Japan: Kyoto, Tokyo & the Michinoku Coastal Trail (Self-Launched)

Land at Kansai (KIX) and take the Haruka express train straight into Kyoto Station (~75 min, ~£22, covered by a JR Pass if activated early). Check into a hostel or budget guesthouse in the Gion/Shijo or Kyoto Station area. Register your IC card (Suica/Pasmo/ICOCA) at the airport or station machine — you'll tap this for subways, buses and convenience stores all trip. Evening: wander the lantern-lit lanes of Pontocho Alley along the Kamo River and eat standing yakitori or a bowl of ramen (~£8). Sort your Shinkansen seat reservations and luggage forwarding (takkyubin) tonight if you're sending a bag ahead.

🚌Haruka express KIX–Kyoto ~£22; walkable city centre with IC card

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Kyoto (~£22/night dorm or ~£45 twin share)

• →Pontocho Alley evening stroll
• →IC card setup and Shinkansen seat reservations

Do the version of the operator's guided village hike yourself: take the Eizan railway from Demachiyanagi to Kurama (~30 min, ~£3) and walk the Kurama–Kibune trail over the mountain ridge (~1.5–2 hrs, free), passing the red-faced Tengu statue at Kurama-dera and woodland shrines. Extend with the village paths around Kibune or the Takagamine/Kitayama lanes north of Kinkakuji if you want a longer day. Lunch at a soba shop in Kibune (~£8). Afternoon: Gion walking circuit — Hanamikoji, Shirakawa canal and Yasaka Shrine — self-guided, or join a ~£20 GetYourGuide/Klook small-group Gion walk if you want the geisha-district storytelling. Book a luggage forwarding service to Tazawako tonight (~£15) so you travel light on the Shinkansen.

🚌Eizan railway ~£3 return; Kyoto bus/subway ~£4 with IC card

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Kyoto

• →Kurama–Kibune mountain trail (free)
• →Kurama-dera and Kibune village
• →Gion and Yasaka Shrine self-guided walk
• →Optional guided Gion walk ~£20

Ride the rails north like the operator's Rail Collection does: Shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo, then the Akita Shinkansen (Komachi) to Tazawako (~6.5–7 hrs total with changes, ~£135 one-way; a 7-day JR Pass ~£210 pays for itself on this trip). From Tazawako Station take the local bus to Lake Tazawa (~15 min, ~£3). Check into a lakeside minshuku or guesthouse. Afternoon: walk or rent a bike around part of Japan's deepest lake (~£6 rental) and see the golden Tatsuko statue on the shore. Dinner at the guesthouse or a local izakaya (~£12).

🚌Shinkansen Kyoto–Tazawako ~£135 (JR Pass); local bus ~£3

🛏Lakeside minshuku/guesthouse, Tazawako (~£38/night twin share)

• →Lake Tazawa shoreline walk
• →Bike rental around the lake ~£6
• →Tatsuko statue

Self-arrange the two signature experiences of the operator's day. Morning: kayak on Lake Tazawa (~£25 for a 2-hour rental/lesson from the lakeside operators near the hotel strip) or cycle the full loop if the weather turns. Midday: bus or train to Kakunodate (~40 min) and walk the preserved samurai district, Bukeyashiki Street, with its thatched and wooden merchant houses (free to stroll, ~£3–5 for a couple of house entries). Call ahead or use the tourist information desk at Kakunodate Station to book a family-run sake brewery tour (typically ~£10–15 with tasting) — Akita's breweries are small and tours are by arrangement. Return to the lake for dinner.

🚌Local train/bus Tazawako–Kakunodate ~£4 each way

🛏Lakeside minshuku/guesthouse, Tazawako

• →Lake Tazawa kayaking ~£25
• →Kakunodate samurai district walk
• →Family sake brewery tour and tasting ~£12

Take the local bus from Tazawako Station up to Nyuto Onsen (~30 min, ~£4). This is the one place to spend a little more: book a night in a traditional ryokan such as Tsurunoyu, Ganiba or Taenoyu (~£110–150 per person half-board in a shared room — book weeks or months ahead, they're small). Afternoon is for bathing: the milky-white sulphur springs here are among Japan's most famous. Rotate through the ryokan's indoor and outdoor baths, or buy a 'nyuto meguri' pass (~£10) to hop between three or four onsen. Kaiseki-style dinner is included with the room rate. Note tattoo policies and carry a small towel.

