This affordable way to see Japan is the perfect introduction

The weather forecast isn’t promising, and Mount Fuji is unlikely to show her pretty head, our guide Nobu has warned. But when I wake the following morning to a vague hint of blue, I force myself up to see if Fujisan has indeed delivered.

The foreshore of Lake Kawaguchiko is near-deserted as I wind my way along its eastern pathway, with just a handful of tourists and some local fisherfolk braving the morning chill. But for those who have ventured out, Japan’s iconic mountain is at her most bewitching, her snow-capped tiara reflected in the mirrored lake.

Invigorated by my productive dawn jaunt, I return to the hotel for breakfast, satisfied that – as the saying goes – “a single glimpse of Fuji fills the soul with oceans of calm”.

It’s day five of our 17-day Inspiring Vacations Unforgettable Japan tour, with the big-city excitement and imposing sights of Tokyo a prelude to gentler landscapes as we traverse Japan’s largest island of Honshu.

On this escorted small group coach trip, we’ll not only tick off the legendary cities – Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima, as well as Tokyo – we’ll also take in lesser-known sights, places that illustrate Japan’s rich history and reflect the diversity of the modern Japanese experience.

In effect, it’s Japan 101 – a perfect introduction to this complex country, with a focus on affordability and a relaxed pace without sacrificing creature comforts.

Accommodation, while not luxurious or particularly inspiring, is in centrally located four-star hotels with reasonably spacious rooms (as opposed to the squeeze-box capsule-style accommodation Japan is renowned for), restaurant facilities and, in many cases, public onsen or bathing facilities – the perfect way to relax after a long day of sightseeing.

Dining on a budget

While breakfast is included daily, there are only two group dinners in the itinerary; instead, we buy our own lunches and dinners, allowing us to cater for individual tastes and budgets. So while some choose to splash out on specialty restaurants, others keep it simple with an izakaya pub meal, a warming bowl of udon noodles, or even a pre-packaged bento box from 7-Eleven.

Japanese food never fails to deliver – it’s generally fresh, delicious and in many cases cheap as chips, with the favourable exchange rate allowing us to feast like emperors for under $30. It also can be somewhat of an adventure; one night we find ourselves in a restaurant with no English menu, relying on the Google Translate app and a good-humoured chef proficient in sign language to order from a handwritten menu; while in Kyoto, our guide Nobu leads us to a friend’s okonomiyaki restaurant hidden on the 7th floor of an unprepossessing office block – a place you’d never find without local knowledge.

For the best part, our group of 20-odd guests from Australia, New Zealand and the US are travelling by coach; yesterday, however, we swapped wheels for sails, boarding a quirky pirate ship to cross pretty Lake Ashi before being met on the other side by our bus. Later in the tour, we’ll also travel from Hiroshima to Osaka on a Shinkansen bullet train, fulfilling a bucket list for many in our group.

But for now, we sit back in the coach as we make our way from the fifth Station of Mount Fuji – where once again Nobu’s weather forecast has been slightly off-kilter, with no rain and a clear view of Fuji’s holy summit greeting us – crossing the country to the mountainous western prefecture of Gifu.

En route, Nobu provides handy language tips, facts and figures about Japanese history, and never-to-be-used-again trivia (did you know the Japanese language has more than 3000 onomatopoeias?) as we watch rural Japan flash by, with grey villages and rice paddies make way for cedar forests swathed with wild wisteria as we head deeper into the mountains.

Optional extras

Our destination is historic Hida Takayama, its beautifully preserved Edo-era old town still intact after being spared from World War II bombing. Many of the shops, cafes and sake breweries on pedestrian-only Sannomachi Street have been in business for centuries; while in the riverside Nakada shop – which has sold kimonos and fabrics since 1876 – another guest and I are painstakingly wrapped and preened into colourful kimonos before tottering along the streets of the old quarter on public display.

While similar kimono rental experiences are readily available in other cities – particularly Kyoto, where faux maikos playing dress-ups giggle their way around Gion or one of the city’s temples by the dozen – the ease of access to Takayama’s beauty spots makes for the perfect (if slightly humiliating) photo opportunity – as well as helping me appreciate what life as a real geisha would be like, constantly under public scrutiny.

