Tokyo · Kanazawa · Kyoto · Hiroshima · Osaka
Welcome to Japan. An English-speaking assistant meets you the moment you clear immigration in arrivals, hands over your travel documents, rail tickets and passes, helps with anything you need at the airport — a local SIM, any first questions — and walks you to your waiting private transfer into Tokyo.
Settle in before a journey defined by the country's extraordinary railways; your specialist times the arrival so the first evening is gentle — a walk to find your footing and a counter-seat meal your specialist has flagged.
A full day with a private guide from Sensō-ji in Asakusa to the calm of Meiji Shrine and the Shibuya scramble, the icons threaded with the lanes between them — and an afternoon at the table, from a market tasting to a hidden sushi counter.
Tokyo also happens to be the world's great railway city; tomorrow the journey proper begins.
A first taste of Japanese rail finesse: a reserved Limited Express north to Nikkō, where the lavish Tōshō-gū shrine sits among towering cedars in the mountains — a UNESCO World Heritage masterpiece of carving and gold leaf.
Back to Tokyo in the evening, the trains as punctual and serene as the temples.
The Hokuriku Shinkansen sweeps north-west from Tokyo across the spine of Honshu to Kanazawa in under three hours — green-car comfort, an ekiben bento on your lap, and the Japan Alps rising in the window.
Kanazawa is the refined castle town that escaped wartime bombing and kept its old quarters intact. An easy first evening in the lantern-lit Higashi Chaya geisha district.
Kenroku-en, ranked among Japan's three great gardens; the preserved samurai and geisha districts; and the gold-leaf craft Kanazawa is famous for, with a private guide and time to wander.
A day that rewards a slow pace before the rails carry you on.
The Hokuriku Shinkansen carries you south to Tsuruga, where a simple cross-platform change puts you on the limited express down along Lake Biwa to Kyoto — under two and a half hours of effortless, scenic rail. A private transfer meets you at the platform.
Kyoto was the imperial capital for a thousand years; an easy first evening in Gion sets the tone.
The vermilion torii of Fushimi Inari in the early quiet, the golden pavilion of Kinkaku-ji, and a Zen garden timed for the hour the crowds thin, with a private guide.
A private tea ceremony or — arranged ahead — a maiko encounter rounds out the day.
Still based in Kyoto, today you head out to its north-western Arashiyama district — the bamboo grove, then the Sagano Romantic Train, a vintage open-window railway that trundles along the Hozugawa river gorge, especially glorious in cherry-blossom and autumn-maple seasons.
A short ride back to your Kyoto hotel in the evening — a day that makes the train itself the experience.
The Sanyō Shinkansen runs west to Hiroshima in under two hours. The Peace Memorial Park and Museum are quietly devastating and quietly hopeful, with a private guide.
An evening in Hiroshima — okonomiyaki the local way — before tomorrow's island.
A short ferry to sacred Miyajima, where the great vermilion torii of Itsukushima Shrine floats at high tide — an unhurried day for the island's shrines, mountain ropeway, and free-roaming deer.
Back to Hiroshima for the night, the pace of the trip easing before Osaka.
East by Shinkansen with a stop at Himeji — Japan's finest surviving feudal castle, a brilliant-white keep right by the station — then on to Osaka.
Osaka is Japan's exuberant kitchen; settle in before its best hours, after dark.
Osaka Castle by day; by night Dōtonbori's neon and street food — takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and whatever your guide steers you toward. An optional day trip by rail to Nara or Kōyasan.
A lively, delicious close to a journey measured in great train rides.
After breakfast, a private transfer to Kansai International Airport for your flight home — a journey that turned the getting-there into the trip itself.
Your Juniper specialist remains reachable throughout departure day.
This is a sample custom route — a starting point, not a fixed package. Many clients travel something very close to this. Book a free consultation and a specialist will build from here.
Your specialist pre-arranges the right luxury experiences based on your interests and travel style. These are the custom experience types available on this route — specific choices are made with you, not for you.
Activities are selected and pre-booked with your specialist based on your interests — not all activities are included in every trip version. Availability varies by season.
You work directly with a specialist who knows Japan deeply — not a call center or booking agent. Every consultation is with someone who has been there, stayed in those hotels, and knows the country inside out.
A dedicated Japan specialist designs your trip from scratch — the right ryokan, a private maiko encounter, the best week for cherry blossom or autumn maples, and the timing that keeps Kyoto’s temples quiet.
Book a Consultation
From ryokan and bullet train to private guides and after-hours temple access, your specialist arranges every transfer, reservation, and experience before you travel.
Book a Consultation30 minutes, completely free. Walk away with a clear picture of what your luxury custom Japan trip could look like — dates, route, 4 and 5-star accommodations, and all.
