“Worth it if you want cultural depth and expert guidance without solo travel logistics. Think twice if you're budget-conscious or travelling with your own clique.”
- About £235/day across 12 days
- ~£3,211 all-in with a typical £387 flight from London (£268/day)
- At its lowest in the 90 days we've tracked it (£2,824)
- We only rate a price against this trip's own history once we've tracked it for 21 days — no guessing before that.
- Cheaper per day than 3 of 4 similar trips we compared
- 4.7★ from 122 traveller reviews
Price movement, fill and the all-in cost come from our own daily tracking— not the operator’s feed. You book on TourRadar; the live price always applies there.
About this trip
Twelve days across central and western Japan, starting in Tokyo and ending in Kyoto, moving between well-known cities and quieter ones by train and on foot.
You'll ride the Hakone ropeway, stay with a local family in Hagi, and walk through Kyoto's Gion district with a local leader, alongside stops in Takayama, Hiroshima and Miyajima.
This is a trip built around getting around independently on public transport and covering a lot of ground in a short time, with a real taste of traditional Japanese life through homestay and minshuku stays.
What you'll do
- Ride the scenic ropeway in Hakone
- Stay with a local family in Hagi
- See the floating torii gate on Miyajima Island
- Explore Takayama's Hida Folk Village
- Visit the Peace Park in Hiroshima
- Walk the historic Gion District in Kyoto with your local leader
- Fast-paced and on-foot — you'll need to be fit enough for full days walking and handling your own luggage through busy train stations
- Some nights are spent in minshuku or homestays, sleeping on futons on tatami floors with shared bathroom facilities
- Double rooms in Japanese hotels tend to be small, and a twin may be substituted during busy periods
Day by day
Exactly what you do each day, where you sleep, and how it flows — written by us, from the real itinerary.
What's included
- Guide: All group trips are accompanied by one of our group leader or local representative. The aim of the group leader or local representative is to take the hassle out of your travels and to help you have the best trip possible. Intrepid endeavours to provide the services of an experienced group leader or local representative however, due to the seasonality of travel, rare situations may arise where your group leader or local representative is new to a particular region or training other group leader or local representative. Your group leader or local representative will provide information on the places you are travelling through, offer suggestions for things to do and see, recommend great local eating venues and introduce you to our local friends. While not being guides in the traditional sense, you can expect them to have a broad general knowledge of the places visited on the trip, including historical, cultural, religious, and social aspects. At Intrepid we aim to support local guides who have specialised knowledge of the regions we visit. If you are interested in delving deeper into the local culture at a specific site or location then your group leader or local representative can recommend a local guide service in most of the main destinations of your trip. , Due to Japan's popularity it has been necessary to go outside our traditional sources for employing tour leaders. As a result, our passionate, professional and trained tour leaders may either be Japanese or long term foreign residents in Japan.
- Meals: 4 breakfasts, 2 dinners
- Activities: Hakone - Cable car/Ropeway Hakone - Lake Ashinoko boat cruise Takayama - Hida Folk Village Takayama - Incense making in Zenkoji Temple Takayama - Morning Market visit Hiroshima - Peace Park & A - Bomb Dome Hiroshima - Peace Museum Hiroshima - Miyajima Island Hagi - Former Kubota Family Residence visit and Samurai district walking tour Hagi - Homestay and home-cooking experience Hagi - Countryside cycling tour Hagi - Homestay local experiences Hagi - Female sake brewer visit Kyoto - Gion District walk Kyoto - Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) Kyoto - Fushimi Inari-Taisha
- Transport: Boat, Public Bus, Cable Car, Ferry, Metro, High Speed Train, Train
- Accommodation: RYOKANS : & MINSHUKUS: Japanese-style accommodation - ryokans or minshukus (traditional inn/guesthouse) involve sleeping on futons or matresses on tatami mat floors, with bedding often packed away during the day. Attached bathrooms/toilets will usually be very small and many will only have shared bathing facilities with certain hours, or times available for booking at reception. Your leader will explain etiquette involved in using the shared facilities. As this style of accommodation will often not have furniture (ie. chairs or beds) in the rooms, please consider choosing a different trip style in Japan if you have difficulty getting up from the floor or have knee, hip or back issues. Some establishments may have a curfew when travellers need to be back in the accommodation - this is usually around midnight. Please also be aware that you would normally be required to change to slippers when entering into your room in such properties. Extra fees will be charged if dirty marks are left on their beddings or towels that require professional cleaning. Some of such properties will only give 1 key for each room so you can leave the key at the reception so that you and your roommate won't have to conform to the same schedule when you are out exploring. , AVAILABILITY: The recent huge increase in tourism to Japan has put a lot of pressure on accommodation. On occasion, we may need to change accommodation from what is listed in the itinerary in order to operate your departure with minimal changes. , ONSENS: We like to encourage travellers to visit traditional Japanese 'onsens' while in the country as it is a quintessential local experience. In public onsens this means bathing naked with others of the same gender. While the experience can feel strange at first for some, most of our groups end up enjoying this activity. There is very specific etiquette for visiting onsens - your leader can give you some tips and instructions. Please be aware that travellers with tattoos may not be permitted to enter public onsens. Private onsens may also be available - talk to your leader for more information. See our guide to onsens here: https://www.intrepidtravel.com/adventures/japan-onsen-guide/ Hotel (7 nights), Japanese Inn ( 2 nights), Home Stay (2 nights)
- Activities: Other activities and services not included.
