Japan by Rail – Highlights of Honshu for the Colours of Autumn
• TOKYO • KANAZAWA • KYOTO • HIROSHIMA • HAKONE •
INCLUDING FUKUOKA, MT FUJI, ARASHIAMA, HIMEJI CASTLE, AND TSUWANO
Next
Departure
Next
Departure
- Overview
- Highlights
- Map & Itinerary
- Trip Inclusions
- Transport & Accommodation
- Reviews
- FAQs
This amazing autumn tour combines a wide variety of regions and authentic cultural experiences across Japan. exquisite food, fine hotels, a feast of spectacular scenery are linked together on all manner of trains large and small.
Departure Location: | Tokyo | |
Return Location: | Tokyo | |
Tour Date: | 6 Nov 2024 - 21 Nov 2024 | Tour Code: 2411JAP |
Tour Code: | 2411JAP | |
Price: |
Per person twin share: $12450 Single Supplement: $2985 |
|
Deposit (per person): | $1000 | |
Final payment due by: | 7 September 2024 |
Highlights of your tour
- Extensive rail travel using your JR Green Class (first class) Rail Pass
- Heritage steam train travel on The Yamaguchi and Paleo lines
- Ride the Sagano Forest Railway and Tozan Mountain Railway
- Wander beautiful Japanese gardens in Tokyo, Kanazawa and Kyoto
- Historic temples, cultural sites in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Himeji Castle
- Visit the unsurpassed modern railway museum in Kyoto
- Enjoy a grand Sumo wrestling tournament in Fukuoka
- Enjoy Japan’s unique food and a full-course Japanese Ryokan dinner
- Stay in mostly 5-star centrally located hotels
Your Journey
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
-
5
-
6
-
7
-
8
-
9
-
10
-
11
-
12
-
13
-
14
-
15
-
16
Our tour formally starts tonight at 6pm for welcome drinks in our hotel before a short walk to a local Micro-Brewery Restaurant for our welcome dinner.
If you’re flying in the night before and would like pre-tour accommodation at our hotel, this is easy to arrange by contacting our friendly team.
For those who may be arriving on an early morning flight from Australia, we’ve arranged for you to drop your bags and have a hearty breakfast at the hotel, located just three minutes from Shinagawa Railway Station. There will be a local guide available to meet and assist you to transfer by public transport for those arriving on NH880 or QF25 on the morning of 6th November.
After breakfast, those of you who are in Tokyo will enjoy a private morning tour with our local guide of a few iconic sites before enjoying a lovely tempura lunch, then returning to the hotel in the early afternoon to check in.
Our morning tour will take us to Tokyo’s most significant Shinto monument. The Meiji Shrine displays the dignified grandeur of Japanese history, dedicated to the memory of the Emperor Meiji who ruled during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Right next door, and in stark contrast to the majestic Meiji Shrine, lies Harajuku, Tokyo’s fashion crucible and the home to some of the world’s wackiest fashion trends. Lady Gaga and Gwen Stefani are among those who find fashion inspiration here. In addition to the back-street boutiques, venture onto the wide avenue where many of the world’s most famous brands are at hand.
Overnight: Strings Intercontinental Hotel, Shinagawa (L, D)
Our exploration of Tokyo continues today after breakfast. Using the city’s incomparable rail network, you’ll get to enjoy the contrast between the old and new city. We’ll start by visiting the 634m Tokyo Sky Tree, one of the world’s tallest towers. After a high-speed elevator ride to the observation platform, you’ll enjoy a breathtaking panorama and a clear view of the sheer scale of the city of Tokyo.
We’ll then jump straight into this city’s roots by visiting Asakusa, the original village of Edo from which modern-day Tokyo has grown over the past 400-plus years. Then, a visit to Sensoji, the city’s oldest Buddhist Temple, followed by a stroll along Nakamise Arcade, the market street connecting the temple to its famed Kaminari Gate. After a Sumo wrestler’s-style lunch, you’ll have a number of options for the afternoon. Choose whether to take in a little more culture with a visit to the Hokusai Museum, showcasing the works of the most famous ‘ukiyoe’ wood-block print artist in history, or alternatively, take the train a couple of stops to vibrant Akihabara and take-in a little of Tokyo’s subculture. Or you just may like to head back to the hotel to relax. The evening is at your leisure.
