autumn tours of japan
Japan Autumn Leaves Tours 2027
Our autumn tour of Japan for 2027 is the Autumn Leaves Tour of Northern Japan: twelve days from the mountains above Sapporo to the gas-lit valley of Ginzan Onsen, 2 to 13 November 2027, at USD $19,500 per person, twin share and all-inclusive, with your Tour Directors beside you every day. Both of our autumn tours of 2026 are sold out. For Kyoto in autumn, privately and on the dates you choose, there is The Private Collection.
- 2027 tour
- The Autumn Leaves Tour of Northern Japan, 2 to 13 November 2027
- Price
- USD $19,500 per person, twin share
- On your own dates
- The Private Collection, from USD $18,000 per person
Autumn in the north of Japan is a forest season. The Oirase Stream runs fourteen kilometres out of Lake Towada through beech and maple; at Nyuto Onsen the springs rise in a beech forest at the end of the road, where Tsurunoyu has received travellers for more than three centuries; and on the Mogami River a wooden boat follows the canyon the poet Matsuo Basho came down in 1689, on the journey he wrote as Oku no Hosomichi, the Narrow Road to the Deep North. In Kyoto the season belongs to the temple grounds of Higashiyama and Arashiyama, where the maples turn above moss and raked gravel.
the 2027 tours
The autumn tours of 2027
One published tour with set dates, led by our Tour Directors; Classic Japan, private, through Tokyo, Kyoto, Kinosaki Onsen and Osaka on the dates you choose; and the Custom Tour of Japan for an autumn shaped around your party alone.
The Autumn Leaves Tour of Northern Japan
12 days2 to 13 November 2027USD $19,500per person, twin shareSee the journey
Classic Japan
11 daysOn the dates you chooseFrom USD $22,000per person, twin shareSee the journey
The Custom Tour of Japan
From 6 daysOn the dates you chooseFrom USD $3,500per person, per daySee the journey
side by side
The autumn tours, side by side
| Tour | Dates | Days | Where it goes | Price, per person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Autumn Leaves Tour of Northern Japan | 2 to 13 November 2027 | 12 days | Jozankei, Hakodate, Oirase, Towada, Kakunodate, Nyuto Onsen, Ginzan Onsen | USD $19,500 per person, twin share |
| The Autumn Leaves Tour of Japan | 23 November to 4 December 2026, sold out | 12 days | Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kaga · Yamashiro Onsen, Kyoto, Kinosaki Onsen, Osaka | USD $19,500 per person, twin share |
| Classic JapanThe Private Collection | On the dates you choose | 11 days | Tokyo, Kyoto, Kinosaki Onsen and Osaka | USD $22,000 twin share |
the northern autumn
What the autumn leaves tour includes
Your Tour Directors, every day
From the first evening at Jozankei to the last at Ginzan Onsen, fluent in English and Japanese, with every ryokan, table and transfer handled in Japanese on our side.
The onsen ryokan of the north
Ten of the eleven nights at onsen ryokan: Jozankei Tsuruga Mori no Uta above the Toyohira gorge, Tsuta Onsen over its own spring in the beech forest, Taenoyu where two waters meet at Nyuto, and Fujiya at Ginzan Onsen, its interior by Kengo Kuma.
The Mogami River, privately
A wooden boat chartered for your group alone, through the canyon Basho came down in 1689, a boatman telling the river's story and your Tour Directors translating.
Private vehicles and the Green Car
Private vehicles the length of the route, the Shinkansen beneath the Tsugaru Strait in the Green Car, a private chauffeur at New Chitose, and the rail south to Tokyo at the close.
The table
Twenty meals, among them kaiseki at the onsen ryokan and a farewell kaiseki in the gas-lit valley of Ginzan Onsen.
One price, all-inclusive, every entrance and every arrangement in between. USD $3,500 per person secures your place; the balance is due 95 days before departure. Safe, secure, encrypted payment, by card or bank transfer.
hotels and ryokan
Where the autumn tours stay
Every hotel and ryokan is named on its tour. Where its page is written, the name leads to the rooms, the onsen and the setting. Every hotel and ryokan in Japan we know.
questions
Autumn tours of Japan, your questions answered
What is the best autumn tour of Japan?
For the colour of the north, the Autumn Leaves Tour of Northern Japan: twelve days through Hokkaido and Tohoku, from the gorge at Jozankei to the Oirase Stream, the beech-forest springs of Nyuto Onsen and a private boat on the Mogami River, with ten of its eleven nights at onsen ryokan. For Kyoto in autumn, privately and on your own dates, Classic Japan: Tokyo, Kyoto, Kinosaki Onsen and Osaka in eleven days, with a Tour Director beside you every day.
When are the 2027 autumn tours?
The Autumn Leaves Tour of Northern Japan runs from 2 to 13 November 2027. Both of our autumn tours of 2026 are sold out. How the colour moves through Japan, region by region, is set out in where Japan's autumn colour runs deepest.
How much does an autumn tour of Japan cost?
The Autumn Leaves Tour of Northern Japan is USD $19,500 per person, twin share and all-inclusive: every night at the ryokan and hotels named, your Tour Directors, private vehicles, the Green Car and every entrance. USD $3,500 per person secures your place, and the balance is due 95 days before departure. Payment is safe, secure and encrypted, by card or bank transfer.
How many guests travel on the tour?
Limited to 8 guests, a truly small group tour. Every guest is eighteen or over, and every place is twin share, for a couple or two friends travelling together.
Can we see Japan in autumn privately, on our own dates?
Yes. The four journeys of The Private Collection are each available across the year, on the dates you choose, with a Tour Director beside you every day, from USD $18,000 per person, twin share. Classic Japan takes Tokyo, Kyoto, Kinosaki Onsen and Osaka in eleven days. An autumn shaped around your party alone, on a route of your own, is the Custom Tour of Japan.
Do you arrange flights?
You book your international flights, and we advise on the routing and the flights that land you in good time for the first evening. The Autumn Leaves Tour of Northern Japan arrives at New Chitose, near Sapporo, and ends in Tokyo, by the Yamagata Shinkansen.
the japan edition
Further reading
Begin with an enquiry
Tell us which tour or journey you have in mind, and how many of you are travelling, and we reply in person with the itinerary and the next step.
Every season, side by side: all our luxury Japan tours. Private, on your own dates: private tours of Japan.