Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Japan in autumn: Kyoto, Takayama and Nikko
10 days from Tokyo to Kyoto in late November: Nikko's shrines and a ryokan night, Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go, two nights in Takayama and three in Kyoto for the maples.
10 days · Tokyo to Kyoto · up to 12 guests
Shirakawa-go in late October Photo: Alexkom000, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2024-10-26_Shirakawa-go_11.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 10 days, 9 nights
- Start and end
- Tokyo to Kyoto
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Moderate
Most days are 4 to 6 hours on your feet, about 10 to 15 km of walking on paths, stone steps and gravel, with 207 steps up to Ieyasu's tomb in Nikko and an optional 45-minute climb through the Fushimi Inari gates. Three mornings start at 7 to 8 am. Every long walk has a shorter option, and you can sit any part out.
- Meals included
- 9 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 3 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 1,180 (estimated price)
- Season
- Autumn colour
Highlights
Why this trip
- Tofuku-ji at opening, looking down from Tsutenkyo bridge into a valley of maples
- The Arashiyama bamboo grove at 7 am, then Tenryu-ji's garden as the gates open
- Kodai-ji's autumn light-up after dark, then a walk down through Higashiyama
- Eikan-do at opening on the last morning, before the Philosopher's Path to Nanzen-ji
- Nikko's carved Toshogu shrine, a yuba lunch and a night in a ryokan with an onsen
- Kenroku-en at 8 am with the pines roped for winter, and Shirakawa-go in the late afternoon
- Takayama's riverside morning market, a sake tasting and a Hida beef dinner
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 1,180 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Tokyo
Haneda or Narita airport to your hotel in Tokyo, welcome dinner
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Tokyo
- Drive about 1 h
Fly into Tokyo Haneda (HND) or Narita (NRT); a driver meets you in the arrivals hall and takes you to the hotel, about 40 minutes from Haneda or an hour and a half from Narita.
Evening
Plan to land by mid-afternoon to make the evening briefing. The hotel is on the east side of the city, close to Ueno and Asakusa, because that is where the train to Nikko leaves from on day 3. If you arrive early, the streets around Asakusa and the shops of Ameya-Yokocho are an easy first walk. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group, hands out IC cards for the metro and explains how the week works: early starts at the busiest gardens, free afternoons, and why your suitcase goes ahead to Kanazawa. Then we walk to a local izakaya for a welcome dinner of small shared plates.
Included
- Pick-up at Tokyo Haneda (HND) or Narita (NRT) airport
- Welcome briefing with your guide and a metro IC card
- Welcome dinner at a local izakaya
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Activity: Drive figures are from Haneda; Narita is about 70 km and 1.5 hours.
Tokyo gardens and ginkgo
Rikugien, Meiji Jingu and the Jingu Gaien ginkgo avenue, then a free afternoon
- Breakfast
- Stay in Tokyo
- By train
Tokyo's autumn colour comes late and in gold. We are at Rikugien when it opens at 9 am: a stroll garden laid out around 1700 for a shogun's adviser, with a pond, small hills and maples that usually turn in late November. By metro we cross to Meiji Jingu, the shrine to the Meiji emperor, reached along a wide gravel path through a planted forest, and on to Jingu Gaien, where an avenue of about 140 ginkgo trees turns yellow at the end of the month. Your guide picks the order on the day so we meet each place in its quieter hour.
Afternoon
Lunch is your choice around Omotesando or Aoyama, and the afternoon is free.
Evening
Your guide suggests ideas: the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno, the shops of Ginza, or an evening view from one of the city's observation decks. Tonight, pack an overnight bag; your suitcase is collected for Kanazawa.
Included
- Rikugien garden at opening with your guide
- Meiji Jingu shrine
- The Jingu Gaien ginkgo avenue
- Suitcases forwarded from Tokyo to your Kanazawa hotel
Free time: Afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 3 hours on foot on paths and gravel in the morning. Ginkgo colour is usually at its peak in late November or early December.
Nikko's shrines and a ryokan night
Tokyo (Asakusa) to Nikko by Tobu limited express, about 1 hour 50 minutes
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Nikko
- By train
With only an overnight bag, we take the Tobu limited express from Asakusa at about 8 am and reach Nikko before 10. The shrines and temples of Nikko, listed by UNESCO in 1999, sit in a forest of tall cedars above the town.
