Gastronomic Adventure

Day 1-3

Tokyo

As the city with more Michelin stars than anywhere else in the world, Tokyo is the perfect place to kick off your gastronomic adventure. It has everything — literally — but you’ll start with an evening at an izakaya (Japanese pub-cum-tapas-bar), where one of our insiders will teach you the ins and outs of this Japanese institution. After that, it’s up to you! In between sampling conveyor-belt sushi and sizzling teppanyaki, be sure to make time for some of the sights. You could start in the traditional heart of Asakusa, head to the top of the Skytree for a bird’s-eye view of the city, and end the day in the 200 tiny bars of Shinjuku’s Golden Gai. Tokyo is your oyster, so to speak.

Highlights

Get to grips with izakaya culture on a fun night out with fellow InsideJapan customers and one of our expert Insiders

Enjoy a full day’s tour of the city with a private guide, who’ll tailor your itinerary to your interests

Have us include a ramen-hopping tour of Tokyo with a local noodle connoisseur (not included in the basic trip price)

Day 4

Matsumoto

After Tokyo’s non-stop hustle, the alpine city of Matsumoto feels like a sleepy backwater by comparison. Don’t be fooled. This nondescript façade hides some cultural heft and surprising (or perhaps alarming) delicacies, including horse sashimi and stonefly larvae. (Don’t worry — we won’t make you try them if you don’t want to). Join a soba noodle-making class, where you’ll get to mix your own buckwheat dough, stretch it out with a rolling pin as long as your arm, chop it, cook it, and wolf down the results. Alternatively, we could include a visit to the Daio Wasabi Farm, where this Matsumoto speciality is grown, harvested and made into ice cream, sausages, beer, chocolate and more.

Highlights

Visit Matsumoto’s Black Crow castle, one of only a handful of original feudal castles left in Japan

Learn to make (and eat) your own soba noodles, a local speciality

Try some of Japan’s more unusual delicacies, including raw horsemeat and stonefly larvae (or don’t, if you prefer)

Day 5-6

Hida Furukawa

The lesser-known cousin of Takayama, just 15 minutes away by train, Hida Furukawa is an absolute foodie gem. Like Takayama and the other villages in the Hida mountains, for hundreds of years, Hida Furukawa was completely cut off by snow during the winter months and so it developed its own culinary specialities. Staying at a traditional townhouse in the heart of the old town is your chance to try some of these delicacies as part of an evening food tour. Then you'll have a full day to head over to Takayama to explore one of Japan's biggest and best-preserved old town centres, where sake breweries and craft workshops jostle for space and green-sided mountains tower in the distance.

Highlights

Join a local guide for an evening food tour of Hida Furukawa's best izakaya - and why not upgrade to a kaiseki dinner prepared by your own private chef in your townhouse? (not included in standard trip price)

Eat succulent Hida beef, AKA the Kobe beef you’ve never heard of

Take an optional tasting tour of one of Takayama’s many sake breweries to see how this delicious rice wine is made

Walking through the traditional streets of Takayama

Day 7-8

Kanazawa

Kanazawa is one of our favourite cities in Japan, and that’s not just because the food is impeccable (though, let us assure you, it is). It’s because it’s home to one of Japan’s most exquisite gardens, one of its best contemporary art museums, some fantastic nightlife, and a historical district overflowing with teahouses, samurai houses and craft workshops — all within easy walking distance. What more could you ask for? Food-wise, it’s all about seafood: snow crab, deep sea prawns, yellowtail and all manner of of sushi. For the very best, head to Omicho Market and get in line for a kaisendon: rice topped with super-fresh seafood. Sometimes the simplest dishes just can’t be beat.

Lady eating Japanese food with chopsticks

Highlights

Get to know one of Japan’s loveliest cities, known for its beautiful historical district

Eat some of the best seafood around at Omicho Market

Try your hand at making fresh Kaga cuisine in a vegan-friendly private cooking class

Day 9-11

Kyoto

When it comes to food, it should be no surprise that Japan’s capital of history and culture is all about tradition. As the seat of the Imperial court for over a millennium, Kyoto was the birthplace of elaborate, aristocratic kaiseki — but it’s also the home of Buddhist shojin ryori cuisine and simple, hearty obanzai home cooking. Tofu, eel and matcha are all Kyoto specialities, but we recommend having us make a reservation at Endo Yasaka, one of the city’s most celebrated tempura restaurants. Lightly battered and served piping hot with dipping sauce, salt and grated radish, this is one of our favourite foodie experiences in Japan.

Highlights

Discover the temples, shrines, palaces and gardens of Japan’s former capital with the help of an expert local guide

Visit Nishiki Market and soak up 400+ years of food heritage as you browse sweets, pickles, dried seafood and spices

Take a day trip to Nara ot Uju, home of green tea

Day 12

Mount Koya

It’s a long old way to Mount Koya — but trust us, the journey by countryside train and funicular railway is an adventure in itself. A stark contrast to the other destinations on this trip, this mountaintop temple community is one of the quietest and most atmospheric places in Japan. Here, you’ll be staying the traditional way — in a shukubo temple lodging — where you’ll dine on shojin ryori: a style of Buddhist cuisine made without any animal products. Though born out of asceticism, shojin ryori demonstrates that the simplest food can yield great depth and subtlety of flavour, and we can guarantee you won’t be hungry after a delicious, multi-course spread.

Highlights

Wander the seemingly endless Okunion cemetery, where over 200,000 grave markers sprawl deep into an ancient forest

Rise early to attend morning prayers, a deeply atmospheric ceremony of chanting, gong-ringing and incense smoke

Eat shojin ryori: the traditional vegetarian cuisine of Buddhist monks

Trays of vegetarian Japanese food at Koya temple

Day 13-15

Osaka

Tokyo may have the most Michelin stars, but for most Japanese there’s no competition: Osaka is food heaven. Its culinary epicentre lies along the Dotonbori canal, where endless food stalls, snack bars and izakaya pubs throng with people beneath glaring neon signs. This is Japan on steroids, but you’ll have our resident Osaka guide to help you navigate it, steering you to the best takoyaki (octopus balls), kushikatsu (skewered veg and meat in breadcrumbs) and (if you’re brave) the notorious fugu pufferfish. When you’re not eating, Osaka is endless fun — whether you spend the day at Universal Studios, or steep yourself in feudal history at Osaka Castle.