Golden Route & Ancient Japan — Self-Launched

Fly into Osaka Kansai (KIX) rather than Itami if you're coming from Europe — it's the cheaper arrival point. From KIX take the Haruka express train direct to Kyoto Station (about 75 min, ~£18 with an ICOCA & Haruka package) or the limousine bus (~£11). Check into a hostel or budget guesthouse near Kyoto Station or in Gion/Gojo. Spend the evening wandering your neighbourhood and eating at a local izakaya — order a handful of small plates the way the tour's welcome dinner does, for a fraction of the price.

🚌Haruka express train KIX–Kyoto ~£18 (or limousine bus ~£11)

🛏Budget hostel or guesthouse near Kyoto Station (~£18-25/night dorm or private single)

• →Arrive Osaka Kansai airport
• →Haruka express train to Kyoto
• →Evening izakaya dinner in central Kyoto

Start early at Arashiyama Bamboo Grove (free, best before 8am) and walk 5 minutes to Tenryuji Temple, whose UNESCO garden is one of Kyoto's finest (~£4 entry). Cross the Togetsukyo bridge, then take the JR Sagano line back into town and bus to Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion (~£3). In the afternoon continue to Ryoanji or Nijo-jo Castle (~£8, with its famous nightingale floors and wall paintings) — the castle closes around 5pm so leave time. A one-day Kyoto bus pass (~£4) covers most of this.

🚌JR Sagano line + Kyoto city bus day pass ~£4

🛏Budget hostel or guesthouse in Kyoto

• →Arashiyama Bamboo Grove (free, early morning)
• →Tenryuji Temple and UNESCO garden ~£4
• →Kinkakuji Golden Pavilion ~£3
• →Nijo-jo Castle with nightingale floors ~£8

Book a morning zazen meditation session with a monk at a Kyoto temple (several temples and small centres offer 1-2 hour sessions for tourists, roughly £20-30; book via GetYourGuide or directly with the temple a few days ahead). Follow it with a matcha tea ceremony — Shofuso or En in Gion run short ceremonies from ~£25. Then spend the afternoon walking the stone lanes of Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka up to Kiyomizu-dera Temple (~£3), and loop through the Higashiyama historic district at golden hour. Dinner in Gion or Pontocho alley.

🚌City bus/walk ~£3

🛏Budget hostel or guesthouse in Kyoto

• →Zazen meditation session with a monk ~£25
• →Matcha tea ceremony in Gion ~£25
• →Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka lanes
• →Kiyomizu-dera Temple ~£3
• →Evening stroll in Pontocho alley

Beat the crowds to Fushimi Inari at 7am (free, 5 min on the JR Nara line). Continue south on the Kintetsu line to Nara (~£7, 45 min) and spend the day there: buy deer crackers and meet the sika deer in Nara Park, see the giant bronze Buddha at Todaiji (~£4), and wander the stone lanterns of Kasuga Taisha. Return to Kyoto in the evening. If you have energy, the Osaka day-trip alternative is a 30-minute train from Kyoto.

🚌JR Nara line + Kintetsu Kyoto–Nara return ~£14

🛏Budget hostel or guesthouse in Kyoto

• →Fushimi Inari vermilion gates (free, early)
• →Nara Park sika deer
• →Todaiji Temple Great Buddha ~£4
• →Kasuga Taisha stone lanterns ~£4

Morning calligraphy or ikebana workshop in central Kyoto — short introductory classes run from ~£20-30 and can be booked directly. Grab an ekiben (station bento, ~£6) at Kyoto Station and ride the Shinkansen to Nagoya (about 35 min, ~£28 unreserved — book on Klook or at the ticket office). Check into a capsule hotel or hostel near Nagoya Station (capsule hotels here are excellent value, ~£20). In the evening explore the Osu shopping and nightlife district and graze its street food — miso kushikatsu, tebasaki wings, anmitsu.

🚌Shinkansen Hikari/Kodama Kyoto–Nagoya ~£28

🛏Capsule hotel or hostel near Nagoya Station (~£20-28)

• →Japanese calligraphy or ikebana workshop ~£25
• →Shinkansen Kyoto–Nagoya
• →Ekiben at Kyoto Station
• →Osu district street food evening

A cultural day in Nagoya: the Tokugawa Art Museum and its stroll garden (~£8 combined), the Tokugawaen garden next door, and the reconstructed Samurai Prince's Palace within the grounds. Follow with the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology (~£3) if you have any interest in how Japan industrialised. Alternative for a lighter day: Nagashima Resort or the SCMaglev railway park. Eat Nagoya's signature hitsumabushi eel or miso nikomi udon for dinner.

🚌Subway day pass ~£5

🛏Capsule hotel or hostel in Nagoya

• →Tokugawa Art Museum and garden ~£8
• →Samurai Prince's Palace
• →Toyota Commemorative Museum ~£3
• →Local Nagoya food (hitsumabushi, miso nikomi udon)

Take the Shinano limited express from Nagoya to Nakatsugawa (~£18, about 50 min), then a local bus or taxi to Magome (~£4). Walk the historic Nakasendo trade route between Magome and Tsumago — 8 km, 2.5-3 hours of gentle uphill then downhill through cedar forest and old post towns, with free luggage forwarding between the towns if you ask at the tourist office. Stay in a budget minshuku or ryokan in Tsumago or Nagiso (expect ~£40-55 with breakfast) and soak in an onsen in the evening. If you want the full ryokan kaiseki experience, book a half-board plan (~£70-90).