Morning
We cross the vermilion Shinkyo bridge, then spend the morning at Toshogu, the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, whose gates are covered in carved and painted animals, flowers and sages; the three wise monkeys and the sleeping cat are here. Climb the 207 stone steps to Ieyasu's tomb if you like.
Afternoon
Lunch is yuba, the soy-milk skin Nikko is known for. In the afternoon we visit Taiyuin, the quieter, darker mausoleum of his grandson Iemitsu, then walk the riverside path at Kanmangafuchi past its rows of stone Jizo statues.
Evening
Our ryokan has an onsen, and dinner is a kaiseki meal of many small courses.
Included
- Reserved seats on the Tobu limited express from Asakusa to Nikko
- Shinkyo bridge
- Toshogu with your guide, including the steps to Ieyasu's tomb
- Yuba lunch
- Taiyuin
- The Kanmangafuchi Abyss walk and its Jizo statues
- Ryokan night with onsen and kaiseki dinner
Easier option: Skip the 207 steps to Ieyasu's tomb and Kanmangafuchi; rest at the ryokan from mid-afternoon.
Free time: Evening free at the ryokan after dinner
Activity: About 3 to 4 hours on foot, with stone steps and uneven paths. Nikko's leaves usually peak from late October to early November; on our dates they may be past their best, while the cedars stay green.
By shinkansen to Kanazawa
Nikko to Utsunomiya, then the Tohoku and Hokuriku Shinkansen via Omiya to Kanazawa
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Kanazawa
- By train
Morning
A slow ryokan breakfast, a last soak if you want one, then we leave Nikko at about 10 am. The local JR line runs down to Utsunomiya in about 45 minutes; from there the shinkansen takes us to Omiya and on along the Hokuriku line across the mountains to the Sea of Japan coast.
Afternoon
It is about four hours door to door, in reserved seats, and lunch is a bento chosen at the station, eaten on the train the way Japanese travellers do. Your suitcase is waiting at the hotel in Kanazawa when we arrive in the middle of the afternoon.
Evening
As the light goes, we walk to Higashi Chaya, the old teahouse district, where wooden lattice fronts line the lanes and the lanterns come on at dusk. The evening is yours: Kanazawa is a seafood city, and your guide will point you to good counters for dinner.
Included
- Reserved seats from Nikko to Kanazawa via Utsunomiya and Omiya
- A station bento lunch on the shinkansen
- Dusk walk in the Higashi Chaya teahouse district with your guide
Free time: Evening free
Activity: About four hours of train travel, then an easy hour on foot.
Kenroku-en, then Shirakawa-go
Kanazawa to Shirakawa-go, about 1 hour 15 minutes, then Takayama, about 50 minutes
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Takayama
- Drive about 2 h
We are at Kenroku-en when it opens at 8 am, before the tour groups. It is counted among Japan's three great gardens, and in November the gardeners rope the old pines with yukitsuri, cone-shaped lines that hold the branches up under winter snow, while the maples around the ponds are usually turning.
Afternoon
From the garden we walk to Omicho Market, where lunch is a bowl of fresh seafood or whatever you choose from the stalls. In the early afternoon our own vehicle and driver take us into the mountains to Shirakawa-go, listed by UNESCO in 1995 for its gassho-zukuri farmhouses with steep thatched roofs. We arrive as the day coaches start to leave, walk the village and climb to the viewpoint above it in the late light. Then it is about 50 minutes on to Takayama, where we stay two nights in the old town.
Included
- Kenroku-en at opening with your guide
- Lunch at Omicho Market
- Shirakawa-go in the late afternoon, with the village viewpoint
- Private vehicle and driver from Kanazawa to Takayama, with your suitcases aboard
Easier option: Ride the shuttle bus up to the Shirakawa-go viewpoint instead of walking.
Activity: About 4 hours on foot on gravel paths. The mountains around Shirakawa-go usually turn in late October and early November, so the hillsides may be bare by our dates; early snow is possible.
Takayama's market and old town
Takayama on foot: the Miyagawa morning market, Takayama Jinya and Sanmachi Suji
- Breakfast and dinner
- Stay in Takayama
Takayama is a mountain market town of dark wooden merchant houses, and the best of it comes early.
