Spirits of Japan Tour ( 13 Days Tour)

Tokyo – Konichiwa From the World Whisky Distiller of the Year

Japan's history is alive with myths and legends, the delicate notes of its spirits blurred into the sublime tastes of today. Take the Miyagikyo Distillery, enclosed by mountains and nestled between two rivers in Sendai. Legendary tales talk of Masataka Taketsuru starting whisky production after one sample of the unsullied mountain water - A fanciful tale? Maybe. Fast-forward to 2015, Miyagikyo Distillery was voted Distiller of the Year by the International Spirits Challenge, so perhaps there's a little more than mythology here. Arrive at Miyagikyo and the mystical reverie is immediately apparent, the distillery dominating a postcard setting, nobly standing on a landscape dappled with the elegant search for perfection.

In the morning you'll land at Narita Airport, where you will be greeted and transferred directly to the five-star Palace Hotel and a deluxe room with balcony overlooking the city. Relax and settle in, the Tokyo skyline rising and falling away towards the horizon. Your expert Tokyo guide meets you at Sendai station and guides you on a tour of the Miyagikyo Distillery, a place that happily opens its doors to those seeking to pursue the impeccability of its production. You're pulled into the natural setting, the distillery tucked away amongst a setting of diaphanous beauty. Then you're swept away by the complex fruit-noted tones of Nikka Whisky.

Return to Tokyo and a dinner at Takazawa is recommended, the exclusive 10-seat restaurant expertly fusing French and Japanese cuisine. Voted one of Asia's 50 Best restaurants by the World's 50 Best, the intimate dining room is effervescently brightened by signature dishes like snapping turtle soup and purple asparagus, or a rock pool-like assembly of seafood served on a gentle dusting of powdered shrimp sand. Subtle notes prosper and mingle while there's always a visual surprise emerging from the kitchen.

What's Included: accommodation at the Palace Hotel in a deluxe room with balcony, airport transfer, Miyagikyo Distillery tour, private guide, transfers.

Tokyo – Whisky Beneath Mount Fuji and Authentic Kobe Beef

Tokyo's neon drifts away, replaced by the distant cone of Mount Fuji, the majestic icon of Japan ringed by five exquisite lakes. Travel by rail, hurtling from cityscape to these natural aquatic counterpoints, first dipping into the Picasso's and Henry Moore's of Hakone Open Air Museum. From Odawara Station you're escorted by private car around Hakone, the mysterious peak of Fuji a constant compass point in the journey. Snuggled into the mountain's forested slopes, elegantly illuminated by Fuji's cone, you'll find Fuji Gotemba Distillery. One single malt and three grain whiskies are produced here, each sampled with the spellbinding backdrop of Fuji and her subtly green slopes. Slip into the natural reverie and sample their unique setting, each whisky emerging from the waters of Fujisan that trickle down from above. A traditional Japanese Onsen, or spa, can also be visited during your time in Hakone.

You'll be dropped at the train station for the return journey to Tokyo, where tonight's recommended drinks and dinner also delights in its authenticity. Like Mount Fuji, kobe beef has come to symbolize the bashful majesty of Japan and its culture. While kobe very much epitomizes the pursuit of perfection, it's not in the Japanese spirit to over-celebrate. This iconic meal is bold and confident yet it's not over-embellished. Ascend to the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt, where you can relive Lost in Translation at the New York Bar. Then move across to the dining tables of New York Grill, where the kobe beef comes with the soft multiplicity of tender tones.

What's Included: accommodation at the Palace Hotel in a deluxe room with balcony, privately guided tour of Hakone including Fuji Gotemba Distillery, JR Rail Pass, breakfast.

Takayama to Kanazawa – Japanese Culinary Delicacies and Gardens of Splendor

Continue the sake visits through the morning, wrapping up any Takayama breweries that couldn't be reached yesterday. Sample your way through history, sipping on the sumptuous hues that cascade across the town. When a foreigner thinks of sake they think of Japan. When a Japanese person thinks of sake they think of Takayama. Peek further into the town's past by exploring the Hida Folk Museum and wandering a final journey through these antiquated alleys and streets. From here it's a two-hour train journey to Kanazawa, another town that revels in its presentation of historic Japan. You're staying in a Machiya, a traditional townhouse that's been carefully converted into accommodation for those seeking to sleep amidst the beauty of Japan's past.

It's in places like Takayama and Kanazawa that the idiosyncrasy of Japan's spirits really reigns. This search for perfection is not an art form; it's an inherent part of culture, continually evolving yet always respecting the ancestral pioneers. Arrive in Kanazawa and spend the day on a privately guided tour of the town's sights, including the hypnotic foundations of Kanazawa Castle and the blissful atmosphere of Kenroku-en, considered to be amongst the three most beautiful gardens in the country. Meander along the paths that blossom with the seasons, footsteps the only break in an atmosphere of silence. If there is time there's the option of also visiting Kanazawa Art Museum, one of Japan's best for modern art.

A second kaiseki ryori is recommended for tonight's dinner, locally famous chef Shinichiro Takagi welcoming you to an evening of multi-course delicacies as seductive on the eyes as they are on the tongue. Inspired by the bounty of the Sea of Japan and fresh seasonal ingredients, the assemblage of small dishes is served in a humble setting, allowing the flamboyance of taste to shine even brighter. Alain Ducasse was once welcomed here at Zeniya and this gastronomic haunt is well regarded to be amongst Japan's finest kaiseki ryori experiences. The succession of dishes connect the categories of Japanese cuisine, blending the tea ceremony tradition into vegetarian temple food of Buddhist monks, then the rich imperial flavors of samurai gastronomy and the modest yet tasteful samples of local life.

