most iconic sight to the 5th Station (weather permitting). Transfer to the Hakone area. Embark on a cruise on the spectacular Lake Ashi before flying high above the lake on the Komagatake Ropeway to the summit of Mount Komagatake where the views of Mount Fuji will be breathtaking, if the peak isn’t hiding in cloud of course! Return to Tokyo.
Take a bullet train to Kyoto. Capital for 1,000 years, the city today is full of the legacy of ancient Japan and home to tranquil temples, silk-clad geisha and sublime gardens. This afternoon, visit Togetsukyo Bridge in the heart of the vibrant Arashiyama district and walk through the bamboo forest, with its towering bamboo thickets.
This morning, visit one of Japan’s most famous temples, Kinkakuji, the ‘Golden Pavilion’. Set amongst classical Japanese Zen gardens and on the edge of a reflecting pool, the temple’s main hall is covered in gold leaf. Then, stroll through Nishiki Market, dubbed ‘Kyoto’s kitchen’, where there are many interesting food and sake stores to explore before a free afternoon to spend as you wish.
Begin the day immersed in the local culture by trying your hand at handkerchief dyeing followed by the rituals of an authentic tea ceremony. After lunch, walk the vermilion, torii gate-lined pathways of the Fushimi Inari Shrine and tour a traditional sake brewery, where you can have a few cheeky tasters. Continue to the booming city of Osaka.
This morning is free at leisure before you transfer to Osaka airport for your return flight home.
It may come as a surprise, but trains can run on time! One of Japan’s modern wonders is its extensive rail network – safe, comfortable, efficient, punctual, and fast, it is world-renowned for all the right reasons, and a travel experience that should be on every bucketlist.
Bullet trains, known locally as shinkansen, travel up to 320 kilometres an hour and connect almost every major city on Japan’s main islands. The rest of the network is covered by Limited Express, Express, Rapid and Local trains, each characterised by their speed and number of stops they make.
One of the many joys of Japan’s railway is that they are used by everyone, from students to suited professionals, so there’s always an interesting cross-section of society sitting around you – what better people watching and window into daily life in Japan?
Japan’s high-speed bullet trains, operated by JR Group, shinkansen travel at speeds of 320 kilometres an hour between Japan’s major cities and makes very few stops en route. This type of train runs on separate tracks and has separate platforms to the other types of trains as they use a standard track gauge.
Once onboard, you would be forgiven for thinking you just get onto a plane from the layout. Seats are generally in rows of 3+2 across carriage and are all forward facing (they can be flipped), spacious and comfortable, and on most services there is free wi-fi available for passengers.
Settling in, you’ll notice the carriages have an almost Zen-like feel, the atmosphere peaceful and calm and your surroundings spotlessly clean. This may come from the train etiquette that is followed by the majority of passengers, like speaking quietly, not taking up excess space, not putting feet on seats or leaving rubbish and orderly boarding. You’ll even notice that the ticket inspector bows to passengers as he enters the carriage to check your tickets!
As shinkansen are long distance trains, you are able to eat in your seat as you travel - most people grab something at the station before they board (we’ll discuss ekiben later!) or some services may have a food and drink service onboard.
We use shinkansen trains on several of our Japan tours, including Japan by Rail tour.
As the name suggests, these trains travel fast (second to the Shinkansen, of course) and still only make a limited number of stops, though they serve more stations than the Shinkansen would. There are two different types of Limited Express, intercity and commuter.
The intercity run with longer distance with better equipped, more comfortable carriages and have reserved seating and in some cases, a dining car selling food and drink. Big panoramic windows allow you to enjoy the scenery that you are passing through – with the lovely squishy seats and plenty of legroom, you can sit back, relax and savour the journey. We use Limited Express services on our Japan by Rail tour.
Commuter trains tend to be better for shorter journeys, with first-come, first-served seating and carriages that are designed to fit more people in them.
All of our tour departures include international flights and taxes in the price unless a land only option is selected
We have a selection of dedicated departures for solo travellers. These departures feature a maximum group size of 18 and exclusive benefits including a single room throughout your tour, complimentary return airport transfers (within 50km radius of major Australian airports) and a cocktail on arrival at your destination. Travellers from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne also receive a complimentary Australian airport lounge pass for use prior to departure.
Extend your holiday or break up your journey with one of our extensions and stopovers. Choose from city breaks or some beach time, or spend more time in your chosen destination.
Rated 4.7 out of 5 based on 5381 reviews
I always treat my tour groups like a family, making sure that everyone is happy throughout the tour. I am very passionate about Japanese history. If anyone is interested in learning about Samurai or the Meiji Restoration, you'll have to come to Japan and ask me!
A special thank you to Yoko our National Escort, whose friendly, professional and organised approach to the holiday made sure everything ran smoothly and made the trip to Japan so memorable.Mr Degville
It is great being able to explore my own country with different people who can offer a different perspective. I ensure my groups experience our culture as much as possible, because travel isn't just about the things that you see, it's also about the things you do.
Our National Escort Takako Kaneko made the holiday. She was excellent, informative, hardworking and had obviously researched information for us.Mr Mcintosh
I love sharing the culture of my country with visitors, that's why I become a tour guide! From noodles and sake to classical gardens and temples, learning about our culture is surely the best way to understand more about Japan as a whole.
Our National Escort Michiyo 'made' this holiday with her charm, knowledge, lots of interesting details and her send of humour.Mrs Brownridge
It's such a pleasure to introduce Japan to people from all over the world and explore its culture, history and traditions, as well as its unique cuisine. Along with this, I enjoy taking care of each and every member of the tour group, which is why I love being a tour guide.
Michiyo was fantastic and went out of her way to make it a memorable experience. We would absolutely use Wendy Wu Tours again.
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All of our tours offer a single room supplement, which means you’ll have a room to yourself throughout your chosen tour. Continue the check-out process for the applicable supplement.
On most tours, you can choose our 'Happy to Share' option, which may enable you to share a twin room with other solo customers of the same gender who also request Happy to Share. If a share partner is found, the Single Supplement will be removed from your booking. If a share partner is not found, the Single Supplement will remain and is payable with your final balance.
If you are booking on a Dedicated Solo departure, a single room is already included in the price and there are no additional single supplements to pay.
With our flight inclusive option, we'll do the planning for you and meet you on arrival.
We include airport pickup upon arrival at your destination and drop off at the end of your tour (on the scheduled tour arrival and departure days) and when booking pre or post tour accommodation with us.
We partner with established and reputable airlines for your international flights.
We can assist with upgrading your seat to premium or business class for an additional cost.
Our team will work with you to choose your ideal routing and if we make changes to your tour itinerary that impact flights, we’ll rebook them for you.
Our On-Tour Support Team is available to provide advice about how to handle flight changes.