Evening
We walk to the Miyagawa morning market along the river, where farmers set out pickles, miso, apples and handmade crafts from 7 or 8 am depending on the month; your guide confirms the hour the evening before. At 8:45 am Takayama Jinya opens: the only surviving government house of its kind from the Edo period, where officials sent from the shogun's capital ran the province, with its tatami halls, rice store and garden. Then into Sanmachi Suji, the old merchant streets, before the day visitors fill them, for a tasting at one of the town's sake breweries, marked by the ball of cedar hanging over the door. After that the afternoon is free. Rest at the hotel, browse lacquer and woodwork shops, or take the bus to Hida no Sato. In the evening we meet again for a dinner of Hida beef, the local wagyu.
Included
- Miyagawa morning market with your guide
- Takayama Jinya
- Sanmachi Suji old merchant streets
- Sake tasting at a Takayama brewery
- Hida beef dinner
Optional experiences
- Hida no Sato, the open-air museum of farmhouses, about 10 minutes by bus
More active option: Walk the Higashiyama temple trail, about 3.5 km through a line of temples and shrines on the hill east of the old town.
Free time: Afternoon free
Activity: About 3 hours on foot on flat streets in the morning.
Down the Hida valley to Kyoto, a light-up at night
Takayama to Nagoya on the limited express Hida, then the Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Kyoto
- By train
Morning
We leave Takayama mid-morning on the limited express Hida, which follows the Hida River gorge south through the mountains to Nagoya in about two and a half hours; sit on the left for the river. From Nagoya the shinkansen reaches Kyoto in about 35 minutes. Your bags travel with us in reserved seats, and the guide helps at the changes.
Evening
We sit down to lunch near the hotel, then the afternoon is for settling in, because tonight is the first of Kyoto's autumn moments. After dark we go to Kodai-ji, the temple a widow of Toyotomi Hideyoshi founded in 1606, for its autumn light-up: the maples, the raked garden and the bamboo grove behind the temple are lit, and the night air is cold and still. From there we walk down through the stone lanes of Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka into Gion, and the evening is yours.
Included
- Reserved seats on the limited express Hida and the shinkansen from Takayama to Kyoto
- Sit-down lunch in Kyoto
- Kodai-ji autumn light-up with your guide
- Evening walk through Ninenzaka, Sannenzaka and Gion
Free time: Afternoon free to settle in; evening free after the walk
Activity: About 3.5 hours of train travel. Light-up dates change each year; if Kodai-ji is not running, we go to Eikan-do or Kiyomizu-dera's evening opening instead.
Tofuku-ji at opening and Fushimi Inari
Tofuku-ji, then one stop south to Fushimi Inari, then a free afternoon
- Breakfast
- Stay in Kyoto
- By train
Tofuku-ji is the temple people queue for in late November, so we are at the gate when it opens, at about 8:30 am in the autumn season. From Tsutenkyo, a covered wooden bridge, you look down into a ravine filled with about 2,000 maples, and in a good year the valley is red and orange from rim to stream. Photography from the bridge is sometimes restricted at peak times, so we also take pictures from the paths below and the other bridges. We also see the Hojo gardens, raked gravel and moss laid in a chequerboard in the 1930s. From Tofuku-ji it is one stop on the JR Nara line to Fushimi Inari, where tunnels of vermilion torii gates climb the hill. Walk the first part with your guide or go on up to the Yotsutsuji viewpoint over the city.
Afternoon
Lunch is your choice, and the afternoon is free.
Included
- Tofuku-ji at opening with your guide, with Tsutenkyo bridge and the Hojo gardens
- Fushimi Inari Taisha and its torii gates
Easier option: Walk only the first stretch of torii gates at Fushimi Inari, about 20 minutes, and take the train back to the hotel.
More active option: Climb on to the Yotsutsuji viewpoint, about 45 minutes uphill on steps from the main shrine.
Free time: Afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 3 to 4 hours on foot with many steps at Fushimi Inari if you climb.
