Tokyo, Hakone and Kyoto

Eleven nights by private car and first-class bullet train, with Kyoto opened early. Kiyomizu-dera with one of its priests before the public arrives, Nijo-jo Castle with a historian, a master potter's studio and the private salon of a Nishijin weaving house founded in 1688, with Tokyo and an imperial ryokan in Hakone on either side.

Length: 11 nights
Pace: Four stays
Style: Culture, rail, food
Route: Tokyo to Hakone to Kyoto

TokyoThree nights
HakoneTwo nights
KyotoFour nights
TokyoTwo nights

A white corner tower of the Imperial Palace on a stone wall above a wide moat, under grey cloud.

Days 1 to 4 · three nights

Tokyo

Met at the airport and driven into the city. An early start at Toyosu, where the tuna auction runs from about 5:30 a.m.; the lower viewing deck takes 100 people a day by advance lottery, and the upper windows need no booking. A full day and a half day with a private guide through the old districts and shrines, and, if you wish, the hotel's privately guided fashion tour of Ginza, Daikanyama or Omotesando, from Wako to the kimono houses.

Where you stay

Palace Hotel Tokyo

Palace Hotel Tokyo stands at Marunouchi 1-1-1, on the moat opposite the Imperial Palace gardens. Its 284 rooms are planned around space, more than half of them with a balcony, and there are 10 restaurants and bars and the evian SPA.

A red torii gate standing in still lake water, with a stone jetty and wooded hills behind.

Days 4 to 6 · two nights

Hakone

South by private car, stopping in Kamakura on the way. At Gora Kadan, the open-air bath can be reserved privately at no charge, and dinner is kaiseki in the former summer villa of an imperial prince, or one evening at Sushi Kadan instead. A full day around Hakone with a boat across Lake Ashi.

Where you stay

Gora Kadan

Gora Kadan occupies the former summer villa of Prince Kan'in Kotohito, an imperial retreat in the Gora district of Hakone until 1948. Hot spring water flows from a natural source, rooms range from Japanese-style rooms to separate villas, and dinner is kaiseki.

A wooden temple hall on a hillside above a mass of red autumn maples, with the city beyond.

Days 6 to 10 · four nights

Kyoto

First-class bullet train to Kyoto. Kiyomizu-dera from 6:30 a.m. with one of its priests, one group a day, through the Western Gate, the Treasure Hall and the inner sanctuary of the Main Hall, all usually closed to visitors. Nijo-jo Castle with a historian, entering 15 minutes before it opens, then a tea ceremony and a vegetarian temple lunch. A last full day for Nara, Himeji or the Miho Museum, or an afternoon at TOKINOHA, a Kiyomizu ware studio where a piece can be commissioned from the master potter.

Where you stay

HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO

HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO looks over Nijo Castle, on the site of the Kyoto home the Mitsui family kept for more than 250 years. Its 160 rooms use natural materials and the work of artisans, and the thermal spring spa draws water from a source on the property.

Days 10 to 12 · two nights

Tokyo

Back to Tokyo by first-class bullet train for a final half day with the guide, filling in whatever the first visit left out. A last evening across the moat from the Imperial Palace gardens, time for the evian SPA, then a private transfer to the airport.

Where you stay

Palace Hotel Tokyo

The last two nights are back at Palace Hotel Tokyo, across the moat from the Imperial Palace gardens. Choose a room with a private balcony or floor-to-ceiling views, and leave time for the evian SPA before the flight home.

Arranged on request

Kiyomizu-dera before the public

From 6:30 a.m., one group a day walks the temple with one of its priests, through the Western Gate, the Treasure Hall and the inner sanctuary of the Main Hall, all usually closed, ending in conversation at Jojuin.

Nijo-jo Castle with a historian

Entry 15 minutes before opening, one group of up to eight, to the Ninomaru-goten Palace courtyard, the Nagaya-mon gate, the kitchen and the front garden; the afternoon tour adds the palace's Fourth Room.

A commission at TOKINOHA

Three hours at a Kiyomizu ware studio, to see the workshop and commission a piece from the master potter, or to learn kintsugi, repairing a bowl with gold and lacquer.

The HOSOO salon

Kimono dressing at the salon of HOSOO, Nishijin weavers since 1688, which is not open to the public, then the gallery and private shopping at the flagship.

The tuna auction at Toyosu

The auction runs from about 5:30 a.m.; 100 places a day on the lower viewing deck go by advance lottery, opened in the month before the visit.

Subject to availability.

Ways to make it yours

A guided tour of the Katsura Imperial Villa, booked in advance through the Imperial Household Agency, for a garden it calls the most beautiful in Japan.
On set nights in late autumn, an after-hours visit to Toji with a resident monk, the foliage lit and Insho Domoto's sliding-door paintings on view.
Two of the Kyoto nights in a traditional ryokan, Tawaraya or Hiiragiya.

This is a sample. The hotels, the pace and the order are where we start, not where we finish: every journey is designed around the people taking it.

Made around you

Most travel is bought. This is designed.

Before anything is booked, we talk: who is travelling, how you like to spend a morning, and the hotel preferences below the obvious, from the kind of bath you like to the time you wake and how much daylight you need in a room. You see options where options matter and clean recommendations where they don't.

The same person remains your point of contact from the first reply to the trip after next. No handovers. No team.