Self-Guided Tours

About Our

Our self-guided tours of Japan offer deep insights into some of the most beautiful and unspoilt corners of the land. Self guided tours in Japan offer a convenient way to travel and are of excellent value for travelers who are happy to make their way from destination to destination with detailed written materials. Touring in Japan on a self guided basis is ideal for usually independent travelers who prefer to travel to Japan with the support of local experts.

Travel with peace of mind knowing that the accommodations, rail tickets, and experiences have been carefully selected by a team of Japan travel experts. There’s no need to spend hours poring over online reviews and planning itineraries or checking and translating bus and train schedules – we do the hard work for you! All of our self guided walking tours in Japan include a personalized itinerary with suggested sightseeing and details of how to get from place to place – we devise an itinerary for you that allows you to explore at your own pace, travel with flexibility, and make your own unfiltered discoveries. We’ve researched the smoothest routes and best walking tracks, and unique opportunities for cultural interaction and are delighted to make a tailored recommendation for you based on our knowledge and expertise and what we discover of your interests and preferences.

Most visitors typically begin their tour in popular larger cities with international air connections and their own cultural attractions. Your independent tour package will also reveal to you the charms of the Japanese countryside, mountains passes and coastal villages. Be welcomed by warm hospitality at traditional accommodation and enjoy delightful meals after a day’s walking. By traversing on foot into the rural areas and slowing down your life, you will see and experience the real Japan that others miss.

Choose your travel partners

Whether you wish to travel with friends, your family, your partner, or by yourself, our self guided travel plans of Japan for you will give you the freedom to dive right in and explore the country.

Flexible duration and dates for guests to travel when is convenient for them
One stop solution to purchase an entire package
Allows visitors to make their own discoveries while still being supported by documentation and the Japan based team
Carefully curated selection of accommodations and experiences

Start dates are flexible so choose the date that best suits you. Tour durations are also flexible. Looking for a longer tour? We’re happy to add additional nights or combine elements from different tours to create the perfect tour for you.

Our itineraries are flexible, so, if our suggested or sample itineraries don’t quite suit, we can tailor according to your requirements, taking into consideration your experience, your speed, stamina and ability. You can start a trip at any place on any day during available seasons, we can add extra days for resting and sightseeing or reduce the duration to customise the trip. You are also free to shorten or lengthen your walks, access, timing and terrain allowing.

Enjoy the freedom to walk at your own pace, linger over a captivating view, or pause to chat with villagers.

You can feel at ease travelling in rural Japan, knowing that help is at hand in the case of emergencies. Our team in Japan is available by telephone 24/7 for emergency issues, and we also work very closely with our partner accommodations to look after our travelers well-being.

We are also an expert on guided adventures. On our guided trips, our knowledgeable and professional guides ensure that every detail of your holiday will be taken care of. You will get beneath the surface of Japan through the true flavour of cultural experiences connecting with the daily life of local people in each region. Please discover our guided tours here.

Check out these Japanese Self-Guided Tours

From $Contact Us

Old Yamato and Nakasendo Road

Japanese Small Group Tours

We start by enjoying a trail to the east of Nara, the Yagyukaido, which leads us through beautiful local landscape, past shrines and through local villages giving us a flavour of life in the Japanese countryside. We then travel further a field away from the large towns and into the surrounding mountains where we walk the Old Mountain Road which takes us to the well known 9th century Murouji Temple – also known as Nyonin Koya, which literally means ‘Mount Koya for women’. We then spend two nights in Akame where we have a full day spent enjoying walks along the beautiful Akame 48 Waterfalls before continuing to one of Japan’s best known ancient routes, the Nakesendo Way. Here we spend three days finest hiking sections of the Nakesendo Way passing through well preserved postal towns and following in the footsteps of merchants, samurai and other travellers of the Edo period who once traversed this famous ancient road between Edo and Kyoto.

Highlights	Trip Level	Availability
Village to village walking on enchanting sections of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail Bathe in the thermal waters at hot-spring inns on at least 5 nights Enjoy wonderful views over the valleys, mountains and the Pacific Ocean See the Grand Shrines at Hongu and Nachi, along with Nachi-taki waterfall Stay at an authentic Shukubo pilgrims lodging on Mount Koya Explore Kii-Katsuura's lively fishing port where you can join the tuna auction in the early morning	Challenging	Recommended from April to November

View Details

9 Days

More than 1

14 (max)

From $Contact Us

Sacred Trails of the Yamabushi

Japanese Small Group Tours

You start off exploring Nara, Japan's first permanent capital, then head a lovely section of the Yagyu Kaido trail in the suburban Nara, transporting us away from busy city life into the tranquil surroundings of the Japanese countryside, where you walk through rural villages, rice fields and cedar forest. You then travel to Tenkawa-mura village in Yoshino-Kumano National Park, a designated World Heritage Site and particularly known for it's crystal clear waters flowing from a number of Dorogawa springs - here enjoy a walk up to an onsen village deep in the mountains, where you spend a night and enjoy a soak in the hot spring waters. Three days are spent in the beautiful Kii mountain range walking sections of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trails, with one of the highlights being an overnight at a Buddhist monastery on the sacred Mount Koya, offering an insight into a Buddhist monk's life..

Highlights	Trip level:	Availability:
Village to village walking on enchanting sections of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail Bathe in the thermal waters at hot-spring inns on at least 5 nights Enjoy wonderful views over the valleys, mountains and the Pacific Ocean See the Grand Shrines at Hongu and Nachi, along with Nachi-taki waterfall Stay at an authentic Shukubo pilgrims lodging on Mount Koya Explore Kii-Katsuura's lively fishing port where you can join the tuna auction in the early morning	Challenging	Recommended from April to November

View Details

10 Days

More than 1

14 (max)

Self-Guided Tours

About Our