- Flights: International flights not included.
- Optional: Tokyo - Hama Rikyu Garden - JPY300 Tokyo - Sumida Hokusai Museum - JPY400 Tokyo - Tokyo National Museum - JPY1000 Tokyo - Ueno Park - Free Nikko - Bus to Chuzenji Lake (return) - JPY2500 Nikko - Imperial Villa - JPY600 Hakone - Open-Air Museum - JPY1600 Hakone - Checkpoint Museum - JPY500 Hakone - Onsen (public hot spring bath) - JPY1500 Takayama - Festival Float Museum - JPY1000 Takayama - Kusakabe Traditional House - JPY1000 Takayama - Bike hire (per day) - JPY1000 Takayama - Showa Museum - JPY1000 Takayama - Takayama Jinya Building - JPY440 Miyajima - Itsukushima-jinja Shrine - JPY300 Kyoto - Bike hire (per day) from - JPY1000 Kyoto - Sanjusangendo Temple - JPY600 Kyoto - Obanzai cooking class - JPY7150 Kyoto - Kiyomizu-dera - JPY400 Kyoto - Tea Ceremony with Maiko/Geisha - JPY13000 Kyoto - Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) - JPY500
- Insurance: Insurance is not included. Travel insurance is required for this tour. Please make sure you are adequately covered. If you require travel insurance, TourRadar has partnered up with Cover Genius to provide a hassle-free experience. More information can be found here (https://www.tourradar.com/travel-insurance).
How travellers rate it
Cheapest live departure per day, in £, recorded by our tracker since 18 Jul. Never a brochure “was” price.
Your free day in Tokyo
Landing early, staying on, or filling free time? The best-rated day experiences in Tokyo — you book on Viator (we may earn a commission).
Worth it if you want cultural depth and expert guidance without solo travel logistics. Think twice if you're budget-conscious or travelling with your own clique.
- Guide Eric/Alain consistently went beyond: helped with luggage, ensured safe returns, taught genuine cultural insights you'd miss independently.
- Access to smaller cities like Takayama, Nikko, Hakone that solo travellers typically skip; guided tour unlocks places and knowledge you wouldn't find alone.
- Accommodation quality didn't justify the price; New Year holidays closed key attractions and felt expensive for off-season timing.
- Solo travellers benefit most; pre-formed groups of families can feel cliquey, making spontaneous friendships harder unless you find other solo travellers.
Distilled from real traveller reviews on TourRadar — we don't edit out the bad bits.
The same-vibe trips, side by side — price, value per day, and how each is moving. Only we can lay two operators' trips out honestly.
Sorted by fit — never by who paid. Price moves and availability come from our own daily tracking.
Departing in Sep is cheapest — from £2,825, about 52% below the priciest month (Oct).
Getting there
One-way so you can book your return whenever. Prices & booking shown on Trip.com.
Hotels in Tokyo
View more accommodationLive prices via Booking.com & partners, booked on their site — separate from your tour. We may earn a commission; it never changes your price.
On a budget?
Hostels in Tokyo for the night before your tour · 2 Sept – 3 Sept
Booked on Hostelworld, separate from your tour. We may earn a commission — it never changes your price.
Common questions
How long is Japan: Land of the Rising Sun?
It's a 12-day trip. It starts in Tokyo and finishes in Kyoto.
How much does Japan: Land of the Rising Sun cost?
The land price starts from £2,824 per person for the 12-day trip. You book on TourRadar, where the live price always applies.
What will Japan: Land of the Rising Sun really cost me all-in?
On top of the £2,824 land price, budget roughly £387 for a return flight from the UK — about £3,211 all-in before spending money. Most day-to-day meals out and optional activities are extra.
What's included in the price?
The price covers all your accommodation, 6 meals (4 breakfasts, 2 dinners), transport during the trip, a group leader/guide. Anything the operator lists as optional or not included — see the full breakdown on this page.
What's not included?
international flights and travel insurance (required) are not included, so factor them into your budget. We show typical flight costs and can point you to insurance on this page.
How big is the group?
Groups are capped at around 12 travellers — a small-group trip, mostly solo 18–35s travelling to meet people, not a coach tour.
When does Japan: Land of the Rising Sun run?
It runs across roughly 24 months of the year, so there's usually a departure to fit your dates. Check live availability and prices in the dates section above.
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