The Private Collection
Four private tours of Japan, planned in full and run by us, each taken on your own dates with a Tour Director beside you every day. From $18,000 per person, twin share, all-inclusive.
EssentialJapanNine days, three citiesTokyoKyotoOsaka$18,000 per person, twin share
ClassicJapanEleven days, and two nights in Kinosaki OnsenTokyoKyotoKinosakiOsaka$22,000 per person, twin share
DefinitiveJapanThirteen days, the most complete journey we makeTokyoMount FujiKyotoKinosakiOsaka$26,000 per person, twin share
PureHokkaidoNine days, six nights at onsen ryokanHakodateNoboribetsuOtaruSapporo$21,600 per person, twin share
Three journeys across Honshu between Tokyo and Osaka, and one across Hokkaido. Compare the four
choosing
Which journey is for you
Essential Japan
Essential Japan, nine days, is the first look: Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, with a day in Nara and the great tables of the three cities.
Nine days, three cities, $18,000 per person, twin share
Classic Japan
Classic Japan, eleven days, adds two nights at a ryokan in Kinosaki Onsen, near the Sea of Japan coast where the town walks the canal in yukata between seven bathhouses.
Eleven days, and two nights in Kinosaki Onsen, $22,000 per person, twin share
Definitive Japan
Definitive Japan, thirteen days, is the most complete journey we make: the route of Classic Japan with two nights beneath Mount Fuji as well.
Thirteen days, the most complete journey we make, $26,000 per person, twin share
Pure Hokkaido
Pure Hokkaido, nine days, is the north: Hakodate, Noboribetsu, Otaru and Sapporo by private car, six nights of them at onsen ryokan.
Nine days, six nights at onsen ryokan, $21,600 per person, twin share
the difference
Your Tour Director, every day
The same Tour Director in every city, from the first evening to the last.
On every journey of The Private Collection, the same Tour Director is with you in every city, from the first evening to the last. Fluent in English and Japanese, your Tour Director lays out the days at the welcome dinner, leads you through the markets eating as you go, orders for the table in Japanese, and walks the old quarters with you as the lanterns are lit. Every reservation, every check-in and every conversation on the ground is handled in Japanese on our side, so you never need to explain, order or arrange anything yourself. We plan, organise and run every tour.
taken care of
Taken care of
A private chauffeur meets your flight and takes every bag, and another drives you to your flight on the last morning. Between the cities your luggage is sent ahead, so you travel light, and every check-in and check-out is taken care of. Every entry on the plan is included, and the order of the days is set around your dates so that every place is open on the day you visit. You book your international flights, and we advise on the routing and on the flights that land you in good time for the first evening.
on every journey
What every journey includes
A Tour Director, every day
From the first evening to the last morning, fluent in English and Japanese, and in charge of every ryokan, restaurant and transfer.
First-class rail
The first-class carriage of the Shinkansen between the cities of Honshu, and a private car and driver wherever the rail cannot go, and in Hokkaido.
Hotels and ryokan, chosen by us
You stay in the finest luxury hotels and ryokan in Japan, each one chosen personally by us for its luxury, its comfort and its setting. Three of the four journeys spend nights at onsen ryokan.
A private chauffeur
At the airport on the day you arrive and the day you leave, and your luggage sent ahead between hotels, so you travel light.
And breakfast every day, most dinners, a welcome dinner on each Honshu journey, a private tea ceremony and a sake tasting on Honshu, whisky at Yoichi on Hokkaido, a craft studio, the market walks, and every entry on the plan.
side by sideThe four journeys, comparedLength, the route by nights and the price
| journey | days | route, by nights | twin share, per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential Japan | 9 | Tokyo 3, Kyoto 3, Osaka 2 | $18,000 |
| Classic Japan | 11 | Tokyo 3, Kyoto 3, Kinosaki 2, Osaka 2 | $22,000 |
| Definitive Japan | 13 | Tokyo 3, Mount Fuji 2, Kyoto 3, Kinosaki 2, Osaka 2 | $26,000 |
| Pure Hokkaido | 9 | Hakodate 2, Noboribetsu 2, Otaru 2, Sapporo 2 | $21,600 |
your dates
Every journey is available across the year, on the dates you choose.
A deposit of $3,500 per person confirms your dates; the balance is due 95 days before you travel. Safe, secure, encrypted payment, by card or bank transfer.
Choose a journey and your dates
Set by the journey, nine days
Choose a start date and we check the calendar for all nine days.
the extension
Hiroshima and Miyajima
Three days more, to Hiroshima and the island of Miyajima, offered on Essential Japan and Classic Japan. Ask us when you enquire.
From Osaka the shinkansen reaches Hiroshima in first class in about ninety minutes. Three nights at a hotel at Hiroshima Station allow an afternoon at the Peace Memorial Park and Museum, a day on Miyajima for Itsukushima Shrine and its great torii standing in the water, and a morning in Shukkei-en, the garden of the Asano lords. Your Tour Director stays with you to the end, and a private chauffeur takes you to your flight from Hiroshima, or the shinkansen returns you to Osaka or Tokyo for it, in first class.
questions
Private tours of Japan, your questions answered
What is The Private Collection?
Four private tours of Japan, planned in full and run by us, each taken on the dates you choose with a Tour Director beside you every day. Three cross Honshu between Tokyo and Osaka; the fourth crosses Hokkaido.
How much do the journeys cost?
From $18,000 per person, twin share, all-inclusive: Essential Japan $18,000, Classic Japan $22,000, Definitive Japan $26,000 and Pure Hokkaido $21,600.
Which journey should we choose?
Essential Japan is nine days in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Classic Japan adds two nights at a ryokan in Kinosaki Onsen. Definitive Japan, the most complete journey we make, adds two nights beneath Mount Fuji as well. Pure Hokkaido is nine days across the north, six nights of them at onsen ryokan.
Can we choose our own dates?
Yes. Each journey is available across the year, on the dates you choose. We confirm your dates with you and set the order of the days around them.
How many guests can travel?
One to four, in one or two rooms. Two guests travelling together share one room, and two couples or four friends take a journey together in two rooms.
Do you arrange flights?
You book your international flights, and we advise on the routing and on the flights that land you in good time for the first evening.
Can a journey be changed?
Each journey is taken as it is designed. A guest who would like a journey shaped around them is welcome on the Custom Tour of Japan.
How do we book?
Begin with an enquiry and the dates you have in mind, and we reply in person. A deposit of $3,500 per person confirms your dates; the balance is due 95 days before you travel.
begin
Begin with an enquiry
Tell us the journey and the dates you have in mind, and we reply in person with the itinerary and the next step.
Each journey of The Private Collection is taken as it is designed. If you would rather have a journey shaped around you, on a route of your own, begin with the Custom Tour of Japan. Our luxury Japan tours, by season, and our journal on what a private tour of Japan costs, show more of the Japan we know.
Read more: how much a luxury Japan tour costs.