9 nights · Spring or autumn
The Inland Sea by train and ferry: Sasayama, Kurashiki, Naoshima and Matsuyama
From Kyoto west through the castle town of Sasayama and the canal quarter of Kurashiki to the art island of Naoshima, then across to Matsuyama in Shikoku. The last day goes to the Iyonada Monogatari, a sightseeing train along the sea to the castle town of Ozu.
- Nights
- 9
- Stays
- 5
- When
- Spring or autumn
Japan
We build it around you
Tell us your dates, your pace and who is travelling. We draw the route around them, choose the inns and rooms, arrange the trains and cars between each stay, and stay one point of contact from the first plan to the last night. Every stay at its own rate.
Already have an itinerary in mind?
Have it reviewed for USD 85The trip, leg by leg
1 · 2 nightsSix Senses KyotoOpposite Toyokuni Shrine and a walk from Sanjusangen-do, with a bathhouse and spa, for the temples of southern Higashiyama; Sasayama is about two hours by train through Osaka to Sasayamaguchi, where the villa's car meets you between 15:00 and 17:00.
2 · 1 nightMameyaA black-soybean merchant's Taisho buildings, renovated by Hiroshi Sugimoto's studio and let to one party a night, with dinner at a restaurant in the castle town; the Konotori from Sasayamaguchi to Shin-Osaka, the Shinkansen to Okayama and the train on reach Kurashiki in about two and a half hours.
3 · 2 nightsRyokan KurashikiEight rooms in a sugar merchant's house and storehouses on the willow-lined canal of the Bikan quarter, for the Ohara Museum and the old streets in the evening; the train to Okayama, the Uno line and the ferry to Naoshima take under two hours.
4 · 2 nightsNaoshima Ryokan RokaEleven suites on old rice terraces above Honmura, each with its own open-air bath, for the Chichu museum and the Art House Project; the boat to Takamatsu (about 30 minutes) and the limited express reach Matsuyama in a little over three hours, and the hotel is about 35 minutes by taxi.
5 · 2 nightsSetouchi Retreat Aonagi by Onko ChishinSeven suites in a Tadao Ando building on a hill over the Inland Sea, for Dogo Onsen and the castle, with kaiseki of Ehime produce; the hotel books fixed-fare taxis, about 35 minutes to Matsuyama station.
6 · Day trainIyonada MonogatariOn one of its set days, the morning run leaves Matsuyama at 8:28 along the sea by Shimonada to Iyo-Ozu, for the castle town and the Garyu Sanso villa, and the afternoon-tea run brings you back to Matsuyama at 18:30; Matsuyama airport has flights to Tokyo and Osaka.
Make it yours
This is one way to do it. We change the stays, their order and the nights in each to suit you, move it to the season you want, and plan the days between: the trains and cars, the restaurants worth the detour, a quieter night where the route needs one. Tell us your dates and who is travelling, and our team in Japan will draw up your own.
Other sample trips
Each one a starting point: we build the trip around your dates, your pace and who is travelling.
7 nights · Summer 2027
Kyushu in summer: Yufuin, a day train round the coast, and the Seven Stars to Unzen
A trip built around the Seven Stars in Kyushu, JR Kyushu's cruise train, on its summer journey to the hot springs of Unzen.
8 nights · Autumn
Kyushu in autumn: a dining train to Yufuin, and the spa villages of the hills
A trip through the hot-spring country of Kyushu, flying into Fukuoka and out of Kagoshima, with a castle town on the sea, two spa villages in the hills and a villa in Kirishima.
7 nights · Spring or autumn
The islands off Kyushu: Iki, Goto and Yakushima
From Fukuoka by jetfoil to Iki, then by air to Fukue in the Goto islands and south to the cedar forests of Yakushima.