🚌Local bus Tazawako–Nyuto Onsen ~£4

🛏Traditional ryokan, Nyuto Onsen (half-board ~£130)

• →Onsen bathing
• →Onsen-hopping pass ~£10
• →Ryokan kaiseki dinner (included)

Bus back down to Tazawako Station and take the local train down the coast via Morioka to Kuji or Ninohe (~2.5–3 hrs, ~£25), then a local bus or taxi to Fudai (~£8–15). Fudai is the village whose mayor built a 15.5m seawall that saved it in 2011 — walk the wall, visit the small local museum and shrine, and eat at a village eatery or the roadside station. The shrine hike and kagura performance the operator includes is arranged through the local community association; ask at the Fudai tourist information point or contact the Michinoku Coastal Trail support desk in advance — these are occasional/dependent on local availability. Overnight in a small guesthouse or business hotel in Kuji or Fudai.

🚌Local train ~£25; local bus/taxi ~£12

🛏Guesthouse or business hotel, Kuji/Fudai area (~£40 twin share)

• →Fudai seawall walk
• →Fudai village shrine and local museum
• →Local food tasting at roadside station
• →Optional community-arranged Unotori shrine hike and kagura performance (check ahead)

Walk a section of the 1,000km Michinoku Coastal Trail. The most accessible scenic stretches are around Kitayamazaki and the Fudai–Tanohata coast: take the Sanriku Railway to Tanohata or a local bus, then follow the marked trail signs (~10–15km, 4–6 hrs, free to walk; download the official MCT section maps or use the trail app before you go). Views of blue ocean, sea caves and cliffs the whole way. Local guided hikes and the Sappa fishing boat trips can be arranged through the Tanohata or Miyako tourism associations and the MCT support centres (~£25–40 for a boat trip) — book a day or two ahead. Dinner of Sanriku seafood in Miyako or Kuji (~£15).

🚌Sanriku Railway/local bus ~£8; taxi transfer to trailhead ~£8

🛏Guesthouse or business hotel, Miyako/Kuji (~£40 twin share)

• →Michinoku Coastal Trail section hike (free)
• →Optional Sappa boat tour ~£30
• →Optional local trekking guide

Morning: local bus from Miyako Station to Jodogahama (~15 min, ~£2). The white rock formations rising straight from turquoise water are a six-minute walk from the bus stop — swim, walk the beach and the Michinoku Coastal Trail boardwalk above it (free). Grab lunch near the beach, then take the Sanriku Railway to Morioka and the Shinkansen down to Tokyo (~4.5 hrs total, ~£110). Check into a hostel in Asakusa or a budget hotel in Taito/Sumida (~£25 dorm, ~£50 twin). Evening: first look at Sensoji's illuminated pagoda and dinner at a standing sushi or ramen counter (~£10).

🚌Local bus ~£2; Sanriku Railway + Shinkansen to Tokyo ~£110

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, Tokyo (~£25 dorm / £50 twin share)

• →Jodogahama Beach swim and walk
• →Sensoji temple at night

Self-guided two-part city day. Morning in Asakusa: Nakamise shopping street, Sensoji, the Sumida River promenade and the free observation decks (Asakusa Tourist Information Centre 8F). Afternoon modern Tokyo: subway to Harajuku for Meiji Jingu shrine and Takeshita Street, then walk to Shibuya Crossing and the Shibuya Sky or Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building free observatory for sunset. A 24-hour Tokyo subway pass is ~£5. If you'd rather have a guide, a half-day Tokyo highlights walk on GetYourGuide or Klook runs ~£35–50.

🚌24-hour subway pass ~£5

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, Tokyo

• →Asakusa and Sensoji self-guided walk
• →Meiji Jingu shrine
• →Takeshita Street and Shibuya Crossing
• →Free observation decks

Pick your day. Option A — Mt Fuji: catch the JR Chuo Line to Otsuki then the Fujikyu Railway to Kawaguchiko (~2.5 hrs, ~£22 each way) or the direct highway bus from Shinjuku (~2 hrs, ~£13 each way, book on Klook/highway bus sites). Walk the lake shore, ride the ropeway (~£6) and rent a bike (~£8). Option B — food: book a ~£45–60 small-group Tokyo food tour (Klook/GetYourGuide, Ebisu or Shinjuku izakaya crawls) or DIY a market and yokocho crawl — Tsukiji Outer Market breakfast, then Shinjuku's Omoide Yokocho and Golden Gai in the evening (~£35 of eating). Return to Tokyo for your last night and a farewell dinner at a conveyor sushi bar or tonkatsu shop (~£15).

🚌Highway bus to Kawaguchiko ~£26 return, or subway day ~£5

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, Tokyo

• →Kawaguchiko lake walk and Fuji views, or
• →Tokyo food tour ~£50 or DIY food crawl
• →Farewell dinner

Check out and head to Narita (~£15 on the Keisei Skyliner or ~£8 on the Keisei main line) or Haneda (~£5 on the Keikyu line). If you have a late flight, squeeze in a last morning at Ueno Park, the Yanaka old-town lanes or the free Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum before you go.

🚌Airport train ~£5–15

🛏-

• →Optional Ueno Park or Yanaka morning walk