Overnight: Strings Intercontinental Hotel, Shinagawa (B, L)
This morning we relieve ourselves of our big luggage for separate transport to Kanazawa and with an overnight bag or backpack, embark on the next leg of our journey, heading north-west into the Japanese Alps on the Hokuriku Bullet-Train “Kagayaki”, for the 2-hour journey to Toyama. Then we pick up our private coach and travel an hour south into Japan’s rural heartlands, exemplified by the village of Gokayama, the less crowded, less-developed sibling of the now-famous Shirakawa-go settlement. Here, after enjoying a local lunch, there will be opportunities to see traditional thatched-roofed ‘Gassho’ houses, and to visit a ‘washi’ Japanese-paper making atelier in charming Ainokura, where you’ll personally experience the traditional craft of paper-making.
After a liberal immersion in the sights and sounds of rural Japan, we’ll head to our next home-away-from-home, the medieval Samurai city of Kanazawa. As our luggage cannot travel as quickly as a bullet train, you’ll live out of your overnight bag tonight.
Dinner will be in a local restaurant.
Overnight: Hyatt Centric, Kanazawa (B, L, D) (*an overnight pack is required for this evening)
While Kanazawa is a beautiful city in its own right, it’s also the entrance to one of rural Japan’s best-kept secrets, the Noto Peninsula. So, rather than simply staying in Kanazawa, we’ll spend today exploring this region, starting with a journey aboard the ‘Hanayome Noren’, one of Japan’s unfailingly charming locally themed trains. Known as ‘The Bride’s Curtain’, the train’s interior and exterior are inspired by the local crafts for which the region is famous. Disembarking at Nanao, a vibrant fishing port, we’ll visit the bustling Fish Market, and have time for lunch before a short cruise across the harbour.
After lunch, dive further into Japanese culture at the waterfront hot-spring resort of Wakura Onsen, famed as the home of Japan’s most prestigious ryokan. Here, enjoy a traditional tea ceremony and one of Japan’s favourite forms of relaxation, a foot-bath, before ending the day with the unforgettable experience of a drive along the beach – the 8 kilometre long Chirihama Nagisa Driveway! We’ll then head back to our hotel in Kanazawa to be reunited with our luggage before an evening at leisure.
Overnight: Hyatt Centric, Kanazawa (B)
Kanazawa is a charmingly walkable city, and so this morning after breakfast we’ll take a single taxi journey to Kenrokuen Gardens, and there embark on a Garden and Kanazawa Castle and Park walk, followed by a city tour on foot, taking in the Higashi Chaya and Nagamachi Samurai Quarters.
The city tour will end before lunchtime, allowing the opportunity to eat and stay longer in the city centre or to return to the hotel for a relaxing afternoon and evening at your leisure.
Overnight: Hyatt Centric, Kanazawa (B)
After checking out of our hotel, and handing your luggage to the courier for separate transport to Kyoto, we take a morning Thunderbird Express train to Kyoto where we’ll head straight into a city tour. Our first stop is the 400 year-old Nijo Castle, built as the Tokyo Shogun’s home in the Imperial Capital of Kyoto, and suitably ostentatious and eye-catching, in comparison to the much more discreet, almost subdued, Imperial Palace and Gardens just to its north. Discover some of the secrets of medieval Japanese architecture and enjoy the castle’s splendid gardens.
After lunch in a restaurant converted from traditional Kyoto ‘machiya’ house, we continue to Gion, the historical part of the city for an afternoon walking through its charming old-world streets and enjoying its stunning temple architecture. Keep your eyes peeled for Geisha who call this district home. We finish our tour of Kyoto’s highlights with the ultimate must-see attraction, visiting Rokuonji Temple to see the famed Kinkakuji Golden pavilion, beautifully embodying many of the principles of traditional Japanese architecture. From there, we switch our focus back to railways for our last stop of the tour, a visit to Kyoto Railway Museum. Opened in April 2016 on the site of the city’s famous Umekoji Railway Park, the museum’s core theme is ‘railways revitalising local communities’ and was created to balance historical rail exhibits with a variety of interactive areas aimed not only to demonstrate, but educate visitors on advances in technology and safety.
