Japan Family Journey: 9 Days from Tokyo to Osaka

Jump straight into Tokyo: cross the famous Shibuya scramble and watch the city move from the crossing's edge, then wander Harajuku's Takeshita Street for crepes and character shops the kids will love. A short walk brings you into the cedar forest of Meiji Jingu, where the city noise disappears at the great torii gate. As the light fades, ride up Tokyo Tower for a first-night view over the whole city.

Start beneath the golden ginkgo avenue of Meiji Jingu Gaien — in season, one of Tokyo's most photographed streets — then slow down in Rikugien, an Edo-period strolling garden built around a central pond. In the afternoon, pass through the Kaminarimon gate to Senso-ji temple in Asakusa, snack your way along Nakamise street, and finish beside (or up) Tokyo Skytree.

Leave the city behind for the Fuji Five Lakes. Circle Lake Kawaguchi with Mt Fuji filling the sky on a clear day, and in autumn walk the Momiji Corridor, a canal-side tunnel of maple trees at the lake's north shore. Tonight the family sleeps at an onsen ryokan: tatami rooms, yukata robes and a hot-spring bath after dinner.

Morning at Oshino Hakkai, a village of eight spring-water ponds so clear you can count the fish, with thatched roofs and Fuji behind. Then over to Hakone: cruise Lake Ashi on the sightseeing ship, ride the ropeway across the steaming Owakudani valley, and try a black egg cooked in the volcanic springs. A second onsen ryokan night follows.

Ride the shinkansen to Kyoto, the old imperial capital. Ease in with an afternoon in Gion: lantern-lit Hanamikoji street, Yasaka Shrine at the district's head, and the preserved lanes where — with luck — a geiko or maiko hurries past at dusk.

A full Kyoto day on the eastern hills. Stand on the wooden stage of Kiyomizu-dera above a sea of trees, walk down through Higashiyama's Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka lanes, then continue to Eikando — famous for its maple garden — and the massive gate and aqueduct of Nanzen-ji.

West to Arashiyama: the Togetsukyo bridge over the Katsura river, the Zen garden of Tenryu-ji, and the bamboo grove behind it. In the afternoon choose your finish — Tofuku-ji's maple-filled valley, or the thousands of vermilion torii gates climbing the hill at Fushimi Inari.

Day trip to Nara, Japan's first permanent capital. Bow to the sacred deer of Nara Park (they bow back for a cracker), stand before the Great Buddha inside Todai-ji's vast wooden hall, and follow the stone-lantern path to Kasuga Taisha shrine. By evening, check in at Osaka.

Morning walk up the wooded gorge of Minoh Park to its waterfall — try the local specialty, maple-leaf tempura. Back in the city, visit Osaka Castle and its gold-trimmed keep, then spend the last evening under the neon of Dotonbori: takoyaki, the Glico runner sign, and one final family photo.