For Australians, there has rarely been a better time to visit Japan. After years of pandemic-related closure, the country reopened in late 2022 with a sense of renewal, thanks largely to the Tokyo Olympics the previous year, which had brought a flurry of hotel openings and infrastructure improvements, not just in the capital buta cross the country.
The relative strength of the dollar against the yen still means that Japan has been more affordable recently than it’s been in decades, making splurges on otherwise off-limits luxuries (whether hotels, restaurants or shopping) a real possibility— even on a budget.
First-time visitors should allow at least 10 days to explore the Golden Route, so called because the destinations it covers —including Tokyo, Kyoto,Osaka and points in between— are the gold standard for tourism here, and all connected by a highly convenient rail system.
For this 10-day itinerary, we consulted two expert travel advisers: Sara Aiko, the founder of Curated Kyoto, who specialises in fashion and design, and Scott Gilman, the managing partner and a co-founder of the bespoke luxury travel company Japan Quest Journeys.
Their aim? To fine-tune the ideal tour, combining visits to must-see landmarks with detours to their own favourite under-the-radar spots. Each day includes a high option for those who want to indulge on an expensive hotel or meal, and a low option for budget-friendly alternatives. (Hotel rates listed are for two people). 
This itinerary is also meant to provide occasional relief from the crowds: last year, Japan welcomed almost 40 million international visitors — a record.
Left: The Owner’s Suite at Tokyo’s Trunk Hotel, near Yoyogi Park. Right: Trunk’s rooftop pool is a godsend in summer. Photographs courtesy of Mandarin Oriental.
For many visitors, Tokyo, the capital city, epitomises the country — a megalopolis with streets drenched in neon and dense with restaurants, bars and shops catering to every conceivable niche. It’s also an easy entry point to Japan, with daily nonstop flights from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. There are two main international airports: Narita and Haneda, the latter being preferable, since it’s considerably closer to the urban core.
Although Japan’s subway and rail system is legendarily efficient and reliable, Gilman can also arrange a car and driver for an airport transfer, and for one or multiple days here — especially useful if a trip coincides with the brutal heat of summer, when humidity and 35°C temperatures make it difficult to walk for any distance outdoors. Today, you’ll check into your hotel and explore the surroundings. 
Gilman’s luxury retreat of choice is the 179-room Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo, occupying the 30th to 38th floors of a modern high-rise in Nihonbashi, a commercial district peppered with historic sites. “I love the intimate lobby and the great service, and they have one of the best Chinese restaurants in the city, Sense,” says Gilman.
Rooms from about $1,275 a night. mandarinoriental.com
Aiko is partial to the 25-room Trunk Hotel near Yoyogi Park, Tokyo’s answer to Central Park. It has a rooftop pool — an especially welcome amenity in summer — and is within walking distance of the nightlife and shopping district of Shibuya, and of Harajuku, a neighbourhood best known for its boutiques and locals showing off their outrageous style.
Rooms from about $900 a night. yoyogipark.trunk-hotel.com 
A suite at the Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo, which occupies the 30th to 38th floors of a high-rise in Nihonbashi. Photograph courtesy of Mandarin Oriental.
Start your first full day in Tokyo focused on one of the great pleasures of this city: food. Tsukiji Outer Market, near the luxury-shopping and -hotel district of Ginza, is known for exceptionally fresh sushi.
Tsukiji was once home to the largest wholesale fish market on earth and, while the famous tuna auctions have moved about three kilometres away to Toyosu Market (which is mostly off limits to visitors), there are still hundreds of food and produce stalls to explore.
Vendors here sell everything from uni-topped rice bowls to sizzling tamagoyaki, a Japanese omelette, and fresh green teas.
In the afternoon, dive into another category that Tokyo does best: art and craft. Begin at the avant-garde world of digital art at Team Lab Borderless in Azabudai Hills, a giant new development of skyscrapers in central Tokyo, where immersive projections blur the line between viewer and work.
Aiko also recommends Sogetsu Plaza at the Sogetsu Foundation for “its exhibitions that range from large-scale ceramic pots to contemporary fashion. The building was designed by Kenzo Tange, one of Japan’s most famous architects, while the plaza itself is a stone garden created by the artist Isamu Noguchi.”
