Shining Korea & Essential Japan — Self-Launched

Land at Incheon (ICN) or Gimpo (GMP) and take the AREX airport express train (~£5, 45 min to Hongdae; ~£6 to Seoul Station) or the all-stop subway for less. Check into a guesthouse or hostel in Hongdae (younger, nightlife, cheap eats) or Myeongdong (central, walkable to palaces). Spend the afternoon acclimatising: pick up a T-money transit card at a convenience store (~£2 card + top up), get a Korean eSIM, and wander the Hongdae street-food lanes or the Myeongdong snack stalls for dinner. Book your DMZ tour for Day 2 tonight — several operators run joint-security-area and Imjingak itineraries through GetYourGuide or Klook for roughly £35–55.

🚌AREX airport express train ICN→Hongdae ~£5; T-money card ~£2

🛏Guesthouse/hostel dorm in Hongdae or Myeongdong (~£15–20pp)

• →AREX airport train into Seoul
• →T-money card and eSIM setup
• →Hongdae or Myeongdong street-food evening

Join a small-group or coach DMZ tour (self-booked via GetYourGuide/Klook, ~£40–50 including transport and entry). Typical stops mirror the original itinerary: Imjingak Pavilion and the Freedom Bridge, the Mangbaedan Altar and National Memorial for separated families, the view over the DMZ from an observatory (Aegibong or Dora), and a walk through the Third Tunnel or Dorasan area depending on the operator. Most tours leave around 7–8am from central Seoul and return early afternoon. Lunch is usually a simple Korean set meal near the DMZ (~£8). Back in Seoul, ride the metro to City Hall to see the Deoksugung Palace exterior and the changing of the guard if timed right, then eat dinner in Myeongdong (~£10).

🚌Included in DMZ tour; metro day fares ~£4

🛏Guesthouse/hostel dorm in Hongdae or Myeongdong (~£15–20pp)

• →Guided DMZ tour incl. Imjingak, Freedom Bridge and observatory
• →Deoksugung Palace exterior and City Hall area
• →Myeongdong evening walk

Start early at Gyeongbokgung Palace (entry ~£2.50, free if you wear a hanok — rentals from ~£12 for two hours) and catch the royal guard-changing ceremony if scheduled. Walk 15 minutes to Bukchon Hanok Village for the tiled-roof lanes, then continue to Changdeokgung Palace (~£2.50; the Secret Garden tour is a small extra and worth booking ahead). Lunch on buckwheat noodles or gimbap in Insadong (~£7). Take the metro to the War Memorial of Korea (free entry) for a sobering and very well-curated two hours. If you want a city view, ride up Lotte World Tower's Seoul Sky observation deck (~£20, optional) around sunset, then eat Korean BBQ in Gangnam (~£15) — or skip the tower and stay in Insadong for makgeolli.

🚌Metro day fares ~£4–5

🛏Guesthouse/hostel dorm in Hongdae or Myeongdong (~£15–20pp)

• →Gyeongbokgung Palace and guard change
• →Bukchon Hanok Village
• →Changdeokgung Palace (optional Secret Garden tour)
• →War Memorial of Korea
• →Optional Lotte World Tower observation deck

Take the metro or a 30-minute KTX/ITX train south to Suwon (~£3–6). Walk the UNESCO-listed Hwaseong Fortress walls (free to walk; ~£2 for the palace Hwaseong Haenggung), which takes 2–3 hours at an easy pace, and try a Suwon wanggalbi lunch (~£10). In the afternoon take the train from Suwon to Jeonju via Iksan or Daejeon (~£15–20, 2–2.5 hrs). Check into a guesthouse inside or beside Jeonju Hanok Village, then spend the evening walking the hanok lanes and eating bibimbap — Jeonju is the dish's spiritual home (~£8).

