A visit to Japan is always one of dynamic contrasts. This is a country that never stays still, that is always inventing and reinventing, but at the same time, has its feet firmly rooted in a fascinating and beautiful ancient culture. You can see examples of this everywhere you go in Japan, from the tiny stone shrine situated beside the gigantic electronics store, or when you order time-honoured traditional food from an iPad and it gets delivered to you on a tiny conveyor belt.
To understand more of what Japan is all about, it is important to get right amongst it, to travel on the rail network in Tokyo, to hear the individual songs of each rail station. To cross the road at Shibuya with a thousand other people, to stand in awe in Kyoto as geishas shyly scuttle past. We have designed this trip exactly for that. While there are touchpoints and day tours to help you settle in and find your feet, we want you to travel under your own steam, to catch the Shinkansen (bullet train) by yourself. And hey, maybe you will get a little lost, but in Japan getting lost always unearths something worth seeing, and within minutes a friendly local will come to your aid, eager to practice their English and guide you to where you need to be.
This tour is split between the thriving, yin-yang of Tokyo, its buzzing electronics districts tempered by an unexpected amount of green spaces and soothing parks. Then, after a smooth, rocket-fast ride on the Shinkansen, you will arrive in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Kyoto, a truly breathtaking city, filled with architecture that is not only from another age, but feels like it is from another dimension.