Day 1 : Arrival in the Land of the Rising Sun
As the plane descends over the Tokyo metropolis, the brilliance of the city lights draws open your eyes. Your private transfer greets you at Narita Airport to take you to your luxury hotel located in the heart of the city. From Narita Airport, the trip into Tokyo proper takes you along the roads and railways that form the backbone of this timeless city.

Make sure to close the curtains in your luxurious hotel room. You want to be well rested for the captivating experiences that await you in the week ahead.

Day 2 : Money, Politics, and Art in Tokyo
Rise early and claim the morning; your reward is a coveted peek into the Tsukiji Fish Market auction.

As you make your way through the pre-dawn cityscape, you notice that even now Tokyo pulsates with activity. Ranks of “salary-men” can be seen rushing along to work while others are only now stumbling out of an izakaya (Japanese-style bar). For some, it’s one in the same.

Though the hour is early, you want to stay alert at Tsukiji. The world’s largest fish market is certainly the most hectic as well, with transport carts and trucks zipping across the complex of warehouses that comprise the marketplace.

You are escorted to the auction grounds where hundreds of flash-frozen tuna are lined along wooden pallets. Potential buyers dig sample chunks from the massive fish and take meticulous notes on the freshness and fat content. When the bell rings, the auction begins. The auctioneer’s verbal cascade is littered with commercial jargon and buyers largely communicate in hand signals.

At the National Diet, you see a literal seat of power—the Emperor’s throne. Though, in truth, the House of Councilors and House of Peers, analogous to the U.K.’s House of Lords and House of Commons, is where the highest power resides in this parliamentary government.

The Emperor’s waiting room is evidence that monarchs do everything in style, even passing time. Though bare in furniture (save for a single chair and table, which appear child-sized in the voluminous room), the walls and ceiling are elegantly embroidered with symbols of the Imperial family. The crest of the chrysanthemum and the Imperial phoenix are masterfully stitched in gold and silver threading.

Within the Diet, you also visit the chamber of the House of Councilors and a reverent exhibition in the Visitor’s Lobby that brings you up to speed on the history and function of Japan’s most powerful political body.

Spend the afternoon at the Tokyo National Museum, the country’s oldest and richest repository of Asian art and artifacts. The museum has shaped the public’s understanding of Japanese heritage since its 1872 inception. Of the Museum’s five galleries, you may find the Gallery of Horyuji Treasures most interesting on this tour. The Horyuji Treasures consist of Buddhist sutras and pictorial accounts and reveal much about the Asuka and Nara periods of Japanese history. These artifacts have been passed through familial power lines and in 1878 they fell into the possession of the Imperial family.

Day 3 : A View over Tokyo
The latticed structure and curving legs of Tokyo Tower are clearly inspired by the Eiffel Tower. But the Tokyo Tower (1,092 feet) just scrapes past its French cousin by 10 yards. Head to the main observatory deck (492 feet), which features sections of see-through flooring. Or if you’d capture the capital city in its full grandeur, head to the special observatory (820 feet). On a clear day, look for Mt. Fuji seated on the horizon.

Return to Earth with a stroll through Happo-en, the “Garden of Eight Views”, once the prized grounds of a loyal Edo-era vassal. True to its name, there are many aspects to the beauty of Happo-en: A charming collection of bonsai trees, the Daigo Shrine honoring Emperor Meiji, a teahouse which still serves tea in a ceremonial ritual, and a central pond patrolled by curious koi which form a blend of colors as they mob at the suspicion of food.

Take an upriver cruise along the Sumida River and behold the marvels of engineering that surround you. Skyscrapers, suspension bridges, and even the river is the product of man’s ingenious touch. In the spring, the cherry blossom trees along the banks make this cruise an idyllic portrait in motion, with white and pink blossoms slowly accumulating on the water.

Return to land in the Asakusa district, home to the world-famous Senso-ji Temple. Your entrance to the temple follows a long and narrow corridor lined with shops and stalls known as Nakamise-dori. There’s no sense hurrying through the crowd of sightseers and pilgrims, so as you shuffle on by, take notice of what the vendors are offering — everything from souvenirs to silk goods.

Have your fate revealed unto you from an o-mikuji, a scrolled up fortune, which for the price of a few coins, can be purchased from cabinets around the temple. The fortunes are classified according to a tiered system, with everything from “Great Blessing” to “Ending Curse”. Take home the prosperous fortunes, and if you don’t like your particular fortune, it’s fairly common to leave the fortune at the temple.

Day 4 : In the Shadow of Mt. Fuji
In the morning, travel to Mount Fuji by coach. Fuji-san, as locals affectionately call it, is a powerful symbol of national identity that features throughout Japanese lore. You arrive at Station Five, about halfway up the mountain, just in time for a Western lunch. You have a chance to wander the rugged terrain for a bit. As you’re at an elevation of over 7,000 feet, you may notice walking around leaves you huffing and a lunch-beer leaves you lightheaded.

Your next stop is the handsome town of Hakone. Once a tightly controlled checkpoint in the Edo era, Hakone is now a popular resort town. Its onsen (hot springs), golf courses, wooded lakeshores, and views of Mount Fuji are the perfect natural remedy for cooped-up city dwellers on vacation.

Day 5 : The Hall of the Great Buddha
During the Meiji era (1868-1912), the trek from the Tokyo region to Kyoto would have taken days. In the Heian or Nara period, it would have been weeks. Today, aboard the Shinkansen Bullet Train, the journey is considered a morning commute.

Kyoto is in many ways frozen in its imperial past. In the historical neighborhoods still filled with simple wooden buildings and cobblestone streets, rickshaws and red lanterns are as common the sight of taxis and streetlights. Perhaps the most famous of these neighborhoods is the Gion District, home of the geisha.

Much has been said of the geisha of Gion, though little is known. Their dramatic elegance is romanticized, their world impenetrable. In this sense, they are thought to be emblematic of Japanese culture. As you stroll through Gion, you see geisha teahouses. For centuries, these have served as private quarters in which the geisha offer their unique medium of entertainment, art, and companionship to discrete individuals with deep connections and even deeper pockets.

Day 6 : The Palaces of Shoguns
The construction of Nijo Castle aligns with the dawn of the Edo Period in 1603, the same year Tokugawa Ieyasu claimed the shogunate and, thus, Japan itself. Ieyasu’s ruthlessness cunning helped him triumph over his enemies, but it also made him many more. Knowing this, Ieyasu had Nijo Castle—which served as his fortified residence during his stays in Kyoto—built with nightingale floors, designed to make chirping sounds under the weight of any skulking, would-be assassins.

The floors still chirp as you tour Ieyasu’s inner sanctum, Ninomaru Palace, and those with a keen eye may spot some of the acute shogun’s other construction tricks like secret passages, concealed closets for extra bodyguards, and concubine dormitories.

Day 7 : Farewell For Now
Wake up to the golden sun slowly rising over the mountains and cityscape. In the morning, your private transfer will meet you at the hotel lobby, ready to take you to Osaka International Airport for your flight home. It’s farewell for now, but you could always extend your Japan vacation to see more of the hidden treasures of which you have only had a brief taste.