Japan Classic: Tokyo, Kyoto & Beyond

Emma meets you at Narita or Haneda airport and transfers you to the Park Hyatt Tokyo in Shinjuku — the hotel made famous by Lost in Translation, its top-floor rooms overlooking the vast metropolitan sprawl. First evening: a gentle walk through Shinjuku's golden gai alley district, a labyrinth of tiny six-seat bars where Tokyo's creative class has drunk for sixty years.

The Imperial Palace East Gardens — the most peaceful 21 hectares in the world's largest city — in the morning, then the extraordinary Teamlab Planets digital art immersion in Toyosu, where you walk barefoot through rooms of flowers and infinity mirrors. Evening in the Ginza district.

The ancient Senso-ji temple in Asakusa — Tokyo's oldest and most visited, its Nakamise shopping street leading to the enormous Kaminarimon gate and the incense-filled inner court. Afternoon at the Hamarikyu tidal garden for contrast, tea ceremony in the traditional tea house on the central pond.

The outer market at Tsukiji in the early morning — street sushi, tamagoyaki and the most extraordinary concentration of food in any market in the world. Afternoon in Shibuya and the crossing, then an evening in Harajuku and the Meiji Shrine at dusk.

First-class Nozomi Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto — 2 hours 20 minutes, Mount Fuji visible on the right just after Shin-Fuji if the morning is clear. Check in to the Tawaraya Ryokan — Kyoto's most venerable traditional inn, founded in the early 1700s, its guests including Steve Jobs and the Dalai Lama. Emma's evening briefing on Kyoto's Heian period history prepares you for the days ahead.

Fushimi Inari at 7am before the tour groups arrive — the thousands of vermilion torii gates in the mist-filtered early light, climbing through the cedar forest. The full summit takes two hours; the lower trails (45 minutes return) are magnificent and perfectly sufficient. Then the Nishiki covered market — Kyoto's kitchen, 130 vendors in a five-block-long alley selling tsukemono pickles, tofu and freshly grilled skewers.

Arashiyama in the early morning — the bamboo grove when the light slants through the dense culms is as beautiful as photography suggests and more so in person. Tenryu-ji Zen garden, Okochi Sanso villa garden, a boat on the Oi River through the forested gorge. Afternoon at the Philosopher's Path canal walk lined with cherry trees (or autumn maples depending on season).

The Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji) at first opening — its gold leaf reflection in the mirror pond is worth a hundred photographs. Then Ryoan-ji, the most famous Zen rock garden in the world, its fifteen stones arranged so that no angle reveals all fifteen simultaneously. Evening in Gion — Kyoto's geisha district, its machiya townhouses lantern-lit at dusk.

A 45-minute train south to Nara — Japan's first permanent capital, its 1,200 freely roaming sacred deer and the Todai-ji Great Hall housing the world's largest bronze Buddha (15 metres, 500 tonnes). The deer bow when offered their special biscuits; the Buddha's nostril contains a wooden pillar the same diameter as the statue's nostril — a challenge for children and adventurous adults.

A private half-day workshop with one of Emma's Kyoto contacts — either kodo (incense ceremony), wagashi (Japanese sweet making) or nishiki textile design, according to preference. Afternoon free. Evening: a private kaiseki dinner at a restaurant Emma has been bringing guests to for eight years, whose chef sources every ingredient within 40 kilometres of Kyoto.

Day trip by Shinkansen to Hiroshima — the Peace Memorial Museum and the A-Bomb Dome, approached with Emma's careful historical and emotional preparation. The museum is profoundly moving; Emma manages the experience with sensitivity and ensures the afternoon on Miyajima island — with the floating torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine and friendly deer — provides restorative balance.

Check out of the Tawaraya after a final morning in Kyoto's markets. Bullet train east to Odawara, then the Romancecar mountain train to Hakone — a volcanic hot-spring resort town in the mountains southwest of Tokyo. Check in to the Gora Kadan ryokan for two nights of onsen bathing, mountain walking and Mount Fuji views.

The Hakone Open Air Museum — a sculpture park set on a mountain slope with Fuji visible above on clear days and a Picasso Pavilion as its centrepiece. Afternoon at the ryokan spa — private onsen room booking, yukata wearing and the complete relaxation of Japan's hot-spring tradition.

Train back to Tokyo with time for any final shopping — Ginza for department stores, Harajuku for design, Kappabashi for kitchen equipment. Emma accompanies you to the airport or hotel for evening departures.