The Japan that takes its time.
Journeys rewoven around you, one to eight travellers in private, four to eight in a small group. We travel by train, because that is how Japan was designed.
Nine journeys, from seven to twenty-two days.
From Neon to Silence
A Thousand Steps North
From Temples to Coral
The First Breath
The Heart of Old Japan
The Unhurried Crossing
From Towers to Thatched Roofs
To the Thousand Year Cedars
Tokyo, Kyoto and a southern traverse of the Japanese Alps
What we do, what we do not do.
We do not promise you a secret Japan. Japan does not need to be hidden to be lived differently.
We do not put you in a ryokan that has kept the name but serves its breakfast as a buffet.
We do not send you sightseeing in a group, at the hours when everyone else is there.
We take you to places few travellers see.
We sit you down at the tables where the Japanese themselves eat.
We show you how the Japanese live from day to day.
We let you truly take on the culture: religion, philosophy, work, food, transport.
We travel by train, because that is how Japan was designed.
We visit at daybreak, before the groups.
“It is slow. It is expensive, for us. But it is the only way to be sure that Hirosan will still be there, and that she will serve breakfast at seven.”
Three rules we set ourselves.
Eight people maximum, in private as in a group.
One to eight travellers in private, four to eight in a small group. Beyond that, it is no longer the same journey.
The family ryokan, the minshuku: whenever it is possible.
It depends on the stops and the season. We do not promise for eight what we can only hold for two, and we tell you which is which before you leave.
Every journey is rewoven around you.
Your pace, your tastes, your season. Nothing is standardised.
Two ways to go.
The private journey.
No fixed dates. You leave when you like, for as long as you like. We draw the route around your wishes, your pace, your season.
One to eight travellersThe small group.
Four to eight travellers, on set dates, with a French-speaking guide from the first day to the last.
Four to eight travellers
A Japan you will not find on Google Maps.
Kiraku was born almost twenty years ago, out of a passion for Japan that has never faded: journeys, more journeys, a life turned towards Japan.
An address book built journey after journey: craftsmen, ryokan, cooks. No algorithm, no platform. Just numbers we call.
We begin with a thirty-minute call.
You tell us what appeals to you. We tell you whether it is the right season.