A DASH OF DASHI

Your journey begins in Tokyo, Japan’s bold, brilliant capital. Renowned for its vibrant collision of ancient and modern culture, Tokyo is also home to more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city in the world - the perfect place to kick off your Japanese culinary adventure. You’ll be staying at the impossibly elegant Mandarin Oriental, a sleek, skyscraper hotel with some of the best views across the city.

Wander past the iconic red brick train station to the royal residence of the Imperial Palace and then continue on to the Hamarikyu Gardens to drink up the Zen-like atmosphere. You'll enjoy a tour of Tokyo’s highlights, including the Meji Shrine and the beautiful old town of Asakusa.

After you’ve walked up an appetite, it’s then time to dive into Japan’s fabled cuisine. You’ll join a soba class to learn how to make the thin noodles from buckwheat flour and then cook them in a steaming broth. Dusting off the flour, you’ll then go on a sushi-making class and try your hand at preparing the fish, carefully rolling the rice and brewing some miso soup, before finally enjoying the fruits of your labour for lunch.

Speeding through the landscape on a bullet train, your next stop is Matsumoto, a historic castle town which has flourished since the 16th century. Surrounded by the Japanese Alps, it is acclaimed for its breathtaking views and incredible hiking and climbing trails. Your time is free to explore Matsumoto castle and the surrounding town, including Nakamachi, the old merchant district, which is now home to superb shops and restaurants.

During your stay in Matsumoto, you’ll visiting the Daio Wasabi Farm, one of Japan’s largest wasabi farms, with beautiful walking trails in between the field rows. The farm also has multiple shops and a restaurant where you can buy almost every kind of food flavoured with the green paste. For something to try, consider the wasabi soft cream or wasabi beer and for a souvenir, we’d suggest the wasabi chocolate - bound to intrigue the family back home.

You’ll stay at the traditional ryokan inn Myojinkan, where you can dine on sumptuous dinners made from traditional, seasonal ingredients sourced from the Japanese Alps.

Boarding the Shinkansen again, you’ll head to the spa town of Yamashiro located in the mountains of Yakushiyama. Staying in the elegant Beniya Mukayu, you can embark on a two-day binge of hot springs, green teas and sumptuous food. Your room has a terrace, where you can relax in a hammock, and a private onsen, where you can lather up in with medicinal herbs and soak in the surrounding tranquillity.

At the ryokan, you’ll enter the world of the professional chef and learn the basic techniques used in traditional Japanese cuisine in the Taste of Japan cooking class. The menu could include maki sushi, miso soup, nigari sushi and much more according to your preferences and at the end of the lesson, you’ll enjoy the dishes you created in the garden.

The ancient imperial capital of Kyoto is your next stop, a beautiful city which is full of the character of old Japan and is home to no fewer than 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Some of the sights you’ll marvel at here include the shimmering Golden Pavilion - one of Japan’s most famous temples - and Nijo Castle, which dates from the era of the shoguns. Your time in Kyoto will also see you making traditional kaiseki dishes during a cooking class and going on a sake tasting workshop.

Perfect the art of flower arranging, or Kado, or take a rickshaw ride through the lush bamboo forests in Arashiyama. You could laso join the morning temple worship at the Kyoto Zen temple and walk through the streets of old Kyoto in a Japanese silk kimono.

You’ll be staying at the Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto, which sits in tranquil gardens just ten minutes from downtown Kyoto, offering you the best of both worlds. There are temples, museums and craft shops just a short walk away.  

No Japanese culinary adventure is complete without a visit to Osaka. Considered by many to be the culinary capital not just of Japan but of the world, your tastebuds are in for a treat. It might prove difficult not to live up to the Osakan saying kuidaore - “eat yourself into ruin” - with delicacies like okonomiyaki pancakes and takoyaki (octopus doughnuts) on the menu in ‘Japan’s Kitchen’.

One of the best places to experience Osaka’s incredible street food is in the neon-draped Dotonbori district, where all sorts of eateries line the main thoroughfare. Osaka is also renowned as Japan’s friendliest and most laid-back city, where the lack of conservatism is reflected in the vibrant nightlife and friendliness of the locals.

You’ll stay at the St. Regis, a traditional and elegant hotel which is the perfect base from which to explore this vibrant city.