Home / Journeys / Classic Japan

13 nights · Tokyo, Japan → Osaka, Japan · Car

Classic Japan

Taste the black eggs of Hakone’s volcanic springs, then visit Zenko-ji, home to Japan’s first Buddhist statue, shown publicly only once every six years – thirteen nights self-drive across Japan.

From£7,070pp

Duration13 days

StyleAdventure

Best suited toDrivers who want the road to be the holiday

Find out more

An independent Stradora pick. Details from the operator's published information, last checked 28 Oct 2026. Stradora DiscoveryChosen independently by our editors because we think it's worth the drive. We're not partnered with this operator: dates, prices and booking are handled by them, and we last checked their published details on 28 Oct 2026.

Booked with the operator?

Tell us your trip details and we'll put together a complimentary Stradora Expedition Pack for the journey.

Claim your pack

13 nights through Japan

Thirteen nights across Honshu, self-guided, with eleven hundred kilometres of driving and seven hundred by bullet train.

Splitting the journey between car and train is the right answer for Japan. The mountain roads reward driving and the long transits do not, so the Osaka to Hiroshima leg goes by Shinkansen in business class instead.

Tokyo opens it for three nights, with Sensoji, Shibuya and a day at Hakone, where a lake cruise, a cable car and eggs boiled black in the volcanic springs fill the day and Mount Fuji appears if the cloud allows. Nikko follows, a world heritage site with the Toshogu shrine and the Shinkyo bridge, then Tsumagoi by way of the Irohazaka toll roads and Kegon Falls. Matsumoto comes next past the snow monkey park, in season, and Zenko-ji at Nagano, founded in the seventh century and holding what is said to be the first Buddhist statue brought to Japan, shown publicly once every six years. Kanazawa follows for two nights by Takayama and Ainokura, then Nara by way of a motor museum of over five hundred cars, Osaka, and Hiroshima.

The vehicle hire, comprehensive insurance for both drivers with breakdown cover, breakfast daily and five dinners, the airport transfers, twin-share Western-style rooms, the route books, two days of club lounge membership at Kanazawa, guided tours in Tokyo, Hakone and Hiroshima, the public transport and bullet train tickets and a pre-paid toll card are all included; lunches, fuel, drinks, flights and seven evening meals are not. An International Driving Permit is required, and the Japanese drive on the left, which makes the adjustment easier for British visitors than for most. Spring for the blossom and autumn for the leaves are the two seasons worth planning around.

Style

Adventure, Expedition, Self-guided

Duration

A fortnight (11-15 nights)

Region

Asia

Vehicle provision

Vehicle provided

Departures

September - October

Starts/ends

Tokyo, Japan → Osaka, Japan

Suitable cars

Drivers who want the road to be the holiday

Vehicle

Car

Price basis

Per person (sharing)

Run by

Independent specialist operator

Classic Japan (1 of 5)

Classic Japan (2 of 5)

Classic Japan (3 of 5)

Images selected by Stradora to represent the journey.

What's included

Vehicle hire
fully comprehensive insurance for both drivers with breakdown cover (GBP250 excess)
breakfast daily and 5 dinners
two-way Japan airport transfers
accommodation (twin-share
Western-style rooms)
route books and maps
2-day club lounge membership (Kanazawa)
guided tours (Tokyo
Hakone
Hiroshima)
public transport tickets including business-class bullet train
a pre-paid ETC toll card.

Not included

Lunches
fuel
drinks
inoculations
travel insurance
flights
7 evening meals not covered.

Ready to drive it?

13 days, from £7,070pp

Independent Stradora pick