Grand Circle of Japan

Welcome to Tokyo. You have 3 nights to explore the city.

Take the Ginza line to Asakusa for Senso-ji temple and the market stalls of Nakamise-dori.

Walk the forested grounds of Meiji Shrine, then browse the crepe stands and fashion shops of Harajuku’s Takeshita Street.

Board Diamond Princess in Yokohama, Japan’s second-largest city. Your first night comes with a sailaway as the lights of Tokyo Bay fade behind you.

Visit Mikimoto Pearl Island, where ama divers demonstrate the pearl-harvesting tradition. Ise Jingu, Japan’s most sacred Shinto shrine, sits a short trip inland.

Taste Kobe beef in its home city or soak in the hot springs of Arima Onsen, a short ride into the hills. Osaka and Kyoto are both within day-trip reach.

Climb the keep of Kochi Castle, one of the few in Japan with an original wooden structure. Follow it with katsuo no tataki (seared bonito) at Hirome Market.

Walk Peace Memorial Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome, then take the ferry to Miyajima to see the Itsukushima Shrine torii gate standing in the water. Try Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, layered with noodles.

Sail through the narrow channel between Honshu and Kyushu and watch the Kanmon Bridge pass overhead.

Visit Seongsan Ilchulbong, a volcanic crater that rises straight out of the sea, or walk the Manjanggul lava tube. Haenyeo divers still harvest seafood by hand off the coast

Visit the Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum, then warm up with a bowl of champon, a noodle soup that began here.

Book a session in the Izumi Japanese Bath, the largest of its kind at sea.

Climb the white lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula for Pacific views. The hills inland grow Shizuoka green tea.

Head into Tokyo for the day or south to Kamakura and its Great Buddha. Staying local, Yokohama has the largest Chinatown in Japan.

Catch a film at Movies Under the Stars or book a treatment at the Lotus Spa.

Start at the morning market for seafood rice bowls, then ride the ropeway up Mt Hakodate. Goryokaku, the star-shaped fort, is a short tram ride away.

Taste sake at Ponshukan in Niigata Station, where tokens buy pours from local breweries. The paddies around the city grow some of Japan’s most prized rice.

Walk a lap of the wrap-around promenade deck and let the Sea of Japan do the rest.

Wander the pastel houses of Gamcheon Culture Village, then eat your way through Jagalchi Fish Market. Haedong Yonggungsa temple sits on the rocks above the sea

A second day gives you time for Glover Garden’s harbour views and a walk across Spectacles Bridge. Finish with castella, the sponge cake the Portuguese brought here.

Take the 15-minute ferry to Sakurajima, the active volcano that smokes across the bay. Sengan-en garden uses it as a backdrop and the local black pork makes a good lunch.

Walk Katsurahama Beach, home to a statue of local hero Sakamoto Ryoma, or visit Makino Botanical Garden.

On a clear day Mt Fuji (3,776 metres) rises beyond the pines of Miho no Matsubara. Ride the Nihondaira Ropeway up to Kunozan Toshogu shrine.

Disembark in Yokohama and take your group transfer to the airport.

With the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Edo was renamed Tokyo, the “Eastern Capital,” to distinguish it from the old imperial capital at Kyoto, the “Western Capital.”