After a long day, we’ll return to the hotel to be reunited with our luggage and enjoy dinner at the hotel’s popular Italian restaurant.
Overnight: Hotel Granvia, Kyoto (B, L, D)
This morning we venture to the west of Kyoto to see the part of the city most beloved by Kyoto’s residents, Arashiyama. Our visit will start with a local train ride, followed by a scenic train journey on the Sagano Forest Railway back and forth along the Hozu River Valley.
Walking up from the station, after a brief stop at a Shrine dedicated to hairdressers, we’ll drop into the Okochi Sanso Villa, the one-time home of one of Japan’s most famous film stars of the early 20th Century, a veritable Japanese Charlie Chaplin. Here, we’ll enjoy green tea and Japanese cake in the teahouse of the superb gardens. Then we’ll continue to stroll through an enchanting bamboo grove, whose scale is genuinely breathtaking. Later on we’ll return to our hotel by train and enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening at leisure.
Overnight: Hotel Granvia, Kyoto (B)
After breakfast and checking out, we will again hand over our big luggage for separate transport to Hiroshima, and travel just with our overnight bags. Our day then starts with a walk from our hotel through the railway station complex to the bullet train platforms for a journey on the Shinkansen to Himeji, a small city west of Kobe, famous as the home of Japan’s finest castle, Himeji Castle.
Upon arrival at Himeji Station we board our coach to transfer to the castle affectionately known as ‘the White Heron’ for its elegance and dazzling white facades. Both a national treasure and a World Heritage Site, it is a rarity among Japanese castles in that it has retained its original form. It took 200 years to erect in the middle ages and has never been rebuilt, although extensive repairs have been done over the last five years to ensure its continuing stability and safety for visitors. You have free time for lunch in the main shopping street which runs between the station and the castle.
In the afternoon, we’ll continue by Shinkansen to Hiroshima and check in to our centrally-located hotel for the next four nights. Dinner this evening has a particular local theme – the regional delicacy, Okonomiyaki!
Overnight: Sheraton, Hiroshima (B, D) (*an overnight pack is required for this evening)
This morning we travel on a special private vintage tram charter along some of Hiroshima’s extensive tram network and learn more about this important city with our local guide.
Arriving at the heart of the city, the rest of the morning will be dedicated to learning about Hiroshima’s unique place in global history as the first in the world to experience an atomic explosion. This tragic event, its aftermath, and the city’s resurrection back to life, is all part of the revealing story you will find with todays visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. We’ll then continue on foot through the Peace Park to see other monuments including the Peace Bell, the Children’s Peace Monument, and the A-Bomb Memorial Mound. Each is individually moving, but all together they represent one of the most emotionally-challenging testimonials to human tragedy and resilience one can experience.
After a buffet lunch we take the ferry from central Hiroshima to the sacred island of Miyajima for a deer-dodging walk through the island’s central streets to see the stunning Itsukushima Shrine. It is a truly unique structure perched on the waterfront, whose famous red ‘torii’ gates sit in the sea just off the island. We’ll also enjoy a walk through the lesser-known but equally impressive Daishoin Temple. Perched on the side of Mount Misen, the steep peak which dominates Miyajima, this temple is where the current Dalai Lama resided for almost a week during his visit to Japan to celebrate the temple’s 1,200th anniversary in autumn, 2006.
We return to our hotel (and our luggage) in the afternoon and your evening is free to enjoy the many delights of the city and its surroundings.