🚌Metro/train Seoul→Suwon ~£3–6; Suwon→Jeonju train ~£15–20

🛏Hanok guesthouse in Jeonju Hanok Village (~£20–25pp)

• →Hwaseong Fortress wall walk
• →Hwaseong Haenggung palace
• →Jeonju Hanok Village evening and bibimbap dinner

This is the original's packed touring day — doable on public transport but start early. Bus from Jeonju to Sunchang (~1 hr, ~£4) for a gochujang-making workshop at the Sunchang Gochujang Village (book direct or via a local experience platform, ~£15–25). Continue by bus to Damyang (~1 hr) for the Juknokwon bamboo forest (~£2) — and the bamboo-tube rice lunch if you can find it near the entrance (~£9). Bus on to Haeinsa (~1.5 hrs) to see the Tripitaka Koreana temple complex (~£3), then bus down to Daegu or straight on to Busan (~2.5–3 hrs, ~£12). It's a long day; if you'd rather slow down, drop Haeinsa and go Sunchang→Damyang→Busan. Check into a guesthouse near Busan Station or in Haeundae.

🚌Local intercity buses (~£20 total for the day)

🛏Guesthouse/hostel near Busan Station or Haeundae (~£15–20pp)

• →Gochujang-making workshop in Sunchang
• →Juknokwon Bamboo Forest, Damyang
• →Haeinsa Buddhist Temple

Take bus 181 or a taxi (~£8) out to Haedong Yonggung Temple, the seaside cliff temple (~free entry, small parking/entry fee ~£1). Come back for the UN Memorial Cemetery (free). In the afternoon explore Gamcheon Culture Village (free; the original skipped it but it's the best thing in Busan), then Nampo's Jagalchi fish market for a late lunch (~£10). Walk up Yongdusan Park for the tower views, and finish at Songdo Beach for the marine cable car (~£12 return) or a sunset stroll. Seafood dinner in Nampo or Haeundae (~£12).

🚌City buses and metro ~£5; taxi to Yonggung ~£8

🛏Guesthouse/hostel near Busan Station or Haeundae (~£15–20pp)

• →Haedong Yonggung Temple
• →UN Memorial Cemetery
• →Gamcheon Culture Village
• →Jagalchi fish market and Yongdusan Park
• →Songdo marine cable car

Cheap direct flights Busan (PUS) to Tokyo Narita or Haneda run with Jeju Air, Air Busan and Peach from roughly £45–75 one-way booked a few weeks out. Fly out mid-morning, land early afternoon, and take the Keikyu Line or Limousine Bus into the city (~£8–12). Base yourself in Asakusa or Ueno for cheaper guesthouses and easy transport, or Shinjuku for nightlife. Collect a Suica/Pasmo card or add it to your phone, and pick up an eSIM. Evening: wander Asakusa's Sumida riverside and grab ramen or a standing sushi bar dinner (~£9).

🚌Flight PUS→TYO ~£45–75; airport train ~£8–12

🛏Hostel/guesthouse in Asakusa, Ueno or Shinjuku (~£25–32pp)

• →Flight to Tokyo
• →Asakusa riverside evening
• →Suica card and eSIM setup

Do the original's Tokyo highlights as a self-guided loop. Start at Zojoji Temple with Tokyo Tower behind it, then take the JR Yamanote Line to Harajuku for Meiji Shrine (free) and Omotesando. Head to Asakusa for Sensoji Temple and the Nakamise shopping street (free), then cross town to the Tokyo Skytree Tembo Deck (~£16 booked online; cheaper on weekdays). Finish in Akihabara for electronics and arcades, then Ginza or Shinjuku for dinner (~£12) — Shinjuku's Omoide Yokocho yakitori alleys are the budget move, and the Metropolitan Government Building observatory is free at night. Consider swapping one temple for TeamLab Planets (~£20) if you want more modern Tokyo, as reviewers of the original tour suggested.

🚌JR/metro day pass or Suica ~£7

🛏Hostel/guesthouse in Asakusa, Ueno or Shinjuku (~£25–32pp)

• →Zojoji Temple and Tokyo Tower views
• →Meiji Shrine and Harajuku
• →Sensoji Temple and Nakamise Street
• →Tokyo Skytree Tembo Deck
• →Akihabara, Ginza and Shinjuku evening

Take the Fuji Excursion limited express from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko (~£18, 2 hrs) or the cheaper highway bus from Shinjuku/Busta Shinjuku (~£10, 2 hrs). Drop bags at your guesthouse or a coin locker, then visit Arakurayama Sengen Park for the classic five-storey pagoda-and-Fuji view (free) and Fuji Sengen Shrine. In the afternoon ride the Kawaguchiko sightseeing bus to the lakeshore, take a pleasure boat (~£7) or the Kachi Kachi ropeway (~£6), and if the road is open take the Fuji Subaru Line bus to the Fifth Station (~£9 return). Stay the night in a cheap ryokan or guesthouse with an onsen (many have dorm-style or simple tatami rooms ~£30–40pp) and eat a set dinner there or at a local udon shop (~£10).

