Self-Launched Japan & Mt Fuji: Tokyo to Tokyo on the Shinkansen

Land at Narita or Haneda and make your own way in — the Keisei Skyliner to Nippori (~£18) or the JR Narita Express (~£22) takes about 75-90 minutes to central Tokyo; from Haneda it's a ¥500-ish Keikyu train (~£10 to Ikebukuro). Check into a hostel or budget business hotel near Ikebukuro or Asakusa. Spend the evening wandering, grabbing konbini dinner (7-Eleven onigiri, egg sando, ~£5) and sorting your Japan Rail Pass exchange voucher and a pocket wifi/SIM — both worth setting up tonight. No group welcome meeting, but a quick walk around the neighbourhood does the same job.

🚌Keisei Skyliner from Narita ~£18 or Keikyu from Haneda ~£10

🛏Hostel or budget business hotel, Ikebukuro/Asakusa (~£25-30)

• →Airport train transfer
• →Konbini dinner
• →Activate JR Pass voucher
• →Pick up SIM / pocket wifi

Use your JR Pass for the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kanazawa (about 2.5-3 hours, ~£65-70 per leg if bought separately — covered by the pass). Drop bags at a hostel in the Higashi Chaya area and spend the afternoon in Kanazawa's best-preserved geisha quarter: wooden teahouses, gold-leaf craft shops and free entry to the streets themselves. Optional paid teahouse or gold-leaf workshop if you fancy it (~£5-10). Dinner on the Omicho Market side of town.

🚌Hokuriku Shinkansen, ~2.5-3 hrs (JR Pass)

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Kanazawa (~£20-25)

• →Hokuriku Shinkansen Tokyo–Kanazawa
• →Higashi Chaya geisha district walk
• →Omicho Market food stroll

Walk or take the Kanazawa Loop Bus (~£1.50 per ride) to Kenroku-en, one of Japan's three great gardens — entry ~¥320 (~£1.70). Then walk 15 minutes into the Nagamachi samurai district: free to wander the earthen-walled lanes and canals, with the Nomura-ke samurai residence ~¥550 (~£3) if you want a peek inside. Afternoon options: the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (~£2.50-6.50) or the Myoryuji 'Ninja Temple' guided tour (~£5, book ahead). Back to the hostel for a supermarket dinner.

🚌Local loop bus or walking, ~£3

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Kanazawa (~£20-25)

• →Kenroku-en garden
• →Nagamachi samurai district walk
• →Optional 21st Century Museum
• →Optional Myoryuji Ninja Temple

Take the Shinkansen to Toyama then the Hida Limited Express up into the mountains to Takayama (roughly 2-2.5 hours total, all JR Pass). Takayama is a small, walkable town of dark-timber merchant houses along the Miyagawa river. Check into a budget minshuku or hostel with tatami rooms and futons — the self-launched stand-in for the tour's ryokan night. Evening stroll across the red Nakabashi bridge and a bowl of Hida beef ramen (£8-10).

🚌JR Shinkansen + Hida Limited Express, ~2-2.5 hrs (JR Pass)

🛏Minshuku or hostel with tatami rooms, Takayama (~£22-28)

• →Shinkansen to Toyama + Hida Limited Express
• →Sannomachi old town evening walk
• →Nakabashi bridge

Morning at Hida no Sato, the open-air folk village of relocated gassho-style farmhouses about 10 minutes by the Sarubobo Bus (~£1.50; entry ~£5.50) — quieter and cheaper than Shirakawa-go and every bit as photogenic. Afternoon back in the old town: the Sannomachi sake breweries sell tasting sets of three for ¥300-400 (~£2), plus craft shops and the morning-market stalls along the river. Optional bike hire (~£4-6) or the Takayama Jinya historical government house (~£2.50).

🚌Sarubobo Bus to Hida no Sato, ~£3

🛏Minshuku or hostel with tatami rooms, Takayama (~£22-28)

• →Hida no Sato folk village
• →Sake brewery tasting
• →Sannomachi craft shops
• →Optional bike hire

A long rail day, all on the JR Pass: Hida Limited Express to Nagoya, then Shinkansen on to Hiroshima (roughly 5.5-6 hours including changes — leave early). Check into a hostel near the Peace Park and go straight to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum (museum ~¥200, ~£1; park free). Give the museum two hours — it's heavy but essential. Evening: okonomiyaki at a counter in Okonomi-mura (£6-8) and a walk past the A-Bomb Dome lit up.

🚌JR Pass rail day, ~6 hrs; local tram ~£1

🛏Hostel near Peace Park, Hiroshima (~£20-25)

• →Hida Limited Express + Shinkansen to Hiroshima
• →Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
• →Peace Memorial Museum
• →Okonomi-mura dinner

JR train to Miyajimaguchi (~25 min, pass-covered) then the JR ferry across to Miyajima — the ferry is included in the JR Pass. The floating torii and Itsukushima Shrine are free to see from the shore (~£3 if you walk the shrine corridors). Deer roam the streets. Walk up to Daisho-in temple (free) and, if you want the view, hike or cable-car up Mt Misen (~£12-17 round trip cable car; the hike itself is free, 90 minutes up). Back to Hiroshima for a second night — oysters and a quiet izakaya.