Overnight: Sheraton, Hiroshima (B, L)
Today we switch the focus from railways to a totally different element of Japanese Culture – its original national sport of Sumo. After a leisurely free morning, we’ll head to the westernmost point of our visit, taking the Shinkansen to Hakata, the local name used for Fukuoka Central Station. Here we’ll attend the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament, a unique opportunity to enjoy and participate in the centuries-old ceremony of official Sumo Tournaments. We’ll enjoy the pageant of the Ring-circling Ceremony, the carefully defined pre-fight protocol, and the sudden explosive action of the actual bouts, some of which last only for the blink of an eye. After seeing the top wrestlers fight in the final bouts, we’ll return to the station for the trip back to Hiroshima by bullet train, enjoying a Bento-box dinner on board. If you’d like a post-Sumo beer or wine with your dinner, the train attendants serve alcohol but you can also buy what you want on the station platform and take it on board with you.
Overnight: Sheraton, Hiroshima (B, D)
Today we again hand our big luggage over to our private courier for the last time and travel with an overnight bag, meeting the luggage down the line in Hakone. We’ll take the train to Iwakuni, where we board our private coach to visit the city’s landmark (and another of Japan’s glorious undiscovered highlights), the Kintaikyo Bridge. This unique five-span edifice across the Nishiki River is a truly amazing piece of timber architecture. We’ll follow this with a local lunch of grilled chicken and enormous rice-balls at another uniquely Japanese eatery, Irori Sanzoku Restaurant.
After lunch, we’ll drive to an “off-the-beaten-track” gem, the charming town of Tsuwano. The town’s white walls and red-tiled roofs add splashes of vibrant colour to the peaceful and unspoiled townscape. Keep an eye out for carp swimming in the aqueducts flowing alongside the main street! At Tsuwano Station we board SL Yamaguchi, a C – 571 model steam engine that originally entered service in 1937. The engine has been lovingly restored to operate on the two-hour journey between Tsuwano and the coastal city of Yamaguchi, passing through stunning country vistas ablaze with autumn colours.
We’ll then return to Hiroshima in the early evening by Bullet Train for an evening at leisure.
Overnight: Sheraton, Hiroshima (B, L) (*an overnight pack is required for this evening)
Today we begin our journey back towards Tokyo covering close to 800 kms with most of it on our high speed trains. Around midday we will turn our attention to another famous element of Japanese cuisine, Kobe Beef. On the way to Kobe we’ll visit a small but fascinating museum introducing the history and a host of fascinating facts relating to Kobe Beef before enjoying a Kobe Beef Lunch.
Following this we’ll continue on to Mishima by Bullet Train, and take our private coach up into the foothills, forests, and glorious lakes surrounding Mount Fuji, to Hakone. Located in the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park west of Tokyo, Hakone is a mountainous town known for its hot springs resorts (onsen) and views of the iconic Mount Fuji. You’ll spend two glorious nights here in accommodation that combines the relaxation, atmosphere, and onsen activities of a traditional ryokan with the comfort of a top international hotel. Tonight we’ll enjoy a very special Japanese dining experience in keeping with the location and culture of the region.
Overnight: Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora, Hakone (B, L, D
This morning we’ll take the Hakone Cable Car up to the Hakone Ropeway, travelling over the very peak of Mount Kamiyama, part of the large Hakone Volcano, the massive eruption of which created the stunning physical beauty of this area. Between Sounzan Station and Owakudani Station, the ropeway passes over the valley around 130m from the ground, offering stunning scenery of the impressive valley floor below. We’ll make a stop at the famous Great Boiling Valley in the Owakudani area, 1000m above sea level, where volcanic geysers fill the air with pungent sulphur. After a walk along the mountain we’ll continue down the Ropeway to Togendai, and enjoy a cruise on Lake Ashi where we’ll see the red Tori Gates of the Hakone-jinja Shrine amongst the mountain scenery. After a stop for lunch, it’s time to make the most of the scenic countryside with a walk along the cedar-lined forest path to Moto-Hakone.
