Arrive in Tokyo and transfer from Narita Airport to your Shinjuku hotel. The city builds gradually on the way in, with railway lines, apartment blocks and elevated roads gathering into one of Tokyo’s busiest districts.

Once settled, step out towards Shinjuku and Kabukicho. Neon, giant screens, and crowded crossings fill the main streets, yet just a few turns away the scale changes completely, with narrow lanes, tiny restaurants, and quieter corners tucked behind the brightness.

Use your Tokyo subway access to move through the city’s changing moods. Start around Asakusa and Sensoji, then head toward Meiji Shrine, Shibuya, and the Imperial Gardens, with Odaiba adding a broader, more contemporary edge to the day. Tokyo rarely holds one atmosphere for long.

By evening, continue to teamLab Planets. Water, mirrors and shifting fields of light alter your sense of distance as you move through the installations, with moments of stillness appearing inside an experience built around movement. Step outside afterwards and the city resumes almost immediately.

Leave Tokyo early for Nikko, where forested roads and mountain air replace the capital's density. Visit Toshogu Shrine, its ornate gates and carved details sitting deep within tall cedar trees, before continuing higher into the surrounding landscape.

At Lake Chuzenji, the view opens wide beneath wooded slopes. Nearby, Kegon Waterfall breaks that calm as water plunges through the gorge, spray rising through the forest below. The mountains remain close even as the road begins its return towards Tokyo.

Check out of your Tokyo hotel and travel towards Hakone. The journey changes gradually from fast city rail to a slower mountain railway, with buildings thinning out as wooded slopes and smaller settlements begin to take over.

Continue to Gora and check in at your Hakone hotel. Your three-day Hakone Freepass begins here, giving you the freedom to move through the region over the next two days. Keep the first afternoon easy, allowing the city to fall behind before exploring the mountains in full tomorrow.

Use your Hakone Freepass to move through the mountains by local rail, cable car and ropeway. At Owakudani, volcanic steam rises through the rugged landscape, with exposed slopes and sulphurous air creating one of Hakone’s most dramatic settings.

Continue towards Lake Ashi and cross the water on the sightseeing cruise, with mountains gathering around the shoreline and Mt Fuji sometimes visible in clear weather. Later, visit Hakone Shrine, where the forest closes in again around the approach and torii before the path meets the water.

Check out of your Hakone hotel and take the Shinkansen to Kyoto. After Hakone's mountain routes, the faster journey west brings towns and countryside past the window in long stretches before you arrive in Japan’s old capital.

After checking in, spend the evening around Gion, Yasaka Shrine and Maruyama Park. Lanterns begin to glow beside traditional façades, shrine paths grow quieter as daylight fades, and narrow streets take on a softer light as evening approaches.

Begin in Arashiyama, walking beneath tall bamboo before continuing to Fushimi Inari, where rows of torii gates climb through the wooded hillside. The path narrows beneath them, with light and shade changing as you move higher.

Continue to Nara, where the surroundings open out again. Deer cross broad lawns, temple roofs appear beyond mature trees, and the paths spread naturally through the park. Return to Kyoto in the evening as the day settles into a quieter rhythm.

Check out of your Kyoto hotel and take the short Shinkansen journey to Osaka. After checking in, head towards Dotonbori, where giant signs, restaurant fronts and crowds gather beside the canal in one of the city’s most recognisable evening scenes.

Move beyond the main strip towards Hozenji Yokocho and the riverwalk, where narrower lanes and quieter corners sit only moments from the neon. Osaka changes scale quickly, from spectacle to side street and back again, without ever losing its energy.

Use your Osaka Amazing Pass to explore more of the city. Begin around Osaka Castle before rising above the skyline at Umeda Sky Building, moving from broad parkland and historic architecture to one of Osaka’s most expansive urban views.

Later, take to the water on a cruise and watch the city loosen around the river. Bridges pass overhead, towers recede, and the streets briefly fall out of sight before you return to the centre.

Spend the day at Universal Studios Japan, where rides, cinematic worlds and elaborate themed areas take over completely. Move between the attractions that interest you most and allow the day to be playful rather than carefully measured.

Stay into the evening if you wish, when lights deepen and music carries across the park. The atmosphere becomes more theatrical after dark, with each themed world taking on a different character as the day winds down.