What's Included: overnight at Machiya Kanazawa Kikunoya, morning Takayama private tour, afternoon Kanazawa private tour, JR Rail Pass, breakfast.

Kyoto – Understanding the Craft of Kyoto's Spirits

Kyoto blurs the distinction of spirit and spirits, its ancient sake breweries standing amongst the tales of Japan's past. Kyoto is ancient Japan, one of the world's great cultural cities and home to 17 World Heritage Sites, 1600 temples, and over 400 Shinto shrines. After the 3.5-hour Shinkansen train ride you'll be given a three-day Kansai thru pass for your time here. Check in to the Ritz Carlton and explore during the afternoon, wandering lanes dappled with the unmissable scents of history. Head to Gekkeikan Okua and Kinshi Masamume, two museums dedicated to the craft of brewing sake and the history of Japan's iconic spirit.

Kyoto dances to an historic beat, the streets softly resonant of yesteryear's rhythm. Continue to step backwards in time with the sake breweries that lace the Kyoto ward of Fushimi, their white walls juxtaposed with elegant rows of willow trees and the Horikawa River. Many can be visited although the following are recommended for their timeless role in the production of Japan's spirit. Yamamoto Honke Brewery dates to 1667, their sweet sake a pioneer in Kyoto's history. Matsui Shuzo Sake Brewery is modern by Kyoto's standards, dating to the early 18th century. For almost 300 years they've only brewed small batches and sold locally in Kyoto, perfecting their taste to the palate of the ancient city's population.

Legend and life mixes easily in Kyoto, the two intermingling until spirit and spirits are equally challenging to separate. Continue the Kyoto journey, winding past the streets of antiquity to the spiritual Tori gates of Fushimi Inari Shrine, a transcendental slice of history perched above Fushimi. Now a Kyoto Maiko experience, where tea-pouring rituals are accompanied by songs and music, the verses concocting tales of the Maiko, an apprentice to the Kyoto Geisha.

Finally, tonight's recommended dinner offers a quintessential local experience, the Kyoto udon noodles soft yet still chewy at legendary local haunt Omen.

What's Included: overnight at Ritz Carlton Hotel in a Deluxe Room, Kyoto private tour, Kansai thru pass, JR Rail Pass, breakfast, lunch.

Kyoto – The World's Best Whisky

In Jim Murray's 2015 Whisky Bible it's not a Scottish single malt that takes away the gong. To the surprise of the Scots, a Japanese distillery produced the world's number one whisky. That's not a surprise to anyone in Japan: the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery has won the International Spirits Challenge prestigious Distiller of the Year title in four of the last six years. The Yamazaki products are awarded some of the top honors of whisky on a yearly basis.

Murray labelled it a drink of “near incredible genius” going on to exude the exquisite boldness and lingering teasing spice of the Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013. Today you enjoy a tour of this unique distillery, sampling the rounded notes of the world's best whisky and comparing it with a wide range of the distillery's other single malts.

Tucked into the foothills of the Tenno Mountain, Yamazaki reflects the continual strive for flawlessness, as well as the unnerved marrying of tradition and innovation. It's the spirit highlight on a whole itinerary of spirits.

With the afternoon dedicated to the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery, the morning is spent in the bamboo forests of Arashiyama. Javelins of light flicker through the trees, casting a waltz of light and shadows between the reeds. Wander along the path, immersed in the harmonious show, before the bamboo rescinds and the serenity continues with Tenryu-Ji Temple, the largest Zen monastery in Western Japan. After the world's number one whisky, for a recommended dinner, korugewagyu beef offers another rounded taste and texture.

Sampling it with a sukiyaki meal at Moritaya Kiyamichi is the evening's recommended dinner. Seared with brown sugar, soy sauce, and sake, the beef slices come with a pungent aroma yet remain almost-impossibly tender and succulent. This beef is raised on site and has been for some 140 years.

What's Included: overnight at Ritz Carlton Hotel in a Deluxe Room, half-day Kyoto Tour, Kansai thru pass, JR Rail Pass, Suntory Yamazaki Distillery tour, breakfast.

Osaka – Iconic Beer and an Iconic Castle

Osaka Castle offers a fitting contrast, a piece of history that keeps Osaka's future in check, ensuring the spirit of yesteryear isn't forgotten in the rush of futuristic intent. Travel here at 9am, arriving before the tourists to tour beautiful grounds of cherry blossom and the quaint harmony of what was Japan's largest castle. Continue the tour in Suita, where you explore the original Asahi brewery and the production behind Asahi Super Dry, the country's best selling beer. It's another symbol of Japan, the crisp taste complementing the modern blue-collar feel of Suita and Osaka.

There's a number of options for evening entertainment and your guide can drop you at an Osaka Haishin Tigers baseball game, or Beer Belly, an atmospheric pub that specializes in the best of Japanese microbrews.

Tonight's recommended dinner is equally reflective of the city's ambiance, Matsuzakagyu Yakiniku barbecuing Matsuzaka beef with soy sauce, wasabi, and salt, the yakiniku style providing something confident and self-assured.

What’s Included: breakfast, airport transfer

Tokyo – Departure

The tale of Japan's spirits comes to an end, the hotel's shuttle bus service taking you out to Narita International Airport and your international departure.

What's Included: breakfast, transfer.