Japan's Golden Route: Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima

Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima are three very different Japans on one line of track. Tokyo is fast and loud. Kyoto is slow and exact. Hiroshima asks you to stand still for a while. Done in that order, the route builds well, and it is the one I plan most often for first visits.

The route in brief

• Tokyo: crossings, markets, neon and very good food
• Kyoto: temples, tea and the old streets of Gion
• Hiroshima: the Peace Memorial and a short ferry to Miyajima

Tokyo: loud, quick and hard to stop looking at

Start with Shibuya Crossing, where hundreds of people cross at once without a collision. Then go the other way, to Asakusa and Senso-ji, Tokyo's oldest temple, where the city drops its pace.

Food comes next, and Tokyo does it better than anywhere.

• The outer market at Tsukiji, still the place to graze on seafood (the main fish market moved to Toyosu in 2018)
• A sushi-making class, which teaches you more than ordering it ever will
• The narrow lanes of Shinjuku, where the bars seat six and the menus are on the wall

Kyoto: where Japan slows down on purpose

After Tokyo, Kyoto feels like someone has lowered the volume. Gion is the old geisha district, and its wooden machiya townhouses make a walk after dark worth planning around.

• The Sagano Romantic Train, a slow ride through the hills
• A tea ceremony, where every movement has a reason
• An evening at Pontocho for a maiko performance

Kyoto rewards slowness. I plan it with room to wander, because the best hour here is rarely the scheduled one.

Hiroshima: the day that stays with you

Hiroshima is not a sightseeing stop, and I plan it that way. The Peace Memorial Park and Museum take the morning, and nobody should be rushed through them.

The afternoon is lighter. A short ferry crosses to Miyajima, where Itsukushima Shrine stands over the water and its torii gate appears to float at high tide.

How I plan it

The Golden Route is easy to book and easy to get wrong. The order, the pace between cities and the day you arrive all decide whether it feels rich or rushed.

I have not been to Japan myself, so I rely on two things: clients who have travelled the route and tell me what worked, and specialist suppliers in the country whose knowledge is second to none. I choose the operators, set the pace and book the trains, hotels and guides. You don't need to work out which of the three cities deserves the extra night. I do that.

You can contact me and tell me what you would like Japan to be.

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