🚌JR train + JR ferry, pass-covered; ~£2 local

🛏Hostel near Peace Park, Hiroshima (~£20-25)

• →JR ferry to Miyajima
• →Itsukushima Shrine and floating torii
• →Daisho-in temple
• →Optional Mt Misen hike or cable car

Shinkansen to Kyoto (~1.5 hours, JR Pass). Drop bags at a hostel near Kyoto Station and take the JR Nara Line two stops to Inari (~£1.50, pass-covered). Fushimi Inari is free and open 24 hours — walk at least as far as the Yotsutsuji intersection for the view over the city, and if you're up for it the full loop takes 2-3 hours. Evening in Pontocho alley along the Kamo river, or a cheap standing sushi counter.

🚌Shinkansen ~1.5 hrs (JR Pass) + JR Nara Line ~£1.50

🛏Hostel or guesthouse, Kyoto (~£22-28)

• →Shinkansen Hiroshima–Kyoto
• →Fushimi Inari torii gate walk
• →Pontocho alley evening stroll

Bus or subway to Nijo Castle (entry ~¥1,300, ~£7) — the shogun's 1603 residence with its famous 'nightingale floors'. Then the 101 bus up to Kinkaku-ji, the gold-leaf pavilion (entry ~¥500, ~£2.70). Both are short visits; use the middle of the day for a walk through Nishiki Market (free, snacks £3-6) and a look at the Gion district's wooden machiya lanes in the late afternoon — free to wander, and you'll often spot maiko heading to appointments around 5-6pm.

🚌City bus day pass ~£4.50

🛏Hostel or guesthouse, Kyoto (~£22-28)

• →Nijo Castle and gardens
• →Kinkaku-ji Golden Pavilion
• →Nishiki Market
• →Self-guided Gion walk

A full free day on foot, loosely following the tour's optional extras. Start at Ryoan-ji's rock garden (~£2.70), continue to the Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku-ji, ~£2.70), and walk the Philosopher's Path south to Nanzen-ji (free temple grounds, ~£2.70 for the Hojo garden). Optional: Daisen-in's Zen rock garden (~£2), or a bus out to Arashiyama for the bamboo grove and the free riverside. Finish with a ¥1,000-ish set meal or a bowl of Kyoto-style ramen (£7-9).

🚌City bus day pass ~£4.50

🛏Hostel or guesthouse, Kyoto (~£22-28)

• →Ryoan-ji rock garden
• →Ginkaku-ji Silver Pavilion
• →Philosopher's Path walk
• →Nanzen-ji temple
• →Optional Arashiyama bamboo grove

Shinkansen to Mishima (~2 hrs, JR Pass) then the Fujikyu bus up to Kawaguchiko (~£12). Check into a budget guesthouse or minshuku near the lake, then walk the north shore for the classic Fuji reflection shot — free. Do your own onsen visit at a local sento or the lakeside baths (~£5-8; cover tattoos). Tonight treat yourself to a kaiseki-style dinner at a ryokan or restaurant that opens its restaurant to non-guests — realistically £35-50 — and buy any last-minute mountain supplies (head torch, snacks, ¥100 coins for toilets) before an early night.

🚌Shinkansen (JR Pass) + Fujikyu bus ~£12

🛏Guesthouse or minshuku, Kawaguchiko (~£30-40)

• →Shinkansen to Mishima + Fujikyu bus
• →Lake Kawaguchiko shore walk
• →Local onsen visit
• →Kaiseki dinner

Take the Fuji Subaru Line bus from Kawaguchiko Station to the 5th Station (~£10-12, ~1 hour). Acclimatise for an hour, then start up the Yoshida Trail in the early afternoon, aiming to reach the 8th Station hut by late afternoon — book a bunk in advance through the official Fuji climbing reservation site (roughly £45-60 with a simple dinner and breakfast, multi-share futons, no showers). Rest, eat, and sleep a few hours. Note the official season runs early July to early September and a ¥2,000 conservation fee applies. Pack layers, rain shell, gloves and a head torch; altitude sickness is the real risk here, so go slow.

🚌Fuji Subaru Line bus ~£10-12

🛏Mountain hut bunk, 8th Station (~£45-60, multi-share, meals included)

• →Fuji Subaru Line bus to 5th Station
• →Yoshida Trail ascent
• →8th Station mountain hut overnight

Up around 2am for the final push to the crater rim in time for sunrise (roughly 4:30-5:00am in season). It's cold, the trail is packed, and the reward is watching the shadow of Fuji fall across the clouds. Descend the same Yoshida Trail back to the 5th Station by mid-morning, bus back to Kawaguchiko, then Fujikyu bus to Otsuki or Mishima and the JR Pass Shinkansen into Tokyo — check into a cheap hostel in Asakusa or Shinjuku. If you have energy, Asakusa's Senso-ji and Meiji Shrine are both free; otherwise, bath, food, sleep.

🚌Fuji bus ~£12 + Fujikyu bus ~£12 + Shinkansen on JR Pass

🛏Hostel, Tokyo (~£25-30)

• →Sunrise summit of Mt Fuji
• →Descend to 5th Station
• →Bus back to Kawaguchiko
• →Rail back to Tokyo

A free morning for whatever you missed: Senso-ji and Nakamise street in Asakusa, the Meiji Shrine forest walk (free), a sushi-train lunch or a bowl of ramen, and a last squeeze of shopping in Ueno. Then take the Skyliner or Narita Express back to the airport (~£18-22). If your JR Pass is still valid, the Narita Express leg is covered — time your pass activation accordingly.

🚌Keisei Skyliner ~£18 or JR Narita Express (pass-covered)

🛏None (departure day)

• →Senso-ji and Nakamise street
• →Meiji Shrine
• →Sushi-train lunch
• →Airport transfer