🚌Shinjuku→Kawaguchiko train ~£18 or bus ~£10; local buses ~£6

🛏Guesthouse or simple ryokan with onsen, Kawaguchiko (~£30–40pp)

• →Arakurayama Sengen Park pagoda view
• →Fuji Sengen Shrine
• →Lake Kawaguchiko boat or ropeway
• →Optional Mount Fuji Fifth Station bus

Take the local bus along the lake to Iyashi no Sato Nenba, the thatched-roof open-air craft village (~£3 entry, ~£3 bus). Continue by bus or taxi to Shiraito Falls (~£2) for a short walk to the wide curtain waterfall. Then it's a travel day: bus or train down to Mishima/Shizuoka and a shinkansen to Nagoya (~£35–45 total), stop for the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology (~£3) if you're interested in cars, then continue by shinkansen to Kyoto (~£25, 35 min) or the cheaper JR Special Rapid (~£5, 2 hrs). Check into a guesthouse in Kyoto Station or Gion/Kawaramachi area and eat at Nishiki Market-adjacent izakaya (~£10).

🚌Local buses ~£6; shinkansen/local trains to Kyoto ~£40–70

🛏Guesthouse/hostel in Kyoto (~£20–28pp)

• →Iyashi no Sato Nenba thatched village
• →Shiraito Falls
• →Optional Toyota Museum, Nagoya
• →Evening in central Kyoto

Get up early — Kyoto rewards it. Bus or train to Arashiyama for the Togetsukyo Bridge and the bamboo grove before 8am, then Tenryuji Temple and its garden (~£4). Head south by train to Fushimi Inari Shrine (free, open 24 hrs) and walk at least to the Yotsutsuji viewpoint (~45 min up). Lunch near Kyoto Station (~£8). In the afternoon bus to Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion (~£3), then the Imperial Palace gardens (free, no booking needed for the gardens). Finish with a stroll through Gion at dusk (~free) and dinner in Pontocho alley (~£13). A one-day bus pass (~£4) covers most of this, though the trains are faster between Arashiyama and Fushimi.

🚌City bus/train day ~£6

🛏Guesthouse/hostel in Kyoto (~£20–28pp)

• →Arashiyama bamboo grove and Togetsukyo Bridge
• →Tenryuji Temple
• →Fushimi Inari Shrine hike
• →Kinkakuji Golden Pavilion
• →Gion and Pontocho evening

Take the Kintetsu or JR train from Kyoto to Nara (~£5, 45 min). Walk from the station to Todaiji Temple and its Great Buddha (~£4), feeding the deer in Nara Park on the way (deer crackers ~£1). Carry on to Kasuga Taisha or, if you want the original's Horyuji stop, take a bus/train to Horyuji (~£3, the world's oldest surviving wooden temple complex) before heading back. Lunch on kakinoha-zushi or a Nara set meal (~£8). In the afternoon take the Kintetsu line to Osaka Namba (~£5, 40 min), check in near Namba or Honmachi, and spend the evening eating your way through Dotonbori — takoyaki, kushikatsu and okonomiyaki (~£13).

🚌Kyoto→Nara ~£5; Nara→Osaka ~£5; local buses ~£3

🛏Hostel/budget hotel in Namba or Honmachi, Osaka (~£20–28pp)

• →Todaiji Temple and Nara Park deer
• →Optional Horyuji Temple
• →Dotonbori street-food evening

A free morning for Osaka Castle park (free to walk; ~£3 for the keep) or a last Kuromon Market breakfast (~£7). Head to Kansai Airport (KIX) via the Nankai Rapi:t or airport express from Namba (~£8, 45 min) or the cheaper JR Haruka from Tennoji. If you're flying back to Seoul, Jeju Air and Peach have the cheapest short-hop fares (~£40–60).

🚌Nankai airport express Namba→KIX ~£8

🛏—

• →Osaka Castle park or Kuromon Market
• →Airport transfer to KIX