Ancient & Modern Japan (Self-Launched)

Land at Kansai (KIX) or arrive by shinkansen from Tokyo, then take the Haruka express or limousine bus into Kyoto (KIX–Kyoto Haruka ~£20 with an ICOCA card). Check into a hostel or budget hotel near Kyoto Station or in the Gion-Shijo area. Spend the late afternoon wandering Higashiyama — Kiyomizu-dera's terrace and the lantern-lit Sannenzaka lanes — then eat your first bowl of ramen or okonomiyaki near Pontocho Alley. Pick up a Suica/ICOCA card at the station for all city transport.

🚌Haruka express or limousine bus from Kansai Airport (~£20); local buses/subway by IC card

🛏Hostel dorm or budget business hotel near Kyoto Station (~£22-30/night)

• →Kiyomizu-dera and Higashiyama lanes walk
• →Pontocho Alley dinner
• →Buy Suica/ICOCA transport card

Loop the northwest temples by city bus (¥230 flat fare each hop, or a £5 day pass). Start early at Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion, £3), then Ryoan-ji's famous rock garden (£3) and Nijo Castle's nightingale floors and shogun palace (£8). Cook or self-cater lunch at Nishiki Market stalls (~£6). Afternoon free for a walk along the Kamo River or a cheap public onsen. Book tomorrow's Fushimi Inari trip into your own schedule — go at sunrise to beat the crowds.

🚌Kyoto city bus day pass (~£5)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget business hotel (~£22-30/night)

• →Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)
• →Ryoan-ji rock garden
• →Nijo Castle
• →Nishiki Market food stalls

Take the JR Nara Line (~45 min, ~£4 each way) to Nara. Walk from the station to Nara Koen Park and its free-roaming deer, then the colossal bronze Buddha in Todai-ji (£4) and the stone-lantern path to Kasuga Taisha shrine (free grounds). Budget lunch from a konbini (~£4). Return to Kyoto mid-afternoon and ride the JR Nara Line one stop further to Inari for Fushimi Inari Taisha — hike the torii tunnels free, and stay for dusk when the gates glow. Evening in Gion for a geisha-district stroll.

🚌JR Nara Line return (~£8) + local trains (~£3)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget business hotel (~£22-30/night)

• →Nara Koen deer park
• →Todai-ji Great Buddha
• →Kasuga Taisha shrine
• →Fushimi Inari torii walk
• →Gion evening stroll

Ride the shinkansen from Kyoto to Hiroshima (~1h40, ~£65-75 one way; a 7-day JR Pass can be worth it if you add more rail days — otherwise buy singles). Drop bags at a hostel near Hiroshima Station, then take the Sanyo line to Miyajimaguchi (~£3) and the JR ferry to Miyajima (~£2). Walk to Itsukushima Shrine's floating torii at low tide, then loop the shrine (£2) and consider the ropeway up Mount Misen (£10) for views over the Inland Sea. Beware the deer and the roaming monkeys. Back to Hiroshima for okonomiyaki at a counter grill (~£7).

🚌Shinkansen Kyoto–Hiroshima (~£70), local train + ferry (~£5)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel in Hiroshima (~£20-28/night)

• →Shinkansen ride
• →Itsukushima Shrine and floating torii
• →Mount Misen ropeway (optional)
• →Hiroshima okonomiyaki dinner

Give the morning to the Peace Memorial Park and Museum (£2 donation/entry) — the A-Bomb Dome and the museum's testimonies are the heart of the trip. Self-cater lunch, then take the shinkansen west to Shin-Kobe or Kobe (~1h20, ~£45), where you can sample Kobe beef on a budget at a lunch set in Sannomiya Chinatown or a teppan counter (~£20-35) — far cheaper at lunch than dinner. Evening walk through the Kitano foreign-residence quarter and down to Meriken Park and the harbour lights.

🚌Shinkansen Hiroshima–Kobe (~£45), Kobe subway (~£3)

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Kobe (~£20-28/night)

• →Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum
• →A-Bomb Dome
• →Kobe beef lunch (optional)
• →Kitano and harbour evening walk

Take the shinkansen/limited express north via Tsuruga along the shore of Lake Biwa to Kanazawa (~3h, ~£45). Check into a guesthouse near Kanazawa Station. Afternoon at Kenrokuen Garden (£2), one of Japan's three great gardens, plus neighbouring Kanazawa Castle park (free). Wander into the 21st Century Museum area and grab a cheap sushi or seafood donburi dinner at Omicho Market's edge (~£8).

🚌Thunderbird/Shinkansen Kobe–Kanazawa (~£45)

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in Kanazawa (~£20-28/night)

• →Kenrokuen Garden
• →Kanazawa Castle park
• →Kanazawa Station architecture

A full day on foot and by loop bus (£5 day pass). Morning in the Nagamachi samurai district and the Nomura-ke samurai house and garden (£4). Eat lunch at Omicho Market — grilled scallops and kaisen bowls (~£7). Afternoon in the Higashi Chaya geisha district, with a gold-leaf workshop or a ¥1,000-ish tea break in a preserved teahouse. Optional: D.T. Suzuki Museum or the Ohi pottery museum. Evening: cheap izakaya near Katamachi (~£10).

