Japan Family Adventure: Tokyo, Fuji, Kyoto & Nara

Today the family explores Tokyo with a fun, family-friendly guide. You begin in old Asakusa, passing through the great Kaminarimon gate with its giant lantern and along the Nakamise street, lined with stalls of sweets and souvenirs, to the venerable Senso-ji temple, where children can draw a paper fortune. You find serenity at the Meiji Shrine in its forest, then plunge into the modern city at the famous Shibuya crossing, where everyone surges across at once. You might ride to a sky-high observation deck for views over the endless city, and browse fun shops for character toys. There are noodles, sushi and colourful treats along the way. As the day ends, the family savours a relaxed Tokyo evening. Rest well, ready for the digital wonders of teamLab tomorrow.

Today is packed with Tokyo fun for all ages. You spend time in the dazzling teamLab digital art museum, where rooms of light, water and projected flowers respond to your every movement and children can slide, climb and play right inside the glowing art, an unforgettable sensory wonderland. You explore the pop-culture playgrounds of Harajuku, with its crazy fashion and rainbow sweets, and Akihabara, piled high with games, anime and gadgets, and perhaps visit a giant arcade or a themed cafe. Depending on the family's interests, you might add an aquarium, a science museum or a character shop. Your guide keeps the pace fun and flexible. As the day ends, the family enjoys a lively dinner, perhaps at a fun conveyor-belt or themed restaurant. Rest well, with one more Tokyo day to come.

Today the family enjoys a flexible day in Tokyo, tailored to your interests. You might visit a famous theme park on the city's edge for a day of rides and characters, explore the futuristic island of Odaiba with its giant robot statue, science museum and beaches, or take in an aquarium or the fascinating world of sumo. Younger children might love a hands-on museum or park, while older ones dive deeper into gaming and anime districts. Alternatively, enjoy more of the city's shops, gardens and treats at an easy pace. Your guide or our team helps you make the most of the day. As this Tokyo chapter ends, the family gathers its impressions of the electric capital. This evening, savour a final Tokyo dinner. Rest well, for tomorrow you ride the bullet train to Mount Fuji and Hakone.

Today brings a highlight the children will never forget, their first ride on the shinkansen bullet train. You board from a spotless platform, settle into comfortable seats, and glide out of Tokyo at up to 320 km/h, watching Japan flash past the window. Reaching the Hakone region in the shadow of Mount Fuji, you cruise Lake Ashi aboard a colourful pirate-style boat, the great red torii gate of Hakone Shrine rising from the water and, weather permitting, Fuji's perfect cone beyond. You ride a cable car and ropeway high over the steaming volcanic valley of Owakudani, trying an egg boiled black in the hot springs. This evening the family stays in a traditional inn, trying on yukata robes, dining together, and, if you like, soaking in a soothing onsen. Rest well beneath the sacred mountain.

This morning, after a relaxed breakfast and perhaps a final onsen soak, the family boards the shinkansen once more, gliding west to the ancient city of Kyoto, the serene heart of old Japan. On arrival you are transferred to your hotel and set out to explore. You walk beneath the thousands of vermilion torii gates that snake up the hillside at Fushimi Inari, like a magical tunnel that thrills children and parents alike, and, if time allows, begin discovering Kyoto's temples. The family might dress up in colourful kimono or samurai gear for photos among the old streets. As the day ends, you settle into ancient Kyoto, with its wooden houses and lantern-lit lanes. This evening, savour a family dinner in the old capital. Rest well, ready for bamboo forests and more magic tomorrow.

Today the family explores more of magical Kyoto. You wander the towering, whispering bamboo forest of Arashiyama, where green stalks soar overhead, and perhaps meet the monkeys on the hillside above. You might learn the ways of the ninja or samurai at a fun interactive experience, visit the wooden terraces of Kiyomizu-dera with its sweeping city views, or try a hands-on craft or sweet-making. Alternatively, the family may choose an easy trip to nearby Nara today, feeding the famous bowing deer and marvelling at the giant Great Buddha. Your guide tailors the day to the children's ages and interests, keeping it fun and flexible. As the day ends, the family gathers its impressions of the ancient capital. This evening, savour a Kyoto dinner. Rest well, for tomorrow you meet the deer of Nara and head to lively Osaka.

Today brings one of the family's most delightful days. You travel to the ancient city of Nara, where more than a thousand tame deer roam freely through a beautiful park and famously bow their heads for a special cracker, to the children's endless joy. The family feeds and photographs the gentle deer, then marvels at the colossal bronze Great Buddha housed in the vast wooden Todai-ji temple, one of the largest wooden buildings in the world, and strolls the lantern-lined paths of Kasuga Taisha shrine. In the afternoon you travel on to Osaka, Japan's fun-loving city of street food, and transfer to your hotel. As evening falls you head to the neon Dotonbori district, grazing on takoyaki, okonomiyaki and sweet treats amid the giant animated signs. Rest well after a joyful day.

On your final morning the family enjoys a last taste of Japan. Depending on your flight, you might explore mighty Osaka Castle, rising on massive stone ramparts amid moats and gardens, browse the lively Kuromon Ichiba food market for final treats, or, for families with time and energy, spend the morning at Osaka's famous theme park, an exhilarating finale for older children. When it is time, you are transferred to Osaka's Kansai airport for your onward international departure. You leave having experienced the wonders of Japan as a family, bullet trains and digital art, pirate boats beneath Mount Fuji, torii gates and bamboo forests, and the bowing deer of Nara, all safe, effortless and full of delight. The images stay vivid long after you land, and the family departs already dreaming of a return to this magical, welcoming land.