Food and Yoga Tour of Japan with Jody Vassallo

Arrive to your Ryokan in Yanaka. 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 yakitori restaurant.

After breakfast, we will take the train to Asakusa and visit 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.

Start the day at Family yoga with a class taught by my yoga teachers an 80 year old Oki do master and his wife.

Following yoga we head to Tsujiki fish market where you are free to stroll and eat your fill of sushi, sashimi, grilled scallops, jumbo prawns and whatever seafood delicacies take your fancy.

Today we say goodbye to Tokyo but not before enjoying a bowl of ramen at Tokyo stations famous ramen street. We then jump on the train and head to Hakone via a zig zag rail journey and a cable car.

Tonight we will stay at a ryokan and enjoy our first onsen (Japanese bath).

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. 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 enjoy local onsens, visit the local gin distillery and sample shiso gin or bike ride or browse around the town. Our day will finish with another yin yoga class.

We enjoy buckwheat dumplings cooked on an open grill) and locally made soba noodles at a local restaurant.

If you’re feeling energetic you can embark on a 3 hour hike from our accommodation through the lush forest to the restaurant. if that’s not your thing you can take a shuttle to the restaurant.

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.

Travel by train to Kyoto enjoy a vegetarian lunch in a Zen temple then head out to visit the highlights of Kyoto. Our tour will include stops at the Golden temple and then onto the bamboo grove at Arashiyama.

Hike from Kurama to Kibune (approx. 2-3 hr gentle hike) then return to Kyoto for a traditional tea ceremony in the afternoon. We finish the day wandering through the geisha district as the sun is setting.

Visit Kyoto's famous Nishiki market in the morning. You will have the option in the afternoon of taking the train to Osaka to explore the Dotonburi street sampling takoyaki, wagu beef and okonomyaki.