🚌Kanazawa loop bus day pass (~£5)

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in Kanazawa (~£20-28/night)

• →Nomura-ke samurai house and garden
• →Nagamachi samurai district
• →Omicho Market
• →Higashi Chaya geisha district
• →Gold-leaf workshop (optional)

Take a highway bus from Kanazawa to Shirakawa-go (~1h15, ~£10) — book online in advance. Store bags in a coin locker and spend 2-3 hours walking the UNESCO gassho-zukuri farmhouses, including a peek inside the Wada House (£3). Then continue by Nohi bus to Takayama (~50 min, ~£8). In Takayama visit the Hida no Sato open-air folk museum (£5) with its relocated thatched houses, and finish with a walk through the old Sanmachi merchant streets after dark.

🚌Highway bus Kanazawa–Shirakawa-go–Takayama (~£18 total)

🛏Hostel or family-run guesthouse in Takayama (~£22-30/night)

• →Shirakawa-go gassho-zukuri village walk
• →Wada House interior
• →Hida no Sato open-air museum
• →Sanmachi Suji old town

Get to the Miyagawa Morning Market by 7:30am for pickles, sarubobo dolls and mountain vegetables. Then browse the Sanmachi merchant houses, including the Takayama-jinya old government house (£3). Book a short tea ceremony yourself (walk-in sessions from ~£12-18), and in the afternoon visit a sake brewery for a tasting flight (~£8) — several are within the old town. Alternatively hike the Higashiyama Walkway's temple trail (free). Dinner on Hida beef skewers from street stalls (~£8).

🚌On foot; optional local bus

🛏Hostel or family-run guesthouse in Takayama (~£22-30/night)

• →Miyagawa Morning Market
• →Takayama-jinya
• →Tea ceremony (self-booked)
• →Sake brewery tasting
• →Higashiyama Walkway temples

Take the bus and limited-express train route via Toyama or the cheaper highway bus/shinkansen combo north then south (~4h, ~£40) — or arrange luggage forwarding at the hostel to skip hauling bags. In Matsumoto, climb the original 16th-century 'crow castle' (Matsumoto Castle, £5, timed entry). Spend the rest of the day in the Nakamachi kura-storehouse district, the Yohashira shrine and the city's small craft shops. Evening: stroll back to see the castle floodlit and eat sanzoku-yaki in a local izakaya (~£10).

🚌Train/bus Takayama–Matsumoto (~£40); optional luggage forwarding (~£12)

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Matsumoto (~£22-30/night)

• →Matsumoto Castle
• →Nakamachi kura district
• →Evening castle light-up

Ride the Matsumoto-dentetsu and JR line to Otsuki, then the Fujikyu line to Kawaguchiko (~2h45, ~£20) — sit on the left for Fuji views as you climb. Check into a hostel or lakeside guesthouse. Walk Oishi Park's lavender and lakeshore path (free) with Fuji across the water, then the small Itchiku Kubota Art Museum (£9) for its kimono dyeing masterpieces. Consider a cheap public onsen (£5) before an early night — you need a clear dawn for the mountain.

🚌Local trains Matsumoto–Otsuki–Kawaguchiko (~£20)

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in Kawaguchiko (~£28/night)

• →Oishi Park and Lake Kawaguchi walk
• →Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
• →Public onsen

Get up early for sunrise over the lake — the clearest Fuji views are first thing. Walk or cycle the north shore and see the Chureito Pagoda (free, ~30 min by train plus steps) if you want the classic five-storey pagoda and Fuji composition. Late morning, take the Fujikyu highway bus from Kawaguchiko Station to Shinjuku (~2h, ~£12; reserve online). Check into a hostel in Asakusa or Ueno, then ride the Metro (1-day pass £5) to Senso-ji in Asakusa, walk Nakamise shopping street and wander Ameyokocho market under the Ueno railway arches. Cheap yakitori or standing sushi for dinner (~£8).

🚌Highway bus Kawaguchiko–Shinjuku (~£12); Tokyo Metro 1-day pass (~£5)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel in Asakusa/Ueno (~£25-35/night)

• →Sunrise over Lake Kawaguchi
• →Chureito Pagoda (optional)
• →Senso-ji Temple
• →Nakamise shopping street
• →Ameyokocho market

Use a 24-hour Metro pass to hit the city's contrasts: Meiji Shrine's forested approach (free), then Omotesando's architecture, Shibuya's crossing and Shinjuku's towers. Lunch at a ¥1,000 ramen or tendon chain (~£6). Late afternoon in Ginza's department store food halls or the free Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatory for sunset. Finish with a small-group izakaya dinner (~£15) and a karaoke room for an hour or two (~£5-10 split between friends).

🚌Tokyo Metro 24h pass (~£5)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel in Asakusa/Ueno (~£25-35/night)

• →Meiji Shrine
• →Omotesando
• →Shibuya Crossing
• →Shinjuku
• →Ginza food halls
• →Karaoke

A free morning — Ueno Park's museums, the Tsukiji Outer Market for breakfast sushi (~£8) or a last walk along the Sumida River. Take the Keisei Skyliner or Narita Express (~£15-25) or the airport limousine bus (~£12) to Narita, or the monorail (~£3) to Haneda. Buy your airport ticket the night before and top up your IC card — and leave room in the bag for a final konbini snack run.

🚌Airport train or bus (~£3-25 depending on airport)

🛏None (departure day)

• →Ueno Park
• →Tsukiji Outer Market breakfast
• →Sumida River walk