10 DAYS | 15-24 October 2025
ONLY 14 SPOTS AVAILABLE
(Trip level: 1 – easy, 2 – moderate, 3 – challenging)
THE TOUR
WHAT’S INCLUDED
ITINERARY
Meals Included: Dinner
Konnichiwa! Welcome to Japan. Your adventure begins in Tokyo – the thriving capital of an ancient land – with a welcome meeting at 6 pm tonight. Then, move on to a local restaurant for welcome dinner. If you arrive early, why not explore at your own pace. You could check out the free Sensoji Temple or the Imperial Palace, then hit up the Avatar Robot Café for lunch. This purpose-driven enterprise is not driven by AI at all – the waiters are actually operated by people living with disabilities. This is to give employees who have difficulty leaving their homes a better chance at employment.
- Airport Transfer, included on a group basis
- Group welcome meeting
- Group welcome dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Villa Fontaine Grand Tokyo Shiodome or similar
Day 2: Tokyo
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
This morning begin in the Asakusa area, one of the older and more traditional parts of Tokyo, often called the temple district. Here you’ll stop by Senso-ji, the city’s oldest temple – founded almost 1400 years ago when Tokyo was nothing more than a fishing village. Browse the many interesting stalls filled with tasty treats, crafts and souvenirs that line the shopping street of Nakamise dori. Then, you will have an opportunity to learn how to make sushi. After you enjoy your own sushi, you’ll visit Harajuku – the home of quirky youth pop culture as well as Meiji Shrine. Then, explore the Shibuya area with your group this morning. Look down on one of the busiest intersections in the world at Shibuya station and visit the statue of Hachiko – the famous loyal dog. Next, indulge your eyes and your belly at a depachika food hall, where vendors sell everything from bento boxes to formal gifts. Tonight is also the perfect opportunity to hit Tokyo’s nightlife, whether it’s at a bar with laser shows or you’re belting out some tunes at karaoke.
Included Activities
- Asakusa Senso-ji temple
- Sushi making for lunch
- Meiji Jingu Shrine
- Harajuku street
- Shibuya walking tour
Accommodation: Hotel Villa Fontaine Grand Tokyo Shiodome or similar
Day 3: Tokyo-Kanazawa
Meals Included: Breakfast
This morning, speed through central Japan on a bullet train bound for Kanazawa. This city is best known for Kenroku-en – the 17th-century gardens – and as the home of the Samurai. Here, you can find beautifully preserved Samurai and Geisha districts, historic temples and some awesome markets. In the afternoon, explore Kenroku-en Garden and Kanazawa Castle Park on foot. Tonight is a free evening so you can explore the streets at your own pace and maybe indulge in Kanazawa’s izakaya and famed fresh seafood.
Included Activities
- Kenroku-en Garden & Kanazawa Castle Park
Accommodation: Hotel Kanazawa or similar
Day 4: Kanazawa
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
After breakfast, you’ll continue exploring Kanazawa with a tour of Omicho Market – the hub of the local food culture, famous for its seafood and locally grown produce. With a local guide with all the insight into the region, the food and the market, you’ll wind your way through the stalls and learn how to spot the freshest ingredients. You’ll then choose some fish and vegetables for your lunchtime cooking class – then learn some tips and tricks on how to cook a traditional Kanazawa meal. Sit down as a group and enjoy the fruits of your labour, before enjoying an afternoon at your leisure.
Included Activities
- Local market visit and cookery class experience
Accommodation: Hotel Kanazawa or similar
Day 5: Kanazawa-Kyoto
Meals Included: Breakfast
Today, catch a train through the Japanese Alps to Kyoto – once the imperial capital of Japan and one of the most beautiful cities in the country. With over 2000 temples, shrines and gardens, Kyoto is a great place to get lost in.
With a good bus network linking all its key sites, you can hop on the bus to get around today – maybe visit the magnificent, gold-plated Kinkaku-ji Temple with its expansive grounds in Kyoto’s northwest, or Nijo Castle – the feudal-era castle famous for its squeaking ‘nightingale floors,’ designed to alert inhabitants to approaching ninja. You will have an opportunity to experience Tea Ceremony in the afternoon. In the early evening, meet up with your leader for a walk through Kyoto’s famous Gion district – the heart of the city’s Geisha culture.
Included Activities
- Tea Ceremony
- Gion District walk
Accommodation: Agora Kyoto Karasuma or similar
Day 6: Kyoto
Meals Included: Breakfast
This morning visit Fushimi Inari Shrine, famous for its Shinto ‘fox temple’ and atmospheric red torii gates – a mustsee for keen photographers. You will hike up Mt. Inari just right behind the shine for a walk in the wooded hills. The afternoon is free for you to explore, and your leader can give you recommendations on what to see and how to get there.
