Japan Hiking & Walking Tour

At hotels in Japan, the local preference for ordered, austere aesthetics is prioritized. This means simple rooms with fewer amenities than you might find in a typical Backroads hotel, sometimes with futon beds, and instead an emphasis on tranquility and refined traditional onsen (Japanese-style spas). Our first hotel, Itaya Yumoto, is a 250-year-old family-run inn located in the heart of Nikko National Park. It is more basic and dated than what you might expect from a typical Backroads Casual Hotel, but its history and exceptional location, surrounded by trails and natural beauty, make it the ideal base for exploring this spectacular region.

Japan’s fierce pride in its cuisine offers many culinary riches. This same pride, however, also creates an inflexibility that can be challenging for Western guests. Menus are planned well in advance, and Japanese restaurants are not accustomed to or able to make substitutions or additions, even if requested several days in advance.

Japanese menus include a significant amount of seafood and beef in most meals. Crucially, soy sauce and bonito (made from smoked skipjack tuna) are used as base ingredients throughout Japanese cuisine. Because of this, Japanese cuisine is not conducive to celiac or kosher diets and adhering to strict vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets while in Japan requires careful planning so alternate dishes can be prepared. It is critical to ensure that the dietary information you provide to Backroads in advance of your trip is accurate and representative of what you want to eat in Japan, since changes or “cheats” will generally not be possible once on trip.

In order to access the scenic and culturally significant routes and points of interest on this trip, strategic shuttles and bullet train rides are incorporated into our itinerary. Most travel will be limited to an hour or so at a time, but on some days you can expect to spend a bit more time traveling—though always to reach a worthwhile destination!