Food and Yoga Tour of Japan with Jody Vassallo

Arrive to your Japanese guest house. Check in is from 3pm.

You can then spend the afternoon wandering on and off Yanaka Ginza into shops selling tea, antiques, woodblock stamps or discovering galleries and exploring the charming cafes the area has to offer.This will allow you a soft landing into Tokyo away from all the bright lights and crowds.

This evening we will enjoy a delicious dinner together at a local restaurant.

After morning yoga we will enjoy breakfast in Yanaka.

Next stop is Asakusa where we will meet our guide who will show us around Senso-ji Temple. This is one of the most famous temples in Tokyo and it’s also home to Nakamise Dori, a shopping street that sells traditional Japanese souvenirs and a lot of popular street food. We will sample senbai rice crackers, dango, melon pan, yuzu soda, matcha icecream, taiyaki and weave our way through the outer alleys before heading to Kappabashi (kitchen street) where you will find plenty of great shopping.

You will have the evening free to explore Tokyo at your leisure.

An early morning yoga class today followed by a tour of Tokyo’s Tsujiki outer fish market. Here you are free to stroll and eat your fill of sushi, sashimi, grilled scallops, jumbo prawns and whatever seafood delicacies take your fancy.

After the market we bid Tokyo goodbye and take the train out of Tokyo and head up into mountains to our onsen in Hakone.

This morning we take a train to Nozawa, an onsen town in the mountains where we will enjoy a yin yoga class in the afternoon before a welcome dinner at a traditional restaurant in the village.

We will start the day with a yoga class taught by Jody followed by a breakfast at our hotel.

Then you can spend the morning enjoying the onsens Nozawa has to offer and wander around the little village.

We head out to a nearby village for a handmade soba and buckwheat dumpling lunch made from locally grown buckwheat.

We will start the day with another yoga class. Following yoga, you’ll have a guided tour through Nozawa village and learn about the cooking onsen in the centre of town .  The afternoon you will have free time to visit the local gin distillery and sample shiso gin. Our day will finish with another yin yoga class.

Time to wave goodbye to Nozawa and make our way to Kanazawa. Travel to Kanazawa a small coastal town famous for its seafood and a lively market where you sample the local cuisine. You will have the chance to enjoy Kanazawa curry which is thicker and richer than most Japanese curries. Should you wish you can will try Kanazawa’s legendary Hanton rice which consists of an omelette over rice with fried prawns and rich sauce.

Lunch today will be at a small sushi restaurant nearby Kenrokeun gardens.

Once our tummies are full we will head up to Kenrokuen Garden and you will have a few hours to stroll through what is known to be one of top three most beautiful gardens in Japan. Kanazawa is also well known for its gold leaf so you may want to sample gold leaf ice-cream as you wander through the gardens.

We then head over to the geisha district for tea in a traditional Japanese tea house.Here we will enjoy a sushi lunch in one of Kanazawa’s most famous sushi establishments. After lunch you are free to wander through Kenroeken gardens and then we will make

This morning we make a short trip into the Japanese Alps to stay in the traditional village of Takayama. We are here to sample its famous Hide beef, visit their renowned sake breweries

Today we will visit the morning market before heading to Takayama’s old town to take a step back in time. You will have plenty of time to meander through the streets, enjoying the cafes, restaurants and shops featuring handmade gifts.

For lunch we will sample Takayama’s unique ramen fully of curly noodles in a rich chicken broth

Your afternoon will be free to explore local onsens or take a trip to Hida Furakawa another charming town located 20 minutes away.

Travel by train to Kyoto.

We will then wander through the world renowned NIshiki market where you can sample a huge range of Kyoto’s regional foods.

We finish the day wandering through the geisha district as the sun is setting.

This morning we will enjoy a traditional Japanese breakfast in Arashiyama. Following this we will visit the famous bamboo forest and then head over to the Golden Temple.

We will finish the day with a dinner together in Kyoto.

We finish with a traditional Japanese breakfast and they say goodbye to each other.