You can experience the destination's popularity and also ask your travel advisor to find you hidden gem alternatives and sustainable luxury hotels
As travelers become more conscious of their footprint, Japan’s luxury sector is responding with sustainability at its core. Boutique ryokans and eco-lodges are using locally sourced materials, supporting rural artisans, and protecting natural landscapes.
Destinations like Yakushima Island and Noto Peninsula are emerging as sanctuaries for eco-conscious exploration — where travelers can hike ancient cedar forests, stay in solar-powered villas, and dine on hyper-local cuisine.
Step off the bullet train at Tokyo Station as a smiling, red-clad staff member from Shangri-La Tokyo greets you. You’ll be whisked through a discreet entrance directly into the 28th-floor lobby of this luxury hotel, a bastion of tranquility amid the city’s sea of neon. Given its perch atop the Marunouchi Trust Tower, you can expect many extraordinary vantage points in the 200 window-walled, Asian-urban rooms outfitted with all the latest technology. Do laps in the indoor pool with a view before dining on Italian fare at Piacere; reserve a table overlooking the Imperial Palace Gardens. You’re minutes from the Ginza’s shops.
Plus book with MVT for these exclusive benefits:
To take on one of the most fascinating metorpolitan cities in the world, consider part of your time with an Inside Japan guided tour.
For your first night, you'll have a welcome dinner (included) at an izakaya tapas-style restaurant where you can get to know your Insider and meet the others in your group.
With this winter-timed Must-see Japan departures, you could spend Christmas tucking into a KFC bucket (yep) in front of Tokyo’s illuminations just like the locals do, or have your spirit cleansed in Kyoto by Chion-in temple’s huge, bronze bell ringing out 108 times to see in the New Year (one to cleanse each ‘earthly desire’).
You'll enjoy five of Japan's must-see destinations: Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Hiroshima (including Miyajima), Osaka, and Kamakura (optional daytrip) offering a mix of old and new, vibrant city life and quieter rural stops, and flexibility to do your own thing.
Art is shaping Japan’s new cultural map. The Setouchi Islands or Seto Inland Islands, home to the Naoshima and Teshima art projects, continue to attract travelers who crave creativity in open air. Design lovers are also making pilgrimages to Kyoto’s contemporary galleries, Tokyo’s hidden ateliers, and Kengo Kuma’s architectural masterpieces. These experiences reflect a deeper trend — the pursuit of aesthetic harmony and cultural preservation in an increasingly digital age.
You can sail to the breathtaking Seto Inland Sea on Windstar's brand new Star Seeker, where nearly every suite features a veranda or infinity window that opens to the sea.
Built for private-yacht style discovery, the 224-guest small-ship yacht offers private verandas and infinity windows in most suites, expansive decks made for glacier and wildlife viewing, and standout venues like the new Basil + Bamboo restaurant.
Guests sail from iconic ports like Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kyoto to smaller harbors such as Karatsu and Takamatsu, where udon-making workshops and tea ceremonies await. • Exclusive Destination Discovery Event: In Tomonoura, Windstar guests explore Edoperiod streets with exclusive access to cultural treasures—live koto music, samurai sword performances, tea ceremonies, calligraphy workshops, and private entry into historic residences. • Windstar
Mystery Cruise – Now in Asia: Adventurers can embark in Hokkaido and disembark in Osaka, with each port revealed only days in advance. Featuring new-to Windstar South Korean ports, the Mystery Cruise pairs seamlessly with Grand Japan for a 21-day voyage!
Plus, enjoy an onboard credit of up to $200 per stateroom, good for shore excursions, treatments at World Spa by Windstar, and other amenities.
Six Senses Kyoto offers a refined oasis in this city’s dynamic downtown. The lifestyle brand’s debut in Japan welcomes with 81 elegantly minimalist guestrooms and suites; book one overlooking the serene Toyokuni Shrine gardens. Create your own aromatic blend before a chakra-balancing massage, sip rare Japanese spirits in the chic, speakeasy-style lounge, and savor bluefish tuna dishes at the celebrated Sushi Oga Higashiyama restaurant. Buddhist temples, cherry blossoms, and other UNESCO-designated treasures are right outside your door.
Osaka offers a more relaxed yet equally exciting contrast to Tokyo's hustle. Stroll through the neon-lit alleys of Dotonbori, feast on local specialties like takoyaki and okonomiyaki, or dive into history at Osaka Castle. From the bustling markets of Kuromon Ichiba to the futuristic skyline of Umeda, Osaka combines a dynamic urban vibe with a rich cultural heritage that captivates every traveler.
Japan is layered with etiquette, history, symbolism, and regional nuance. A Keytours guide doesn’t just recite facts — they help you decode what you’re seeing. A guided tour - even half day- is something that usually ends up being the highlight of your itinerary.
Osaka is vibrant, electric, and full of culinary treasures — but it can be dizzying for first-timers. A half-day tour with Keytours removes all the friction:
A tour with Keytours might seem like a small detail in your travel planning — but in Japan, it can be priceless. Book with a MVT advisor now until November 30, 2025 for complimentary travel protection for land-only bookings over $10,000 or air & land bookings over $15,000.
Osaka is known for its cherry blossoms, namesake castle, street food, and The St. Regis Osaka. Book with a MVT advisor to receive these exclusive benefits:
A travel advisor becomes a bridge between you and this once faraway destination — and they have insider knowledge that elevates everything that follows. They can offer lived-in experience that you cannot find from a website, like suggesting a guided tour in a certain city – travelers often say that their tour guide was the highlight of their entire trip — someone who felt like a new friend by the end of the day.
In a alluring country like Japan and its islands, a travel advisor is a valuable asset and can help you make the most of your time traveling.