For dinner, head to Shima, near the Mandarin Oriental, which specialises in Wagyu steak. Grab a counter seat to watch the cooks prepare the evening’s meals.
Diners have the option of ordering steak sandwiches (served on Japanese milk bread, also known as shokupan) to take with them for a late-night snack.
7-Eleven, the ubiquitous convenience store chain, is revered in Japan thanks to the cheap, high-quality snacks and meals its ells at any time of day or night.
Dinner here might include a combination of onigiri (a rice ball wrapped in seaweed, filled with various items like salted salmon or pickled plums), karaage (fried chicken)and the store’s addictive Japanese-style egg sandwiches. 
Begin with a morning stroll through Meiji Shrine, where towering, traditional torii gates lead you into a 70-hectare forest, including oak and camphor trees.
The earlier you arrive, the less likely you are to be swallowed up by the groups of sightseers. (The shrine opens at sunrise, although the Inner Garden is only accessible from 9am, and theMeiji Jingu Museum from 10am.)
Nearby Omotesando Avenue is agood place to experience the city’s steroidal retail scene, with its audacious boutiques —among them Prada’s, with its latticed facade designed by Herzog & de Meuron, and Louis Vuitton’s, housed in the architect Jun Aoki’s glass edifice. (Gilman can arrange a guided architect-led tour of Tokyo’s eclectic building styles.)
One of Aiko’s favourite shops is Bed j.w. Ford in Shibuya, about a 15-minute walk from the buzz of Harajuku. Founded in 2010 by the self-taught designer Shinpei Yamagishi, it’s technically a menswear store, but the pieces are designed to suit women as well.
For a different kind of aesthetic education, the Nezu Museum’s collection of Japanese and East Asian art is rivalled only by its resplendent gardens. And later, explore the winding streets of Azabu Juban, a well-heeled, mostly residential neighbourhood, pausing for local confectioneries while catching a glimpse of everyday life in Tokyo.
The day closes with an evening stroll around the Imperial Palace moat before heading over to Ginza, a short walk away.
While in Ginza, grab a drink at the 12-seat bar High Five, which serves delicious cocktails like the Japanese Garden (whisky, melon liqueur and green tea liqueur) and the 110 Yokohama (dry gin, vodka, orange, grenadine and Pernod), although the bartenders are known for tailoring each drink to the individual guest.
If karaoke is on your Tokyo wish list, head to Karaoke Kan Shibuya, made famous by the 2003 film “Lost in Translation”.
Left: The Taiwan Pavilion in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Gyoen botanical garden. Right: A reconstructed citrus tart with rosemary ice cream at French restaurant La Paix, Nihonbashi. Photographs courtesy of Toshihiko Hamasak and © Shinjuku Gyoen Management Office.
Today is a study in contrasts. Begin at Shinjuku Gyoen, a botanical garden that spans 58 hectares and originated in the 18th century.
Here cherry blossoms bloom in spring, the leaves are ablaze in autumn, and you’ll find traditional English and French gardens along with typical Japanese landscapes as well as an enclosed greenhouse that’s home to a variety of tropical and subtropical plants and flowers.
Later, head to the Akihabara district, a technophile’s dreamland crowded with anime shops and retro gaming arcades. Or if you prefer a more subdued scene, venture into the quietly stylish Daikanyama neighbourhood, home to artisanal coffeehouses and the splendid Tsutaya Books complex.
Not only does Tsutaya carry an endless-seeming selection of art and design titles, it has a huge selection of magazine back issues, too.
Tokyo has no shortage of acclaimed French restaurants, including the farm-driven La Paix, which Gilman recommends for its six-course lunch menu that may include dishes like foie gras mousse, roasted duck with a port wine sauce and salt ice cream.
There are few things more quintessentially Japanese than a bowl of ramen, and Gilman’s favourite is served at Kyushu Jangara Ramen in Harajuku, a casual counter-seating spot to refuel between sites.
Asadaya Ryokan in Kanazawa.
Gilman recommends at least a day in the coastal city of Kanazawa, an easy 2.5-hour Shinkansen bullet train ride. 