Arashiyama at 7 am
Kyoto to Arashiyama: the bamboo grove, Tenryu-ji, Okochi Sanso and the Togetsukyo bridge
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Kyoto
- Drive about 1 h
We drive to Arashiyama on the western edge of Kyoto and walk into the bamboo grove at about 7 am, when you can hear the stems knock together and there is no one in your photos. Tenryu-ji opens its garden at 8:30 am: a pond garden designed in the 14th century by the monk Muso Soseki, with the hills of Arashiyama behind it and maples around the water. Up the slope, Okochi Sanso, the villa and garden of a film actor, looks across the city, and the entry includes a bowl of matcha and a sweet. We walk down to the Togetsukyo bridge over the Katsura River, where the hillside is often at its brightest in late November.
Afternoon
Lunch is yudofu, simmered tofu, a Kyoto dish Arashiyama is known for. The afternoon is free.
Evening
In the evening we gather for a farewell dinner.
Included
- Arashiyama bamboo grove at about 7 am with your guide
- Tenryu-ji garden at opening
- Okochi Sanso garden with matcha and a sweet
- Togetsukyo bridge
- Yudofu lunch in Arashiyama
- Farewell dinner in Kyoto
Optional experiences
- Sagano Romantic Train or a Hozu River boat back towards Kameoka, if running
More active option: Walk on north from the bamboo grove to Jojakko-ji and Gio-ji, two small moss and maple temples, about 2 km.
Free time: Afternoon free
Activity: About 4 hours on foot on paths and slopes in the morning.
Eikan-do, the Philosopher's Path and home
Eikan-do and Nanzen-ji, then Kansai International Airport
- Breakfast
- Drive about 1.5 h
A last early start. Eikan-do has been known as the temple of maples for centuries, and we are at its gate when it opens at 9 am, before the queues. Paths climb through halls joined by covered corridors to a small pagoda above the trees, and below it the pond is ringed in red. From Eikan-do we walk a short stretch of the Philosopher's Path, the canal-side walk under cherry and maple trees, and down to Nanzen-ji, where a 19th-century brick aqueduct runs through the temple grounds.
Afternoon
We are back at the hotel by about midday. Check-out is in the morning before we leave; the hotel holds your bags, and you collect them on the way out. A private vehicle takes you to Kansai International Airport (KIX), about an hour and a half away; your guide sees you off. Book a flight leaving after about 5 pm to join the whole morning. If you are staying on in Kyoto, your guide will help you plan the extra days.
Included
- Eikan-do at opening with your guide
- The Philosopher's Path to Nanzen-ji and its aqueduct
- Drop-off at Kansai International Airport (KIX)
Easier option: If your flight leaves before about 4 pm, see Eikan-do only and go to the airport from there, or leave straight from the hotel.
Activity: About 2 hours on foot, with steps at Eikan-do. Book a flight leaving after about 5 pm.
- Tokyo2 nights
- Nikko1 night
- Kanazawa1 night
- Takayama2 nights
- Kyoto3 nights
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: Late November is cool and mostly dry: Kyoto and Tokyo days are about 10 to 16°C with cold mornings, while Nikko and Takayama can be near freezing at night and may see early snow. The maples in Kyoto usually peak in the second half of the month, but a warm autumn can delay them into December.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want Kyoto in its autumn colour without fighting the crowds alone
- A first or second trip to Japan with Nikko and the mountains as well as Kyoto
- People happy with early starts in return for free afternoons
- Travellers who want one ryokan night and good shared meals
Not for you if you want
- Anyone who needs the leaves at peak everywhere: the mountains turn earlier than Kyoto
- Step-free access: shrines and temples mean stone steps and gravel
- Travellers who want Mount Fuji, Hiroshima or Osaka on the same trip
- Those who dislike cold mornings
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
9 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Tokyo2 nights
- Nikko1 night
- Kanazawa1 night
- Takayama2 nights
- Kyoto3 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 9 nights: 2 in Tokyo, 1 in a ryokan with onsen in Nikko, 1 in Kanazawa, 2 in Takayama, 3 in Kyoto
- Central hotels near stations and old towns; we name each hotel when we confirm your dates
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Tokyo Haneda (HND) or Narita (NRT) airport
- Metro fares in Tokyo on an IC card
- Reserved seats on the Tobu limited express to Nikko, the shinkansen from Nikko to Kanazawa via Utsunomiya and Omiya, and the limited express Hida and shinkansen from Takayama to Kyoto
- Private vehicle and driver from Kanazawa via Shirakawa-go to Takayama
- Local trains, buses and a private vehicle in Kyoto
- Suitcases forwarded from Tokyo to Kanazawa
- Drop-off at Kansai International Airport (KIX)