🚌Shinano limited express ~£18 + local bus ~£4

🛏Minshuku or budget ryokan in Tsumago/Nagiso (~£40-55, breakfast included)

• →Shinano express Nagoya–Nakatsugawa
• →Nakasendo walk Magome to Tsumago (8 km)
• →Free luggage forwarding between post towns
• →Onsen soak at minshuku/ryokan

Visit the Fukushima Sekisho Museum (the Edo-era barrier checkpoint, ~£3), the Yamamura samurai residence nearby (~£3), and Kozenji Temple with its dry landscape garden (~£3). From Nagiso or Kiso-Fukushima, take the local JR line and then the Shinano express to Matsumoto (~£20 total, 2 hours). Check into a guesthouse or hostel near Matsumoto Station (~£25-35) and walk the lively Nakamachi street of old kura storehouses in the evening.

🚌Local JR line + Shinano express to Matsumoto ~£20

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in Matsumoto (~£25-35)

• →Fukushima Sekisho Museum ~£3
• →Yamamura samurai residence ~£3
• →Kozenji Temple and garden ~£3
• →Evening walk in Nakamachi kura district

Matsumoto Castle, one of Japan's few original-feel black-and-white keeps, opens at 8:30 — get there early (~£6). Then spend an hour at the Matsumoto City Museum of Art, which holds a permanent Yayoi Kusama gallery (she's a Matsumoto native; ~£4). Afternoon options: the Japan Ukiyo-e Museum out of town, or a walk along the Metoba river. Book your onward bus to Minobu this evening at the tourist office or via highway bus sites.

🚌Local walking/bus ~£3

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in Matsumoto

• →Matsumoto Castle ~£6
• →Yayoi Kusama collection at Matsumoto City Museum of Art ~£4
• →Afternoon riverside walk or Ukiyo-e Museum

Travel by local JR line to Kofu and then on to Minobu (~£14, roughly 2.5 hours), or a highway bus from Matsumoto to Kofu and train onward. From Minobu Station take the Minobu railway and ropeway up to Kuonji Temple, head temple of the Nichiren sect on Mount Minobu. Book a night at a temple lodge (shukubo) such as Kakurinbo — roughly £45-70 per person including the shojin ryori vegetarian dinner and morning prayers, often bookable directly or through Japanese Guest Houses. Spend the afternoon walking the temple grounds and the 287-step stone staircase through cedar forest.

🚌Local JR + Minobu railway ~£14

🛏Temple lodge (shukubo) at Kuonji Temple (~£45-70 with dinner and breakfast)

• →JR line and Minobu railway to Mount Minobu
• →Kuonji Temple and 287-step staircase
• →Shukubo temple lodge stay with shojin ryori dinner
• →Optional early morning Buddhist service (around 5am)

Attend the 5am morning service if you're up for it, then head down to Fuji Station or Shin-Fuji and travel to Kawaguchiko by local bus or train (~£12). Walk Oishi Park on the lakeshore for Fuji views, visit Iyashi no Sato open-air village (~£3), and hike the 400 steps up to Chureito Pagoda at Arakura Sengen Shrine for the classic Fuji-and-pagoda shot (~£0, free). Skip the tourist-info centre if time is tight. Continue to Tokyo by highway bus from Kawaguchiko (~£10, 2 hours) and check into a hostel in Asakusa or Shinjuku (~£22-30 dorm).

🚌Local bus/train to Kawaguchiko ~£12 + highway bus to Tokyo ~£10

🛏Hostel in Asakusa or Shinjuku (~£22-30 dorm)

• →Morning service at Kuonji Temple (optional)
• →Oishi Park Lake Kawaguchiko viewpoint
• →Iyashi no Sato open-air museum ~£3
• →Chureito Pagoda hike at Arakura Sengen Shrine
• →Highway bus to Tokyo

Start at Hamarikyu Garden for green tea at Nakajima-no-ochaya teahouse over the water (~£3 entry + ~£5 tea set). Then head to Asakusa: Senso-ji Temple, Kaminarimon Thunder Gate and Nakamise-dori shopping street are all free. In the late afternoon move to Shibuya for the Hachiko statue and the Scramble Crossing — the Shibuya Sky observation deck (~£15, book ahead) or the free Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building deck are both good sunset options.

🚌Tokyo Metro day pass ~£5

🛏Hostel in Asakusa or Shinjuku

• →Hamarikyu Garden with green tea ~£8
• →Senso-ji Temple and Thunder Gate
• →Nakamise-dori street food
• →Hachiko statue and Shibuya Scramble Crossing
• →Shubuya Sky or free city hall observation deck

Book teamLab Planets or teamLab Borderless online in advance (~£18-22, timed entry — sells out at weekends). Visit the free Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observation deck if you skipped it. In the afternoon wander the forested approach to Meiji Jingu Shrine, then explore Harajuku's Takeshita street and the design shops along Omotesando. Finish with dinner in Ebisu or a standing izakaya in Shinjuku's Omoide Yokocho.

🚌Tokyo Metro day pass ~£5

🛏Hostel in Asakusa or Shinjuku

• →teamLab digital museum ~£20 (pre-book)
• →Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building deck (free)
• →Meiji Jingu Shrine
• →Harajuku and Omotesando browsing
• →Omoide Yokocho izakaya evening

Take the Narita Express or Keisei Skyliner to Narita (~£15-18, 40-60 min) or the Keikyu line to Haneda (~£3). If your flight is late, leave bags at a coin locker or hostel and do a last morning coffee-and-market run in Yanaka or Tsukiji Outer Market before heading out.

🚌Airport train ~£15

🛏None (departure day)

• →Airport transfer by Narita Express or Keisei Skyliner
• →Optional last-minute Yanaka or Tsukiji stroll