The Ultimate Japan Trip

Sake tasting and calligraphy at Kikunoka

At this century-old sake maker in Ginza, guests create their own personalized sake labels through a calligraphy lesson before a guided tasting and a ceremonial barrel opening meant to symbolize new beginnings.

Private sumo session

Two former professional sumo wrestlers host a hands-on session in a traditional ring, and the brave are invited to step in and try a few moves themselves.

Sushi making with a private chef

Rather than simply eating sushi, guests learn to make it under the guidance of a private chef, turning lunch into a hands-on cultural lesson.

Hike to Hatajuku and a 400-year-old tea house

The walk through Hakone's forests includes a stop in Hatajuku to watch a master artisan demonstrate traditional Japanese marquetry, ending at a tea house whose recipes have remained unchanged for four centuries.

Lake Ashi cruise and Hakone Shrine

A pleasure cruise across Lake Ashi offers views of the Hakone Shrine tucked into the surrounding forest, with Mount Fuji visible on clear days.

Naoshima and the Art Islands

Benesse House, the Chichu Art Museum with works by Monet, Turrell, and de Maria, and the Lee Ufan Museum turn an entire day into a private tour through some of the most striking contemporary art spaces in Japan.

Boat tour to Teshima Art Museum

A private boat carries guests to Teshima Island to see the museum perched on its hillside and to visit Les Archives du Cœur, which permanently houses recorded heartbeats from people around the world.

Private tea ceremony with a maiko

An apprentice geisha prepares and serves matcha with practiced elegance and performs a traditional dance, offering a rare and intimate encounter with a living Kyoto tradition.

Janu Grill

There is something wonderfully primal about cooking over open flame, and Janu Grill celebrates that pleasure beautifully. I love watching the open kitchen turn out Japanese dry-aged T-bone and whole lobster, each dish part performance and part feast.

Tempura Yama no Ue Roppongi

This is a house I return to again and again, one whose story stretches back more than seventy years to the original Hilltop Hotel. From its perch in Tokyo Midtown, it still fries in egoma oil, and I promise you the batter is impossibly light, letting every seasonal ingredient speak for itself.

Kyoto Hyoki Nishiazabu

Tucked away in Nishiazabu, this is my kind of hideaway, all private rooms and quiet elegance. Their dashi shabu is the house treasure, pork dipped not in the usual ponzu but in a traditional Kyoto inherited dashi broth, served with the kind of impeccable care I have come to expect from the very best in Japan.

Terrace Restaurant at Benesse House Park

Sits Umi no Hoshi, or star of the sea, and darlings, the name suits it perfectly. Floor-to-ceiling windows open onto the Seto Inland Sea while the kitchen brings French technique together with the bounty of Kagawa Prefecture, and dinner here feels like one more work of art on an island full of them.

Itoh Kyoto

I adore a restaurant with real history, and this one lives inside a converted Kyoto tea house in Gion, where Nobu's teppanyaki tradition meets old-world charm. The chef grills tableside over open flame using vegetables from Fuji Hakone and seafood from Shikoku Island, with Kobe beef taking its rightful place at the center of the table.

Nobu Tokyo

It only felt right to bring Nobu home, darlings, and this is exactly that, Nobu Matsuhisa's Japanese technique meeting his beloved South American flavors on his own soil. Seafood and produce arrive daily from across Japan and beyond, and every visit reminds me why this name became a global icon in the first place.