Family Tour of Japan

(8 Days - Departs Daily on a Private Basis)
Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto

One of our favorite family destinations, Japan is safe, family-friendly and endlessly fascinating for children and adults alike. This private family tour of Japan is the perfect combination of traditional Japanese culture and contemporary Japanese pop style that’s sure to appeal to every family member. A key feature is flexible touring with a private guide and driver, essential to navigating the wonderfully complex world of Japanese culture, not to mention the backstreets of Tokyo and Kyoto.

It features private cultural touring with your own guide and driver, accommodation in Japan’s best luxury hotels and an exclusive ryokan (traditional inn), private airport transfers, first-class travel by shinkansen (bullet train), luggage transfers, and access to a wide range of unique activities that engage you in real Japanese culture.

Begin in Tokyo, the capital of contemporary culture in Japan. During touring with your private guide and driver, visit Harajuku and Shibuya, neighborhoods synonymous with cutting-edge Japanese youth culture, to see funky shops, outrageous architecture and the latest street fashions. Explore Japanese pop culture through activities such as visiting electronic gadget shops, strolling trendy teen shopping streets, spending time at theme parks or video arcades, or touring the otaku (geek) paradise of Akihabara. Also, see Meiji Shrine, the Imperial Palace and other important historical sites. Tour some of the city’s best museums, such as the Edo-Tokyo Museum and the Tokyo National Museum. Sample local culinary specialties at Tsukiji Fish Market and department store food halls. Upon request, Artisans of Leisure can arrange additional touring according to your interests, such as watching sumo wrestlers practice at a sumo stable, meeting with culinary and sake experts, taking private martial arts lessons, seeing a Japanese baseball game, and visiting favorite family attractions such as Tokyo Disneyland, Odaiba entertainment district, or the Ghibli Museum, which is devoted to the work of Japan's most renowned anime director.

Continue to Hakone, a volcanic national park renowned for hot springs and views of nearby Mount Fuji. Stay at one of Japan’s most luxurious and renowned ryokan (traditional inns), where you can soak in your own private outdoor hot spring bath and enjoy a gourmet kaiseki (seasonal tasting menu) dinner. During private touring, explore Hakone’s geothermal areas, take a cable car ride through the forested mountains, cruise on Lake Ashi, and perhaps visit an outdoor art museum or Japanese theme park.

Next, travel by first-class shinkansen (bullet train) to enchanting Kyoto, Japan’s heart of culture and tradition. During touring with your private guide and driver, experience the best of this elegant city. Enjoy a family-friendly private tea ceremony. Stroll through a bamboo forest. Enjoy a Buddhist vegetarian lunch at a local temple. Visit important temples, shrines and gardens. Tour traditional geisha districts such as Gion. Visit markets and sample Kyoto’s culinary specialties, considered the most refined in Japan. Upon request, Artisans of Leisure can also arrange a wide range of other unique activities in Kyoto, such as private martial arts lessons, an exclusive private dinner accompanied by geisha and maiko, watching artisans at work, private manga and anime drawing lessons, dressing up in a kimono, learning origami or to cook Japanese food at a family’s private home, calligraphy lessons, privately-guided hiking in the hills surrounding the city, or a visit to Toei Movie Land.

One day, opt to continue touring in Kyoto or take a private excursion to Hiroshima to see the Peace Park Memorial and the nearby island of Miyajima, famous for the iconic Floating Torii; visit Himeji Castle, the most impressive medieval fortress in Japan and a UNESCO World Heritage Site; or visit Nara, with its famous roaming deer.

The tour concludes with one night in Tokyo.

This tour can be fully customized to your family’s interests.