Kanazawa offers a number of fine ryokans, the traditional Japanese inns that are often family-run affairs with just a few rooms — almost like guesthouses but without the overt familiarity.
One of the standouts is the three-room Asadaya Ryokan, owned by the same family that opened it over 350 years ago. Abonus is that it’s adjacent to Omicho Market.
Rooms from about $1,500 a night. yadotime.jp
Uan Kanazawa is a modern hotel with 47 clean-lined, simply designed guest rooms within walking distance of sites like Kanazawa Castle and the popular nightlife districts Korinbo and Katamachi.
Rooms from about $200 a night. uan-kanazawa.com
A banner above an entrance to Kyoto’s Nishiki Market displays a print by the 18th- century painter Ito Jakuchu. Photograph courtesy of Yoto Nishiki Market Shopping Street Promotion Union.
Board a two-hour Shinkansen to Kyoto, Japan’s capital from 794 to 1868. Despite the preconceived notions many foreigners might have about the city — that it’s something like a preserved-in-amber open-air museum — it’s in fact a metropolis with a population of over 1.4 million.
And while imperial architecture and Zen temples are plentiful, there’s much more than just history to appreciate here. (But beware: the most popular areas, like Gion and Higashiyama, are often thick with crowds, especially in spring and autumn, typically the busiest tourist seasons.)
As in every major Japanese city, public transportation by subway and bus is a convenient way to get around but, if you’re hoping to pack in a lot of sights or would rather minimise the walking, book a private car and driver (Aiko suggests MK Taxi).
Gilman recommends walking along the cobblestone, pedestrian-only streets of Higashiyama’s Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka, lined with traditional wooden houses converted into independent shops and restaurants, as your first introduction to Kyoto.
The spectacular Kiyomizudera is nearby — a temple that includes a wooden stage jutting 13 metres over a hillside.
Aiko’s favourite luxury hotel in Kyoto is the nine-room Shinmonzen in Gion. “The design is stunning,” she says,“but what really sets it apart is its intimate atmosphere and above-and-beyond omotenashi [Japanese hospitality].”
Suites from about $2,300 a night. theshinmonzen.com
Fufu Kyoto is a low-key ryokan-style property with 40 rooms known for its ikebana arrangements, peaceful garden and quiet location set away from the street. “It’s in Okazaki, Kyoto’s cultural hub,” says Aiko.
The best part? “Each room comes with a private onsen bath, and it’s just a 12-minute walk from the hotel to the serene beauty of Nanzenji Temple and its lush surroundings.”
Rooms from about $730 a night. fufukyoto.jp
Today focuses on a couple of touristy-for-a-reason sites.(Weekdays tend to be slightly less crowded, so you might want to plan accordingly.) The first stop is Nijo Castle, an Edo-period masterpiece completed in 1603 then expanded for the emperor’s visit 23 years later, as the Kyoto residence of the shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa, and offering a peek into the life of Japan’s ruling class in the 17th century.
For a more modern-day experience, head to Nishiki Market, considered the culinary hub of the city, where food stalls sell fresh seafood and delicacies ranging from pickled vegetables to traditional sweets like mochi and taiyaki (fish-shaped pastries typically filled with red bean paste, but also in variations with custard, chocolate or matcha).
The food scene in Kyoto is defined by its high-quality vegetables and soft groundwater sources (hence the abundance of broths and soups on menus). To fully appreciate the city’s offerings, says Aiko, you should make a point to try a range of options, even in your short visit, from a temple of gastronomy to a homey noodle spot.
The 32-seat restaurant Kiyama, named for its chef, Yoshiro Kiyama, offers a seafood-focused multi course menu where dishes like noodles in a clam-laden soup stock are made with water from the onsite well.
“In central Kyoto, Shimizusells pork cutlet sandwiches packed with flavour, while Soba Rojina offers hearty and satisfying noodle lunch sets,” says Aiko. 
This is a short extract from T Magazine’s August Issue: Craft. 
To read the full story, pick up a copy of our new issue in newsagents nationally or buy to receive T Australia straight to your letterbox. You will find it with the title “Go For Gold” on page 106.
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