A Cook’s Tour of Japan

Arrive in Tokyo. Upon arrival make your way through customs to meet our local representative. They will assist you in taking a private car to your accommodation.

The rest of the day is then free at your leisure. A private guide can also be arranged for those arriving earlier in the day in Tokyo and wishing to begin their tour.

Both days feature full-day tours of the city by car with a local food specialist guide and English-speaking guide.

Visit local foodie spots with your private guide who will show you their insider knowledge of the city. Lunch and dinner are both at the guide’s recommendations of authentic Tokyo cuisine.

You will visit Sensoji, also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple, known for its vibrant colours, and housing a 200-metre shopping arcade, Nakamise. Then visit Kappabashi, or Kitchen Town, which is said to hold over 170 shops devoted to selling culinary tools, pottery and kitchen gadgets. Then experience a Depachika, a food market located in the basement of a department store.

In the evening your guide will take you to the Ginza area to access local favourites. Ginza, a more upmarket area of Tokyo has the best of everything, whether it is fine dining or Japanese “street food”.

Day 3 will cover a tour of Tsukiji fish market with a Michelin-starred chef as well as a cooking lesson. After eating you’ll head to Meiji Shrine, shrouded by a dense forest, built in 1920 for the defied spirits of Emperor Meiji and his consort Empress Shoken. You can then head on to Shibuya to check the iconic “Hachiko crossing” off your list before moving on to Shinjuku to get the most epic (and intense) views of Tokyo nightlife. For your evening meal move away from less rowdiness and experience the more soulful and traditional Ebisu “Yokocho” area – a network of narrow alleyways crammed with quaint izekaya.

From Tokyo, you will travel via Shinkansen (bullet-train) Kagayaki 507 to Kanazawa Station with a specially packed Japanese Bento box to enjoy on your journey.

Spend the day sightseeing with your guide before retreating to your traditional Ryoken and enjoying Kaiseki dining and a private onsen in your room.

Before departing for Kyoto, join your guide with a tour around the Omicho market with a local chef. Omicho Market is Kanazawa’s largest fresh food market and is a busy and colourful network of covered streets lined with 200 shops and stalls. In the afternoon, your guide will assist you on your train to Kyoto.

Recommendations can be made for your evening meal in Kyoto, or you may choose to dine in the fabulous restaurants of your hotel.

Today involves a full-day tour of Kyoto by private car with an English-speaking food specialist guide. Visit Nishiki market, also known as Kyoto’s kitchen. This narrow market specializes in all things food-related and is a great place to find seasonal foods and Kyoto specialties, such as Japanese sweets, pickles, dried seafood and sushi.

Later, visit Kinkakuji, known the world over as the Golden Pavilion Temple. The nearby Ryoanji is next, with its famous Zen rock garden. After visiting the main cultural attractions you will then join a private tea ceremony in a local Buddhist temple. Finally, you will traverse Gion, full of traditional wooden houses and ochaya (teahouses) where your guide will ensure you access the non-tourist-filled local dining hot spots.

Today you will be joined by your food specialist guide who will accompany you by car to a local Japanese home, where you will have the chance to learn how to cook traditional dishes. Along with a main dish, miso soup, salad and other dishes are included in a cooking program. You will learn not only the taste and Japanese culinary customs, but as the class takes place in the teacher’s own home, you will be able to experience a slice of Japanese life.

The evening’s options include either a Michelin-starred restaurant or a private “Maiko” an apprentice Geisha, where you will enjoy a dinner like no other including all the traditional customs, cuisine and Geisha dancing.

Depart Kyoto by bullet train for Hiroshima.

Upon arrival in Hiroshima, you will meet a guide who specialises in food to take you around the city by car. The tour will include local food hot spots that only locals will know about, giving a real taste of Japanese cuisine. This includes cooking your own oysters at Hiroshima port (Nov-Feb) and/or sampling the local street-food of the region (Okonomiyaki).

After visiting the main attractions of Hiroshima you can then head on to Miyajima Island where you will be taken around Itsukushima Shrine on foot.

Your guide will take you to your Ryokan, with a stunning Japanese Garden overlooking the island. Here you will be served a meal of the finest local ingredients “Kaiseki” style.

Enjoy a relaxing morning taking advantage of the views and hot springs at the Sekitei. Check out of Sekitei after breakfast, your guide will meet you and accompany you to Hiroshima Station where you will take the bullet train Nozomi 22 to Okayama. An English-speaking guide will meet you at the platform of Okayama Station; there you will be taken in a private car via ferry to Naoshima, an island in the Seto Inland Sea that has become a world-class hub for modern art. There are several museums on the small island, the most well-known being Benesse House. Benesse was designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, and features a small hotel as one of its draws. Other museums include Art House Project, Ando Museum, Chichu Art Museum and Lee Ufan Museum.

You will depart Naoshimi by boat after spending the day with your private guide for more sightseeing. Arrive late afternoon in Kurashiki where you have the afternoon and evening at leisure to enjoy your Ryokan and a dinner of traditional Kaiseki cuisine.

A private car will carry you and your guide around Kurashiki, and onto Okayama city. After lunch, you will continue onto Himeji, before being taken to a recommended local ‘izekaya’ in Kobe that serves the local claim to fame – Kobe beef.

Your Ryokan, hidden behind Mount Rokko, has the longest history in Arima. Expanding in 2006, it embraces 4,650 square meters of mountains and a little less than 1,000 square meters of guest rooms. Arima Onsen is one of the oldest and most important spa towns in Japan: documented in historical books as one of the most ancient onsens in Japan, you can trace its roots as far back as 631 when Emperor Jomei took a bath in their hot spring.

An early start this morning, where you will accompany the chef of the Tocen Goshoboh to the nearby Akashiura fishing port auction (off limits to the general public). The rest of the day you will be accompanied by a food specialist guide to show you the area and the most authentic local dining options for lunch. In the evening return to your ryokan for your evening seafood banquet.

You will be transferred to Osaka by private car. Your day will be spent discovering local food spots with a private guide and exploring Osaka Castle, and Umeda Sky Building finishing, off with a Dotombori foodie tour. Arrive back to your hotel around 21.00 for your final night.

This morning, a private car with an English-speaking assistant will be waiting to collect you from your accommodation and take you to Kansai International Airport, ready for your departing flight back to the UK.