From here, we’ll jump into taxis and continue on to the magnificent Hakone Open Air Museum, a breathtaking combination of the area’s natural beauty as a backdrop for an expansive and high-quality collection of sculpture and art, including sculptures by Henry Moore, and highlighted by the remarkable Picasso Pavilion, housing the world’s largest private collection of Picasso’s ceramics – more than 100 pieces by the 20th Century’s most iconic artist. After our visit it’s only a three minute ride on the Hakone Mountain Railway back to our hotel for an evening at leisure.
Overnight: Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora, Hakone (B, L)
Today we make the final leg of our journey back to Tokyo, incorporating a glimpse of the future of rail travel as well as an historic steam locomotive ride along one of the Kanto regions most beautiful river valleys. The day starts with a coach trip to visit the Yamanashi Maglev Exhibition Centre and an opportunity to catch a glimpse of Japan’s next generation of high-speed trains, the 600-kmh Linear Motor Cars due to go into operation in 2027. Then, we slow the pace a little, driving into the beautiful countryside of Chichibu to enjoy a steam powered ride along the Arakawa-River gorge through the area’s beautiful mountains. This journey ends at Kumagaya, where we’ll leave our luggage with the coach to be delivered to our hotel and connect onto a Shinkansen for the one hour journey into Tokyo, where we’ll return to our familiar hotel for the next two nights and an evening at leisure.
Overnight: Strings Intercontinental Hotel, Shinagawa (B)
Today you have a number of activities to choose from. You may like to stay in Tokyo for a mix of culture and technology, starting with a morning in Ueno, Tokyo’s cultural cradle, where most of the city’s major museums can be found around the boundaries of the famous Ueno Park. In the afternoon there is a chance to ride the popular monorail that runs across the Rainbow Bridge to the new vibrant area of Odaiba. It is renowned for its museums and cultural hubs including the iconic Fuji Television Building, the Science and Technology museum, Toyota’s Megaweb Showcase and the Panasonic Centre.
Alternatively, you can use your JR Pass to travel wherever your heart desires or even enjoy a free day to make the most of your location at the very heart of a major hub where a myriad of destinations are available just a short ride away on the extraordinary Tokyo Subway system.
Tonight, the final night of our tour, we’ll enjoy a special farewell dinner and drinks together.
Overnight: Strings Intercontinental Hotel, Shinagawa (B, D)
What's included
-
15 nights in comfortable, centrally located accommodation
-
Breakfast daily, eight lunches, and seven dinners
-
Drinks included with welcome and farewell dinners
-
Chartered luxury coach transport throughout the tour
-
Separate luggage transport on many sections of the tour
-
Comprehensive sightseeing with expert local guides
-
All excursions and entrance fees to attractions, as listed in the itinerary
-
NOTE: There is a local guide available to meet and assist you to transfer by public transport for those arriving on NH880 or QF25 on the 6th of November.
What's not included
-
Airport transfers at the start and end of the tour (if not on a Railway Adventures suggested Qantas or ANA flight)
-
Meals and services not mentioned in the itinerary
-
All other personal expenses such as drinks, phone calls, laundry services, camera fees where applicable
-
Excursions listed as optional and extra in the brochure
Some ways you’ll travel
The best train trips possible, private luxury coach for off-train travel, guided walking where suitable, and other appropriate and appealing options to make exploration easy
Sagano Forest Railway
JapanShinkansen
JapanSL Yamaguchi Steam Train
JapanSome places you’ll stay
Hand-picked hotels and resorts based on location, customer feedback, value and atmosphere. Please Note: Hotels of a similar standard may be substituted.
Hyatt Centric
Indigo Gora/Fujiya
Sheraton Hotel
Strings Intercontinental Hotel
Our track record
Hear from some of our adventurers that have already ridden the rails with us.
FAQs
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Tincidunt convallis magna eu ac eu cursus. In duis fusce risus nec eget habitant massa pharetra. Eros a gravida faucibus lorem.
Download the brochure: Japan by Rail - Highlights of Honshu for the Colours of Autumn
Ready to book your adventure in Japan by Rail – Highlights of Honshu for the Colours of Autumn
Reserve your place on this exciting exploration of Japan by Rail – Highlights of Honshu for the Colours of Autumn.