Japan small group holiday, Japan unmasked
Our best value small group tour, using infamous bullet trains and bikes to see as much of the country as possible, staying at locally-owned temple lodges, minshukus and ryokans to experience local rituals and seasonal home-cooked feasts.
Tokyo Nagano Bullet train travel Takayama in Japanese Alps Matsumoto Stay in traditional ryokan Kenrokuen Gardens Kurashiki canals Kyoto Hiroshima and Peace Museum.
Price
£3400To£3650excluding flights
More info
Maximum group size: 14.
All our tours have guaranteed single rooms with a mandatory supplement.
If you don't want to pay the supplement on our Essential tours, you can choose to share a room throughout with a fellow solo traveler of the same sex.
All our tours have guaranteed single rooms with a mandatory supplement.
If you don't want to pay the supplement on our Essential tours, you can choose to share a room throughout with a fellow solo traveler of the same sex.
Description of Japan small group holiday, Japan unmasked
Snow monkeys, a Buddhist temple stay, neon-spangled skyscrapers and rural mountain towns. Japan Unmasked offers fantastic value and a fascinating insight into Japan old and new. This flexible tour, led by an experienced tour leader, allows you to spend as much, or as little, as you want. Visit Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and more!
Whether it's slurping on a bowl of noodles with suited salary men at a railway cafe, or splurging on a succulent Kobe beef steak at the finest restaurant in Kyoto, our itinerary is flexible enough to cater for any budget.
The tour begins in the high octane-city of Tokyo, the neon heart of this amazing country. The first of many rides on Japan's Shinkansen bullet train will then whisk us into the Japanese Alps, where a magical stay in Nagano's most important Buddhist temple awaits. A chance to see the mischievous snow monkeys as they soak in the natural hot spring pools of Yudanaka Onsen will be followed by a visit to one of Japan's original samurai castles in Matsumoto.
We delve deeper into the mountains to the traditional market town of Takayama, home to folk villages and sake breweries. In Kanazawa we will have the opportunity to follow the footsteps of geisha and samurai, visit the ninja Temple and witness the pinnacle of Japanese gardens, Kenrokuen.
Back on the Shinkansen, we speed further west to Hiroshima, a dynamic city offering great food and nightlife, world class art galleries, and the sobering Peace Memorial Park. An optional day trip takes us to the romantic, sacred island of Miyajima to see the iconic floating torii gate.
The canal city of Kurashiki brings us a dose of culture, with renowned art galleries, cafes and craft shops or if you are feeling energetic we can hire bikes for a ride past the paddy fields of the Kibi Plains.
We save the best Shinkansen journey to last as we pass Mount Fuji and end back in Tokyo for a great final night out.
Price information
£3400To£3650excluding flights
Maximum group size: 14.
All our tours have guaranteed single rooms with a mandatory supplement.
If you don't want to pay the supplement on our Essential tours, you can choose to share a room throughout with a fellow solo traveler of the same sex.
All our tours have guaranteed single rooms with a mandatory supplement.
If you don't want to pay the supplement on our Essential tours, you can choose to share a room throughout with a fellow solo traveler of the same sex.
Check dates, prices & availability
Leader interview
“One of my favourite places to take people for a drink in Kyoto is an old bar run by an old lady, who tallies up the bills on an abacus.”
Learn more about this itinerary in Responsible Travel's interview with Tyler Palma, a tour leader on this tripRead full interview
Travel guides
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Holiday information
Our top tip:
Don't be afraid of language barrier. The Japanese have an innate ability to welcome guests, and it brings great pleasure when you return the compliment.
Trip type:
Small group, max 14 people.
Solos:
Solo travellers have single room with NO surcharge, except in traditional accommodation.
Accomm:
Modest hotels with ensuites. 3 nights in traditional lodgings with shared bathrooms.
Included:
Accomm., tour guide, transport passes, some activities.
Meals:
All breakfasts, 1 dinner included. Budget £3 for street food, £8-10 for dinner in modest restaurant.
Dietary requirements:
We can cater for vegetarian and vegan diets.
