Japan Discovery — Full Circuit with Hokkaido

Into the city and checked in, with the first evening free to adjust. Nothing is scheduled — a walk to the nearest neighbourhood and dinner is enough. Overnight in Tokyo.

The old city. Morning at Asakusa and Senso-ji, then the Ueno museums — the Tokyo National Museum is the single best introduction to Japanese art in the country. Afternoon in the Yanaka lanes, one of the few parts of Tokyo that looks as it did before the war. Evening free. Overnight in Tokyo.

The modern city. Meiji Jingu's forest first, then Harajuku, Shibuya and its crossing. Afternoon for Ginza, Odaiba or a tower deck. If you are awake early — and on the second morning most people are — the Tsukiji outer market is the best breakfast in Tokyo. Evening in Shinjuku. Overnight in Tokyo.

South by shinkansen, which takes the morning and is worth a window seat on the right-hand side for Fuji. Afternoon in Kyoto for Fushimi Inari and its torii tunnels — walk beyond the first gates and the mountain empties out. Evening along the Kamo river. Overnight in Kyoto.

Kinkaku-ji early, then west to Arashiyama: the bamboo grove before the crowds, Tenryu-ji's pond garden beside it, and a shojin lunch inside the temple grounds if you want the vegetarian Buddhist version of a Kyoto meal. Afternoon free on the west side. Overnight in Kyoto.

The eastern hills. Kiyomizu-dera and the stepped lanes below it in the morning, then Nanzen-ji, where a Meiji brick aqueduct runs straight through a thirteenth-century Zen precinct. Late afternoon on the Philosopher's Path, finishing in the Gion lanes at dusk. Overnight in Kyoto.

A short hop east to Osaka. Osaka Castle and its grounds in the afternoon, then the city's real business after dark: Dotonbori, where okonomiyaki is cooked on the counter in front of you and the kushikatsu rule — dip once, never twice — is posted on every wall. Overnight in Osaka.

West by shinkansen to Hiroshima. The afternoon is the Peace Memorial Park, the museum and the A-Bomb Dome on the river — heavy going, and worth leaving the evening unscheduled afterwards. Oysters from Hiroshima Bay are the local speciality, and the city eats its okonomiyaki layered rather than mixed. Overnight in Hiroshima.

The ferry across to Miyajima. The floating torii is the reason most people come — time it with the tide, since high and low water give completely different pictures — and Itsukushima Shrine behind it is built out over the water on stilts. The cable car up Mount Misen takes the afternoon if the weather is clear. Back to the mainland for the night. Overnight in Hiroshima.

North by air to the far island. Sapporo is immediately less dense than anywhere south of it — a grid city laid out in the nineteenth century, with Odori Park cutting a green line through the middle. Evening in Susukino, or soup curry, which is a Sapporo invention and exists almost nowhere else. Overnight in Sapporo.

Out of the city into the landscape Hokkaido is known for. In winter that means deep snow and the powder that draws skiers from across the world; the rest of the year it means volcanic lakes, hot springs and open country. Back into the city in the evening — the beer museum in its red-brick malt house is the indoor alternative on a hard-weather day. Overnight in Sapporo.

A short train along the coast to Otaru. The canal and its stone warehouses are the postcard, but the better hour is spent on Sakaimachi behind it, where the boom-era banks and merchant houses now hold glass workshops and seafood counters. Sushi here is worth the trip on its own. Back to Sapporo for the last night. Overnight in Sapporo.

A last northern morning — the Nijo market, or Mount Moiwa if the air is clear — before the transfer for your onward flight.