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group from Tokyo to Kyoto
Activities
- Tokyo: Rikugien, Meiji Jingu and the Jingu Gaien ginkgo avenue
- Nikko: Shinkyo bridge, Toshogu, Taiyuin and Kanmangafuchi
- Kanazawa: Higashi Chaya, Kenroku-en and Omicho Market
- Shirakawa-go village and viewpoint
- Takayama: the morning market, Sanmachi Suji, a sake tasting and Takayama Jinya
- Kyoto: the Kodai-ji autumn light-up, Tofuku-ji, Fushimi Inari, the Arashiyama bamboo grove, Tenryu-ji garden, Okochi Sanso with matcha, Eikan-do, the Philosopher's Path and Nanzen-ji
- Every entry fee in the day plan
Meals
- 9 breakfasts
- 5 lunches: yuba in Nikko, a bento on the shinkansen, Omicho Market, a sit-down lunch in Kyoto and yudofu in Arashiyama
- 4 dinners: welcome izakaya dinner in Tokyo, kaiseki at the Nikko ryokan, Hida beef in Takayama and a farewell dinner in Kyoto
Not included
- International flights to Tokyo and from Osaka (Kansai)
- Visa, if your passport needs one
- Travel insurance
- Meals not listed
- Drinks, except the sake tasting and matcha
- Tips
- Optional activities such as Hida no Sato or the Sagano train
- Personal expenses
- Japan's departure tax, charged in your airline ticket
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 1,180 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
Prices in these answers apply from Jan 1, 2027. Black Friday offer: 15% off the small-group price for requests received by Dec 1, 2026. From CAD 5,080 per person. Dec 2 to Dec 31: from CAD 5,495. From Jan 1, 2027: from CAD 5,975.
What does the price include?
Nine nights in central hotels and a Nikko ryokan, 9 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 4 dinners, airport transfers both ways, reserved train seats, a private vehicle from Kanazawa to Takayama, luggage forwarding from Tokyo, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, and every entry in the plan, including the Kodai-ji light-up, a sake tasting and matcha at Okochi Sanso.
Will the autumn leaves be at their peak?
In Kyoto, usually yes: its maples tend to peak in the second half of November, which is when our three Kyoto nights fall. The mountains turn earlier, so Nikko, Takayama and Shirakawa-go are often past their best by then. Peak dates move by a week or two each year, and no one can promise them.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests and is never combined with another departure. That keeps us quick through temple gates at opening time and lets everyone fit around one table at dinner.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from the Tokyo welcome dinner to the Kansai airport drop-off, handles every ticket and train change, and knows when each garden is quietest. We introduce your guide by name before you travel.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderately fit. Most days mean 4 to 6 hours on your feet, about 10 to 15 km, with stone steps at Nikko and Fushimi Inari and gravel paths in gardens. Every long walk has a shorter option, and you can rest at the hotel on any free afternoon.
I am travelling solo. What does a room of my own cost?
A room of your own is from CAD 1,180 more, shown before you book with no surprise later. Japanese single rooms are small, so we book a twin or double for single use where the hotel allows. Solo guests join every meal and activity on the same terms as everyone else.
Why so many early starts?
Late November is Kyoto's busiest season, and the famous gardens are calmest in their first hour. We are at Tofuku-ji, Eikan-do, Kenroku-en and Rikugien when they open and in the Arashiyama bamboo grove at 7 am, then leave the afternoons free so the days are not long.
What happens to my suitcase?
It is forwarded from Tokyo to your Kanazawa hotel, so you take only an overnight bag to Nikko. From Kanazawa it rides in our vehicle to Takayama, and on the train to Kyoto it travels with us in reserved seats, with your guide helping at the change in Nagoya.
Do I need a visa for Japan?
Canadian and US passport holders do not need a visa for tourist stays of up to 90 days. Other passports may; check before you book. Your passport must be valid for your whole stay, and Japan's departure tax is charged in your airline ticket.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip comes as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose. If you would rather travel independently, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same hotels, trains and local guides for your own dates.
How does booking work?
Choose a departure and send a request to book. We confirm availability and your trip within 24 hours, and no payment is taken until then. The small group starts from CAD 5,975 per person sharing, taxes included; hotel names follow when we confirm your dates.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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