Reviews
33 Reviews of Japan small group holiday, Japan unmasked
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed on 23 Apr 2024 by Catherine Jones
Seeing the cherry blossoms, the major shrines and the lovely people Read full reviewReviewed on 30 Apr 2023 by Licinia Pereira
10/10 - Very enriching and rewarding. We thoroughly enjoyed it... A million thanks! Read full reviewReviewed on 21 Nov 2022 by Sue McCulloch
Most memorable... The superb autumn colour ( we were so lucky with the weather 1 day of rain)The Japanese inn, at Takayama, bento box, The horrors of Hiroshima, The temples / Shrines (especially Fushimi ) the gardens. Tokyo at night. The unbelievably knowledgable tour guide, Van... Read full reviewReviewed on 31 Oct 2022 by Maggie Owen
The unexpected appearance of the snow monkeys and the gorgeous views from the top of Mijamura island were real highlights... Excellent. Read full reviewReviewed on 17 Nov 2019 by Maria Snow
It is actually hard to pick one part, it was all memorable. Hiroshima, very moving experience, Miyajima and the view from the summit. Read full reviewReviewed on 11 Nov 2019 by Jaqueline Schulz
The part I liked the most of our days was taking an (nearly) daily onsen bath to recover from the day. Especially the outdoor onsen in Nagano was very beautiful. Read full reviewReviewed on 29 Oct 2019 by Vicki Jones
I enjoyed all of it. I especially liked the flexibility and that I could go off an explore on my own. Read full reviewReviewed on 16 Oct 2019 by John Hardy
We had an amazing time and have left with lots of great memories and experiences. Read full reviewReviewed on 20 May 2019 by Anna Avery
The most exciting part for me was trying all the many different foods under the expert suggestions from our tour leader. Read full reviewReviewed on 06 Aug 2019 by Patrick Condon
Visiting Tokyo was special. Just walking around experiencing the sights, sounds and buzzing energy of the largest city on the planet will stay with me forever. Read full reviewReviewed on 09 May 2018 by Yasmin Dastur
The beautiful Himeji Castle floating above you on the horizon when walking towards it from the station. Hiroshima was very moving. Read full reviewReviewed on 02 Jan 2018 by Inge Kerber
There were many `most memorable´things such as the autumn colours, the gardens, the Japanese people, the food, the variety you offered on this tour, the numerous surprises Japan has in store by being so different, the group, the tour leader. Read full reviewReviewed on 28 Oct 2018 by Margaret Pitt
Most memorable: The beautiful Japanese gardens, the forested mountains, the beautiful temples, the courtesy and helpfulness of the Japanese people. The wonderful food. The efficiency of public transport. Everything was so clean... Read full reviewReviewed on 27 Aug 2018 by Paul Thompson
On the whole very interesting but very fast paced but obviously if visiting a lot of places in a short time things have to be missed out. Read full reviewReviewed on 19 Mar 2018 by Roger Bayliss
The highlight was meeting the Japanese people - they were so friendly and provided a fabulous service, all of them doing there best to help out the 'non Japanese' speaking tourists. Also, the country was virtually 'spotlessly' clean with no litter, graffiti or the usual grime one associates with Europe. Read full reviewReviewed on 03 Dec 2017 by Caroline Sawyer
This was incredible trip. My favourite places were the beautiful seaside town of Kamakura, it’s tranquil temples, great Buddha... Read full reviewReviewed on 03 Jul 2017 by Helen Weingarten
The loveliness of Nagano was a surprise (the zen temple ceremony really special) Takayama (the city as a whole and a wonderful restaurant we found Kyoya), Masamoto castle, and the okonomiyaki meal in Hiroshima. Read full reviewReviewed on 27 Jun 2017 by Colin Catt
All of it was fantastic. An amazing experience, made possible by an awesome tour leader. Read full reviewReviewed on 27 Jun 2017 by Linda Marlow
The highlights for me personally were a visit to the D.T. Suzuki Museum in Kanazawa and the visit to the O Torii Gate on the island of Itsukushima, where deer roam freely. The whole two weeks were a whirlwind of amazing sights, sounds and experiences. Read full reviewReviewed on 29 May 2017 by Susanne Fever
Every moment was fabulous. The contrast of the crowds in Tokyo to the quiet area in Nagano where we stayed in a priest's lodging. Read full reviewReviewed on 11 Apr 2017 by Nathaniel Castle
