Best of Korea & Japan

Day 1-3

Seoul

Your adventure begins in Seoul, one of the most underrated capitals in Asia. A full day with a guide will help you get your bearings — perhaps including the traditional hanok district of Bukchon, the antique stores and sweet shops of back-alley Insadong, or street food and people-watching among the fashionistas in glitzy Myeongdong. The possibilities for your time here are endless, but be sure to make a stop at one of the city’s palaces (Gyeongbok is the biggest and most impressive) and check out sprawling Gwangjang Market, where you can eat your way through endless soondae sausage, bite-sized rice rolls and mung bean pancakes.

Highlights

See (and hear!) the historical reenactment of the changing of the guards at Gyeongbok Palace

Visit a workshop and make your own wooden sujeo (chopstick & spoon set) to use on your travels

Make an optional day trip to Suwon, home of World Heritage Hwaseong Fortress

Day 4

Andong

Your next destination will whisk you away from cutting-edge Seoul and back to the days of the Joseon Dynasty (or as close as you can get in modern Korea). Hahoe is a preserved clan village dating back to the 16th century, but it’s no museum: this is a living, working place with a sense of authenticity that’s often lacking in Korea’s reconstructed “folk villages”. Explore with a guide to demystify the local history and customs, then take the ferry across the river to Buyongdae Cliff for epic views. On your way back to Andong, stop at a World Heritage Confucian academy and the lovely Wolyeonggyo Bridge, arriving back in time to make the most of the city’s many bars and restaurants.

Highlights

Visit the Hahoe Mask Museum and learn how the locals keep their heritage alive through ritualistic mask dances and traditional festivals

See stunning views of Hahoe Village and the Nakdong River from Buyongdae Cliff

Spend a night in a traditional hanok house by the river, sleeping in a thatched cottage around a packed-earth courtyard

Day 5-6

Busan

It’s indisputable: Busan is the coolest kid in Korea. Kick off your exploration with an after-hours tour that’ll take in BIFF Square (the heart of Korean Hollywood), delicious street food, and markets brimming with K-Pop merch and knock-off Dolces. Then, go on a morning tour the slum-turned-Instagram-hotspot Gamcheon Village, with its jumble of steep, multicoloured alleys overflowing with sculptures, murals, craft shops, cafés, and amazing views. The rest of your time is yours to spend as you choose — whether that’s sipping a beer on Haeundae Beach, grabbing a famous giant hamburger at Gukje Market, or heading to the beautiful seaside temple of Haedong Yonggungsa.

Highlights

See the mesmerising light show projected on Busan Tower at Yongdu Mountain Park

Explore the hidden shops and cafés of many-coloured Gamcheon Culture Village

Eat nakji octopus tentacles and sample fish soup at Busan’s famous Jakgalchi Market

Day 7-9

Kyoto

You’ve tasted the best of Korea, now it’s time to see how Japan measures up. Where better to begin than Kyoto, the heart of Japanese traditional culture? Spend a full day with a guide exploring the hidden temples, shrines and gardens of this former imperial capital, then have tea with a real-life maiko (fledgling geisha): a privilege even few Japanese can boast. Kyoto has enough gold-clad temples, hidden moss gardens and bamboo groves to keep you busy for a lifetime, but if you do fancy a change of scenery it’s an easy day trip to the friendly deer in Nara, the street-food and nightlife of party-happy Osaka, or the wooded walking trails of nearby Mount Hiei.

Highlights

Enjoy an exclusive private audience with a maiko and learn about the “floating world” of the geisha

Explore the World Heritage temples and shrines of Kyoto with an expert guide to bring history to life

Escape the crowds with an optional day trip to traditional Nara — or embrace them with a day in the throng in buzzing Osaka

Geisha looking around corner and smiling at the camera

Day 10-11

Hakone

It may have begun life as a samurai’s hot-spring retreat, but Hakone today is a wacky wonderland of awesome art museums, upmarket resorts, pirate ship rides and Venetian glass forests (and that’s just for starters). A ryokan stay — complete with elaborate, traditional kaiseki feast — is de rigeuer, but the rest is up to you. Use the well-oiled network of boats, cablecars, funicular railways and buses to explore the region, passing through stunning mountain scenery swathed in forest, with Lake Ashi at its heart. Don’t miss the incredible Hakone Open-Air Museum — packed with interactive artworks, it’s often an unexpected highlight.

Highlights

Take the cablecar to sulphur-spewing Owakudani, where visitors boil black eggs in the bubbling hot springs

Relax in a private hot-spring bath at your ryokan inn, where you’ll eat kaiseki food and sleep in tatami-mat rooms

If you’re lucky, get a fabulous view of Mount Fuji — most often sighted in the clear weather of autumn and winter

People walking through field with Mount Fuji in the background

Day 12-14

Tokyo

Finally, Tokyo. What a place to conclude your trip. For us, it’s a contender for greatest city in the world. Throw yourself headlong into the local culture with an evening of food-sampling and bar-hopping with one of our resident connoisseurs — then spend a full day with a local guide to get the most out of the city. You might choose to spend it exploring the incense-wreathed temple and market stalls of traditional Asakusa, boat tripping on the Sumida River to hidden Hamarikyu Gardens, or exploring the blazing neon arcades and manga shops of Akihabara. Shops, bars, shrines, restaurants, art museums, karaoke: however you want to see out your trip; Tokyo's the place to do it in style.