Welcome to Taipei, a city that’s slow to rise but late to bed. Your Taipei guide will show you around the city, beginning with one of the greatest treasures of Taiwan, the National Palace Museum, hosting one of the largest collections of Chinese art and artefacts in the world, (a casual 700,000 items). Keep your eyes peeled for the famous Jade Cabbage, a sculpture so exquisitely crafted that you can’t be blamed if you want to eat it.

Stop by the grand plazas of Taipei Martyrs' shrine, dedicated to the 330,000 souls who died during the Sino-Japanese war and the Chinese Civil War. Then, take a stroll back in time through the old tea warehouses of Dihua Street, now artfully repurposed into a series of cafes, tea stores, and Chinese medicine shops. You’ll finish your first full day in the city at Ningxia Night Market, doing what Taipei does best – eating all manner of street food. We love the oyster omelettes and ice cream rolls, but don’t forget the beef soup and try stinky tofu (if you dare!).

Your second day will be at leisure. You may like to get out of the city and onto one of the many easily accessible hiking trails that lead up into the surrounding hills. If you time things right, you might see the sky turn brilliant red and orange as the sun sets behind the bamboo shaped spire of Taipei 101.

Explaining that you’ll be driven south to the Alishan Forest Recreation Area is a disservice to the vast mountain range you’ll be climbing to. The elevation difference between Taipei and Alishan is over two kilometres, and you’ll see every metre as the road winds through forested gorges and over tea covered ridges. Your destination in the shaded cypress forest of Alishan is well worth the climb. Set your alarm extra early to catch the special shuttle and train, timed to the sunrise. If the weather cooperates, you’ll see the famous Alishan “sea of clouds”, as the sun breaks through and spills into the cloud shrouded valleys below. Your guide will advise on the best trails through the forest recreation area, with options for all fitness and activity levels.

Leaving Alishan you’ll stop at a tea plantation to learn about how they plant, nurture and harvest the famous Alishan high mountain oolong. The altitude and weather here promotes a light and nutty taste with just enough caffeine to perk up your morning. Once you arrive back in Taipei you’ll have the rest of the afternoon at leisure. We love doing a bit of souvenir shopping in the boutiques of Huashan 1914 Creative Park. One of many old industrial areas across the country that have been revitalised, this historic brewery now overflows with artistic gifts, snacks, and trinkets to take home with you.

Bid farewell to Taiwan, and after your two and a half hour flight, Fukoka will welcome you with a hearty hello. This evening you’ll meet up with your local guide for a gustatorial exploration of the city, beginning at an izakaya. Here you’ll share a few plates – perhaps some fresh sashimi, deep fried tofu, gyoza dumplings or fried lotus root chips. Your second course will be riverside – the yatai stalls that Fukuoka is justly famous for, serving up warming broths packed with vegetables, fish and meat.

This morning you’ll catch the train to Nagasaki, a city steeped in history and atomic tragedy. But that’s not the whole story. Modern Nagasaki is one of our favourite cities, bright, energetic and cupped around the narrow bay that made it such an important trading port for centuries. You’ll have the afternoon at leisure to explore at your own pace, but we have few must-see suggestions. There’s Dejima Island, a reconstruction of the Dutch trading post that was one of Japan’s only connections to the western world for almost two hundred years. The sunset from the summit of Mt Inasa, accessible by cable car, is a wonderful cap to your afternoon in Nagasaki.

North of Nagasaki you’ll travel to a tea plantation that looks out over the vast Omura Bay, a far cry from the mountain vista of Alishan a few days ago. Here, you’ll learn about the Japanese take on tea, and the differences and similarities in how its grown and processed. After your tour through the fields and factory, you’ll sample eight different teas on your journey to being a true tea expert.

Just over four and a half hours and nearly 800 kilometres, the smooth and efficient Shinkansen bullet train delivers you to Kyoto. While Kyoto is a city of tradition and history, your first sight will be Kyoto station, a hyper modern cube of glass and steel. It was quite controversial when first built, but the city has come to love its train station.

Your local guide will show you two sides to the same city: some of the famous 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, temples and gardens, along with the more intimate and unknown side of the city that most tourists would struggle to find.

Through back streets and on tram cars and subways, you might like to start with a snack at Nishiki Market, or an early visit to beat the crowds at Fushimi Inari and the miles of bright vermillion torii gates that cover the trails up the mountain.

We recommend a short day trip to Hikone Castle, one of Japan’s 12 remaining feudal castles. Less famous than its grander cousin to the south, Himeji, Hikone is a quieter stop, with views out over the blue waters of Lake Biwa.