Included Activities
- Fushimi Inari Shine and hike on Mt. Inari
Accommodation: Agora Kyoto Karasuma or similar
Day 7: Kyoto-Hiroshima
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Hiroshima is a bustling metropolis with a tragic history and this morning, you’ll travel there via bullet train. When you arrive, your leader will take you to the Peace Park and the ruins of the A-Bomb Dome building – one of 11 structures left partially standing as a reminder of the destruction of nuclear war following the atomic bomb blast on 6 August 1945. The Peace Park contains monuments and a sobering museum dedicated to Hiroshima and international peace. Tonight, you will try Hiroshima’s most famous dish – okonomiyaki (savoury pancake of cabbage, meat or seafood) – grilled in front of you on a sizzling hotplate.
Included Activities
- Peace Park & A-Bomb Dome
- Peace Museum
- Okonomiyaki Dinner
Accommodation: Candeo Hotels Hiroshima Hatchobori or similar
Day 8: Hiroshima
Meals Included: Breakfast
Today you’ll jump on a local train and a ferry to spend the day at the nearby island of Miyajima with its famous ‘floating’ Torii Gate and the grand Itsukushima-jinja Shrine. Hike through the woods to the peak of Mt Misen for some stunning views of the Inland Sea stretching far out below you. Be sure to watch out for inquisitive and eternally hungry deer that roam the island. Back in Hiroshima, you can enjoy a free evening tonight.
Included Activities
- Miyajima Island
- Itsukushima Shrine
- One way ropeway for Mt. Misen
- Mt. Misen hiking
Accommodation: Candeo Hotels Hiroshima Hatchobori or similar
Day 9: Hiroshima-Osaka
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Travel by bullet train to Osaka today – what better way to finish your trip than in a city with the motto ‘kuidaore’ (eat until you drop)! Osaka is Japan’s unofficial culinary capital, with its tiny backstreets overflowing with restaurants and bars serving up local delicacies. You can also discover Japan’s answer to fast food – Osaka is credited with the first kaiten-zushi (conveyor belt sushi) restaurants after its inventor (the owner of a sushi restaurant with staffing issues) watched beer bottles on a conveyor belt at the nearby Asahi brewery. When you arrive, head out on a leader-led walking tour of the Dotombori district, famous for its shopping and entertainment. At night, this place is lit with the colour of hundreds of neon lights! In the evening, enjoy Farewell Dinner with your fellow travellers to celebrate the end of your Japan adventure.
Included Activities
- Dotombori District walking tour
- Farewell Dinner
Accommodation: Hiyori Hotel Osaka Namba Stationi or similar
Day 10: Osaka
Meals Included: Breakfast
There are no activities planned for today, and you can depart at any time after check out.
- Airport Transfer, included on a group basis
ACCOMMODATION
Our accommodation for the trip will be an array of 3-4* hotels. We have carefully chosen the accommodation to maximise your experience on this bucket list trip.
*You will be sharing a room with another guest, in a room with twin beds, with an ensuite. Rooms will be allocated randomly, unless specified otherwise.
PRICE
£3,599 per person including all as stated above and must be booked via Intrepid Travel.
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED
✕ Flights to and from the trip (please speak to Intrepid about flights)
✕ Travel insurance for the trip
✕ Any additional meals or drinks not stated above
✕ Any additional activities not stated above
✕ Airport transfers if you arrive or depart outside of the recommended times
*There will be one transfer per trip for arrival and one for departure. Attendees will be recommended a flight, but if you book alternative flights, transfers will not be provided and will be at the cost of the guest.
INSURANCE
It is the attendee’s responsibility to have the appropriate travel insurance for this trip. It is compulsory for all guests to have travel insurance. Please let us know you have appropriate travel insurance before the trip.
FLIGHTS
Flights are not included as we wanted to give you the option of where to fly when and where you want. However, if you want help booking flights, Intrepid Travel is on hand to help you throughout the booking process and can book flights for you if required.
BOOKING
To book your spot, get in touch with Intrepid Travel and use the reference ‘OAG Japan’.
To secure your place on this tour, you must pay a non-refundable deposit of £200 per person. To book please email [email protected]m or contact the Intrepid Team on 0808 274 5111.
Do you want to pay in installments? Once you’ve reserved your space you can arrange this with Intrepid – no extra fees.
You can read the terms and conditions via the trip itinerary PDF.
ABOUT INTREPID TRAVEL
I have teamed up with Intrepid Travel to help host our OAG Overseas trips. They are experts in group travel with over 30 years of experience, and most importantly they are a B Corp, meaning responsible travel has always been at the core of what they do. Travelling with Intrepid means not just better trips for you, it’s better for local communities, better for wildlife, and better for the planet. Read more about their Foundation here.
