TAILOR-MADE LUXURY JAPAN HOLIDAYS

If you want a brief, electric moment that feels celebratory, choose spring. If you prefer steadier colour, cooler days, and a more reflective pace, autumn often wins. We can help you time either, and shape the route to catch the best displays without chasing crowds. Each year they release a forecast in advance of these popular seasons, to give predictions of the best dates for the peak bloom or foliage. Generally, in the golden route, the first blossom appears around 20^th March and the full bloom tends to last for around one week, from the 30^th March until end of the first week of April. The full foliage forecast for the best time to experience the Autumn leaves, is normally towards the end of November and pushing into the first week of December. This can change slightly year or year, but we would hope that you would have a decent exposure and a fantastic experience if you roughly followed these basic guidelines.

The Golden route refers to the most visited areas of Japan, usually including Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hakone. This itinerary works well for first time visitors and those with a limited time frame, however for those travellers with longer to play with we can of course customise any itinerary to include other areas like Kanazawa, Takayama, and Hiroshima in Honshu, or further afield to more remote areas like Hokkaido or Kyushu.

As a guideline, we typically suggest holiday prices starting at approximately £6k per person for a 10-14 day itinerary, based on two travellers sharing a room. This price would not include international flights, which would be added to this cost.

The distinction between luxury Ryokan and more conventional 5-star hotels is more a contrast in their philosophy, rather than a massive difference in the luxury they offer. Hotels tend to offer a more familiar experience, with western style rooms, modern comforts and amenities, more varied dining options, and quite a typical style of hospitality. Ryokan, by contrast, offer a far more traditional Japanese cultural experience, with tatami mat floors, often Japanese -style futon beds (although many now often a more familiar style of western bedding as an alternative), kaiseki-style meals, which are usually included and served at fixed times, and a more attentive and personalised style of hospitality – often referred to as Omotenashi. There is usually a specific host assigned to you upon arrival.

Whilst Ordinary Class is perfectly comfortable, Green or Gran Class (the name depends on the route) the equivalent of first class, will give you access to a larger seat, a footrest and more space between the seats (a nice feature when you want to stretch out your legs on a long journey).

In Japan, there are certain rigid rules and systems in place that cannot be avoided. In some cases, we can arrange private and/or out-of-hours access to certain experiences – usually at a substantial cost. In many other cases, such requests are reserved for VIPs and dignitaries and are not made available to the public.

Many travellers to Japan will ride on the bullet train (shinkansen) and other long-distance trains throughout their journey. Since 2022, the rules on luggage have become stricter and in general, we recommend bringing smaller suitcase sizes for smoother travel through Japan, where stations and trains can be especially busy.

You can bring up to two pieces of baggage on board free of charge. For each bag, the total of the length, width, and height must not exceed 250cm. Luggage pieces less than 160cm (sum of height x length x width) can be brought aboard without prior reservation and can be placed in front of you or in the overhead luggage rack. If you want to bring large luggage pieces (between 160cm – 250cm), you will have to pay a 1,000 yen fee per piece of luggage on the spot for it will be stored in the baggage compartment of the train. Anything above 250cm cannot be brought on the bullet trains. Please consider forwarding luggage between hotels (further details below) and bringing smaller luggage when using the bullet trains.

If you prefer not to travel with luggage on trains, we recommend the use of Japan’s fabulous luggage forwarding service known as ‘takkuhaibin’. The cost of using takkuhaibin depends on the size and weight of the package and the destination, however for around 2,000-3,500 yen you can forward a bag between pretty much any two points in Japan. Concierge desks or reception desks at most hotels will be happy to assist with arranging this luggage transfer and collect payment. Please note that during busier times of year, it be may that only 48 hour and 72 hour services are available.

This depends on the journey in question. Private cars are usually very expensive in Japan, so we tend to limit them to airport transfers, some station to hotel transfers, and on certain sightseeing tours where needed. We always recommend train services for longer journeys. However, even in these cases, private cars and drivers can be discussed if clients wish.

This tends to be less of a cultural taboo these days. However, there are some among the more traditional onsen that are more restrictive. If any clients are concerned, we would check specific rules and discuss how best to approach the matter with them, to put their mind at ease. Many of the ryokan that we recommend would have private onsen baths within your room or on a private balcony, where this would be of no concern.

Most dietary requirements can be catered for at ryokan offering kaiseki-style, provided clients let us know with enough time in advance. Those that are more rigid, we would tend to avoid with clients that have very specific or strict requirements.

Regions such as Hokkaido and Kyushu get a fraction of the visitor numbers, compared with the golden route, so are great for a quieter, more authentic experience, but the major drawback being that they do not have the same infrastructure to cope with tourism in the same way. Other more niche or specific locations and/or experiences that make worthwhile additions to any itinerary, include Matsumoto and the Old Nakasendo Way, the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail, overnight temple stays on Koyasan and Naoshima Art Island.

Niseko, also known as the Japanese Alps, offers some fabulous high-end options, including the Higashiyama Niseko Village – A Ritz-Carlton Reserve and the Park Hyatt Niseko, with a brand-new offering from Aman opening in 2030. For a more reasonably priced option, we suggest the Hilton Niseko. There are fewer high-end luxury options in Hakuba, Shiga Kogen, or generally in the Alpine region, but what we can suggest across the region are the Hakukuba Tokyu Hotel, the Hotel Grand Phenix Okushiga, or the Hoshino Resorts KAI Alps for a high-end ryokan experience.

We try to recommend to clients that we make start on plans as much as a year in advance or as long as one can give. This is not so much because of a lengthy or overly complicated planning process, rather it ensures that we can secure preferred hotels, the best guides and specialist experiences.

A visa isn’t required for British Passport holders.