The kimono fitting is one of several cultural or gourmet experiences offered as optional extras, available only by pre-booking. The idea is to immerse guests into traditional Japanese culture in intimate, hands-on sessions, with options including a calligraphy class, sushi-making and flower arrangement.

Amid the modern department stores of Kyoto – just a stroll from the exotic offerings of the narrow Nishiki Market – my friend and I take a lift to the fourth floor of the Fukujuen tea headquarters for a private green tea ceremony, learning about the ceremonial preparation of matcha from tea sensei, Tanaka.

Under her meticulous instruction, we begin the experience with a ceremonial hand-washing in a tsukubai washbasin, before crawling through a low entrance onto tatami mats where we kneel before the hearth. Tanaka then demonstrates with precision how to make the earthy green powder into the perfect cup of tea – adding cold water to boiling, mixing with a chasen bamboo whisk, and rotating the cup so that the pattern faces out – before slurping the bitter brew to show our appreciation. It’s yet another example of how etiquette permeates every aspect of Japanese life, and how ancient traditions still play an important role.

Temples, deer and mindful walks

Although the epicentre of traditional Japanese culture, Kyoto is a surprisingly sprawling city, its 2000 temples and shrines spread out over more than 827 square kilometres. But with three nights, a full day’s touring and another at leisure, we are able to explore beyond the standard tourist trail into less frenetic corners of the city.

In the serene northern suburbs of the Higashiyama district, we stroll along the tranquil Philosopher’s Path, following a canal lined with cherry trees which, while gorgeous in early summer, must look a treat during peak spring season. Named after a university professor who took mindful strolls along this route, the two-kilometre path passes boutique cafes, art galleries and clothing stores as well as several temples, including Nazen-ji, the quirky Otoyo shrine guarded by a pair of stone mice, and Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion.

On the other side of town, the similarly named Kinkaku-ji is a stunning golden pavilion, its top two floors coated in gold leaf reflected in a large pond surrounded by maple-filled gardens. Meanwhile, an hour’s drive south of Kyoto, more than 1200 free-roaming sika deer steal the show – as well as crackers from hapless tourists – at the World Heritage-listed Nara Park, home to several notable monuments including the Todai-ji temple and its wooden hall housing a massive bronze Buddha.

But it’s in a most unlikely place on this tour of Honshu that I find my inner zen. As the target of the nuclear bomb that brought World War II to a deadly conclusion, I expected the southern city of Hiroshima to be filled with sadness, its memorials to the tragic events of August 1945 wrenching reminders of the horrors of war.

But what I didn’t anticipate is city outskirts swathed with greenery, with the island of Miyajima one of the prettiest places I’ve seen in all of Japan. Here, just a short uphill stroll from the famous floating orange torii gate of the Itsukushima Shrine, is the stunning Daisho-in Temple – a collection of shrines surrounded by maple gardens and centred by a walkway with spinning prayer wheels inscribed with sutras.

In the dappled light of a fiery maple tree, I pause among a sea of tiny Buddha statues wearing red crocheted caps, listening to the hypnotic sound of drumming emanating from the temple. As though drawn by the beat, a pair of sika deer make a ghostly appearance in the gloom, foraging on the mossy pathway. According to Shinto beliefs, these spotted deer are messengers of the gods; and to me, that’s a message of peace as poignant as any war memorial.

The details

Tour
Inspiring Vacations’ 16-day Unforgettable Japan escorted small group tour includes visits to Tokyo, Hakone, Takayama, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka. It costs from $6195 a person and includes airfares, accommodation in four-star hotels, daily breakfasts, all touring and a trip on the Shinkansen bullet train between Hiroshima and Osaka. See inspiringvacations.com/au

Fly
Japan Airlines flies to Tokyo daily from Sydney and Melbourne. Add a domestic flight between Osaka and Tokyo for the return flight. See japanairlines.com

The writer travelled as a guest of Inspiring Vacations.