The day with the snow monkeys sticks in my mind but the morning we spent at the Buddhist morning prayer was also incredible. Absolutely amazing! Hugh did an incredible job showing us around and had an excellent rappor with the locals. This has been my favourite holiday so far. Read full reviewReviewed on 30 Nov 2017 by Patricia Werner
Our guide was the best guide I have ever had on a holiday. Read full reviewReviewed on 29 Jul 2017 by Oliver Parsons
I enjoyed the variety of locations we visited. Read full reviewReviewed on 06 Mar 2017 by Wendy Dooley
The art and Japanese craft museums blew me away and despite the cold temperatures, the temples, shrines and gardens still looked wonderful. Not living in a cold climate, I found the snow up north quite exciting. Terrific fun with a group brought together through skilful leadership... We saw and did things we hadn't expected to do and tried so many delicious food styles. Read full reviewReviewed on 18 Jul 2016 by Keith Swindell
The breadth of experience, from the neon lighted frantic pace of Tokyo, to the 5am chanting of monks at a Nagano temple, all connected by the thrill of the Shinkansen. Read full reviewReviewed on 15 Aug 2016 by Annette Hale
Very enjoyable. We were a family of 3 travelling with a 17 yr old son. We all had a very memorable holiday . It was full on though with little time to rest but we knew that before we set off and it delivered the anticipated full schedule. Read full reviewReviewed on 28 Apr 2016 by Rebecca Goulding
The holiday fully lived up to expectations! Read full reviewReviewed on 12 Oct 2015 by Lara Pallard
My holiday was wonderful, William our tour leader, with his unique style made our holiday really special! Read full reviewReviewed on 19 Jul 2015 by Kristin Samuelson
I loved the variety of sights. There was always something a little different to see and do. Loved the variety of restaurants! Every night we tried a new type of Japanese food. Our guide, Alain, was terrific! Read full reviewReviewed on 10 Nov 2014 by Ann Walsby
Japan is fascinating, the ultra modern against a background of traditional. I loved their simplistic art, Zen gardens, efficiency and positive attitudes. Read full reviewResponsible Travel
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we've screened this (and every) holiday so that you can travel knowing we've worked to maximise the benefits of your holiday to local people and places, and minimise any negative impacts.
Planet
Travelling in Japan is a joy thanks to the fantastic public transport system. During this whistle stop two week tour, you’ll travel by Shinkansen bullet train, local trains, highway buses, subway and even ferry if you make an optional day trip to Miyajima Island.We highly recommend hiring a bike when in Kurashiki to ride across the Kibi Plains with the tour leader. Here’s you’ll pass villages and rice paddies, tiny little Shinto shrines and Buddhist cemeteries. Getting out into the countryside like this broadens the visitor’s understanding of Japan’s natural resources and why they must be protected.
It’s not difficult to be green in Japan and the tour leader will make lots of suggestions to help you, such as pointing out recycling bins, suggesting your turn down the hotel room air conditioning and asking accommodation staff not to replace towels and bed linens, and providing reusable chopsticks for the duration of the tour.
People
The Japan Unmasked tour includes two highlight stays in traditional Japanese accommodation. In Nagano we’ll stay in a shukubo, simple lodgings that were built for pilgrim’s visiting Zenko-ji Temple. As part of our stay we will be taken on a tour around Zenko-ji with an English speaking local guide who will explain the temple’s history stretching back to the 7th Century. The shukubo is just a stone’s throw from the temple which makes it easy for us to join the hall for the monks’ morning prayer service featuring chanting and meditation. Breakfast is shojin ryori – austere Buddhist fare that is strictly vegetarian.In Takayama we stay in a minshuku, another traditional inn where we will again sleep on futon bedding on tatami mat floors. The rooms are not en-suite, instead we’ll bathe Japanese style in the communal hot spring baths (men and women separately). Dinner is included on the first night: a seasonal, locally grown, homecooked feast!
These inns offer a real insight into Japanese life helping us to better understand the communities we are travelling through.
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