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Tokyo · Kiso Valley · Kyoto · Setouchi · Koyasan

A MONTH IN JAPAN

When
Autumn
Planning fee
Priced after a first conversationBespoke
How long
30 days
  • The wooden stage of Kiyomizu-dera rising above a hillside of red autumn maples, with Kyoto beyond
  • The main street of Tsumago, lined with dark wooden inns and houses, with wooded hills beyond
  • A stone-paved path between tall cedars and rows of stone lanterns in Okunoin

Kiyomizu-dera in autumn, Kyoto

Thirty days in autumn. A week in Tokyo, a week in Kyoto, the colours followed down from the mountains in between, and a day with nothing planned in every week.

A month at an unhurried pace. Long stays in Tokyo and Kyoto, with the mountains, the art islands and a night in a temple on Koyasan in between.

Tokyo → Osaka

The route

The route Tokyo → Hakone → Kiso Valley → Takayama → Shirakawa-go → Kanazawa → Kyoto → Naoshima → Hiroshima → Miyajima → Himeji → Osaka → Koyasan → Osaka 1122334455667788991010 TokyoDays 1–7HakoneDays 8–9Kiso ValleyDays 10–11TakayamaDay 12Shirakawa-goDay 13KanazawaDays 13–14KyotoDays 15–21NaoshimaDays 22–23HiroshimaDay 24MiyajimaDays 24–25HimejiDay 26OsakaDays 26, 28–30KoyasanDays 27–28

Filled points are where you stay the night. Open points are visits on the way.

Week 1 · Days 1–7

Tokyo: Settling In

Seven nights in one Tokyo hotel. Two quiet days after the flight, day trips to Kamakura and Nikko, and a day with nothing planned.

  1. Day 1Arrival. Private transfer to your hotel, and nothing else planned.
  2. Day 2A slow morning. An afternoon walk through Yanaka, the old temple quarter.
  3. Day 3Asakusa early, before the shops open, then a boat down the Sumida River. Dinner at a sushi counter.
  4. Day 4Day trip to Kamakura, about an hour by train. The Great Buddha and the bamboo garden of Hokoku-ji.
  5. Day 5A free day.
  6. Day 6Day trip to Nikko, about two hours by limited express. Toshogu shrine among the autumn colours of the hills.
  7. Day 7Meiji Jingu at opening time, a department store food hall, and an early night before the mountains.

Week 2 · Days 8–14

The Mountains: Hakone to Kanazawa

The week of moving, by train and by car. Hot springs in Hakone, the old Nakasendo road through the Kiso Valley, the mountain town of Takayama and the gardens of Kanazawa, as the autumn colour comes down the hills.

  1. Day 8Train to Hakone, under two hours, with the Open-Air Museum on the way up. Then a quiet ryokan looking onto the forest, with an open-air bath of its own, a free afternoon and a seasonal kaiseki dinner.
  2. Day 9A slow day in Hakone. A boat across Lake Ashi, and Mount Fuji if the sky allows.
  3. Day 10The longest day of travel this month, about four hours from door to door: the shinkansen to Nagoya, then the limited express up into the Kiso Valley. The night at an inn in Magome.
  4. Day 11Walk the Nakasendo over the pass to Tsumago, about eight kilometres of stone paving, cedar forest and small waterfalls, with your luggage sent ahead by car. Tsumago in the evening, quiet again after the day visitors leave.
  5. Day 12Drive to Takayama, about two hours. The old merchant streets and a dinner of Hida beef.
  6. Day 13Morning market by the river, then Shirakawa-go on the road to Kanazawa.
  7. Day 14Kanazawa. Kenroku-en early, the Higashi Chaya teahouse district and lunch at Omicho Market.

Week 3 · Days 15–21

Kyoto: A Week in One Place

Seven nights in Kyoto as the leaves turn in the city. The great temples at the quiet hours, a day in Nara, the hills of Ohara, and a free day.

  1. Day 15Shinkansen and limited express to Kyoto, about two hours. An evening walk in Gion.
  2. Day 16Kiyomizu-dera at opening time, with the autumn colour below its wooden stage, then the lanes of Higashiyama.
  3. Day 17A free day.
  4. Day 18Day trip to Nara, under an hour by train. Todai-ji and the deer of Nara Park.
  5. Day 19Ohara in the hills north of the city. Sanzen-in and a lunch of mountain vegetables.
  6. Day 20Fushimi Inari at first light, while the vermilion gates are still empty. A private tea ceremony in the afternoon and dinner at a kaiseki counter.
  7. Day 21Arashiyama early, before the crowds. The bamboo grove and the garden of Tenryu-ji, then an afternoon of your own.

Week 4 · Days 22–30

The Inland Sea, Koyasan and Osaka

West to the art island of Naoshima, Hiroshima and two nights on Miyajima, then back east to Osaka for the last nights, with one night in a temple on Koyasan before the flight home.

  1. Day 22Shinkansen to Okayama, a local train to the port of Uno and the ferry to Naoshima, about three hours in all. The night on the island, by the sea.
  2. Day 23Chichu Art Museum, with timed entry arranged ahead, where Monet's water lilies hang in daylight from above. Then the art houses of Honmura and a slow evening on the island.
  3. Day 24Ferry back and the shinkansen to Hiroshima, about two hours. The Peace Memorial Park, then the local train and the short ferry to Miyajima.
  4. Day 25A slow day on Miyajima. Itsukushima Shrine at high tide, when the great torii stands in the sea, a walk in the hills behind it, and the island quiet again by evening.
  5. Day 26East by shinkansen, with a stop at Himeji Castle on the way and your luggage sent ahead. The night in Osaka.
  6. Day 27The Nankai line from Namba up to Koyasan, about an hour and a half, then the cable car, with only a small bag for the night. Buddhist vegetarian cooking at dinner and the night in a temple among the cedars.
  7. Day 28Morning prayers with the monks and a walk through the cedars of Okunoin, then the train back down to Osaka.
  8. Day 29Osaka with a local guide. Kuromon Market, Dotonbori and the city's own food.
  9. Day 30Private transfer to Kansai Airport, timed to your flight.

29 nights

Where you'll stay

The kind of stay we would look for at each stop. The places themselves are chosen with you, by season and by what is open on your dates.

  • Tokyo7 nightsA quiet, refined hotel in central Tokyo, one base for the whole week.
  • Hakone2 nightsA ryokan looking onto the forest, with an open-air bath in the room.
  • Kiso Valley2 nightsSmall family-run inns in the old post towns, a night in Magome and a night in Tsumago.
  • Takayama1 nightA ryokan near the old town, with dinner served at the inn.
  • Kanazawa2 nightsA calm hotel within walking distance of the garden and the teahouse district.
  • Kyoto7 nightsA stay where tradition and the present meet, a restored townhouse or a hotel around a garden.
  • Naoshima2 nightsA stay on the island itself, close to the art and the sea.
  • Miyajima2 nightsA ryokan on the island, for the quiet hours after the day visitors leave.
  • Osaka3 nightsA city hotel near the station, an easy base for the mountain and the airport.
  • Koyasan1 nightA shukubo, a temple lodging, with the monks' vegetarian cooking and the morning service.

Highlights

  • Kiso Valley

    Old post towns of the Nakasendo, joined by a footpath through forest and over a pass.

  • Kyoto in Autumn

    A full week in one place, with the great temples at the hours when they are quiet.

  • Naoshima

    Contemporary art in a fishing village and in museums set into the hills above the Inland Sea.

  • Koyasan

    A mountain-top temple town. A night in a temple lodging and an early walk through Okunoin.

Signature covers trips of 7 to 14 days. Journeys longer than 14 days are planned as Bespoke, priced after our first talk.

This is a sample itinerary. Every STAYGO trip is written from scratch.

You pay hotels, ryokan, restaurants and guides directly, at their own rates. We add no markups and take no commissions. The Signature planning fee is USD 3,500 for your group, for a journey of 7–14 days. Longer or more complex journeys are planned as Bespoke.

During the trip, you reach us through the STAYGO app and WhatsApp. We agree our response hours with you before you leave.

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