"Japan is a magical place, where a bowl of noodles, a sip of matcha or a delicate pillow of sushi may contain multitudes," says Andrew Bender, Tour Planning Manager of Esprit Travel, Japan specialists. Ingredients harvested that morning combine with artful presentation, the room it's served in, the garden you're viewing, and, of course, the mastery of the chef.

All these experiences — and much, much more — come together in Esprit's Cuisine & Culture of Japan tour. From May through June 2027, this carefully curated journey takes in Japan's most compelling culinary and cultural hotspots: Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe.

Every day features exceptional meals, Bender explains: sushi to tempura, noodles to homestyle dishes, izakaya fare, train station bentos to rarefied, Michelin-starred kaiseki. Beyond restaurants, market and farm visits, and hands-on cooking classes offer a chef's perspective.

Japan's one-of-a-kind culture makes for the perfect pairing: elegant gardens, mystical temples, and captivating art, architecture, ceramics and textiles.

Each visit offers insights made possible by Esprit's decades of relationships in Japan and key entry points to tours and cultural experiences. Bender says, "Esprit Travel has built its reputation taking visitors off the tourist track." In these days of ever-increasing numbers of visitors to Japan, "This expertise matters more than ever."

Every step along the way, every detail is cared for, from airport transfers to luggage shipping. And for free time, the central locations of the tour's four-star hotels make it easy to shop for crafts or fashions, explore the city or just wander to make discoveries.

Whether for first-time visitors to the Land of the Rising Sun or old Japan hands, skilled chefs or avid gourmands, this tour, now in its 87th year, offers a guaranteed introduction to the flavors, traditions and everyday life of Japan, filled with experiences that would be difficult—if not impossible—to arrange independently.

Five Destinations, Countless Flavors

Five destinations show the wide range of Japanese cuisine and culture:

  • Tokyo: Where age-old traditions coincide with cutting-edge culture. Guests explore the Tsukiji Outer Market, make sushi in a private class and savor exquisite, gourmet tempura. Cultural highlights include a blessing at Meiji Shrine, futuristic textiles, landmark architecture, celebrated museums and the bustle of a department-store depachika food hall.
  • Kanazawa: A ride on the Shinkansen bullet train leads to this beautifully preserved city near the Sea of Japan. Visits include the former samurai and geisha districts, the celebrated Kenrokuen garden and the vibrant Omicho Market, known as "Kanazawa's kitchen." A Michelin-star ryotei (traditional fine-dining restaurant) offers the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine.
  • Kyoto: Highlights include Buddhist vegan cuisine at a monastery, a lesson in the Way of Tea from a temple abbot, the famed Sagano Bamboo Forest and a historic villa. A ceramics expert explains pottery's role in Japanese foodways—and psyche—and a cooking class demystifies everyday Japanese dishes, with recipes to recreate at home. Day trips to the countryside include a rustic farming village, a tea plantation, hands-on natural fabric dyeing and lunch in a restored farmhouse.
  • Osaka: Japan's unofficial food capital, filled with delectable skewers of kushikatsu, udon noodle-making, Japanese knives, restaurant-supply shops and a progressive tasting of local street foods along the neon-lit Dotonbori canal.
  • Kobe: A day trip includes a sake museum and brewery, a stroll through the city's old town, and a sumptuous farewell dinner featuring the city's legendary beef.

The Esprit Travel Difference

Esprit Travel's decades of history in Japan inform everything it does. The boutique agency has served thousands of guests with a curated selection of small-group, escorted group tours to Japan, as well as custom travel.

"Our tour leaders have lived, studied or worked in Japan and are fluent in Japanese language and, equally importantly, Japanese culture," Bender says. "Over decades, our team has forged unique relationships with experts: master chefs, artisans, farmers, teachers, gallerists and thinkers."

With a maximum of 15 travelers per group, he says, Esprit's tours are deliberately personal and intimate. There is time to ask questions and linger over a meal, and, he says, "Tour guests often form friendships that extend years beyond their time together in Japan. We're grateful to have so many repeat guests!"

And Esprit's proprietary radio system allows tour leaders to subtly communicate to tour guests from a distance, without disturbing the peace of the moment.

One guest review described the tour as "extraordinary and downright fun." Another raved: "We are still reliving our fabulous trip and continually think how fortunate we all were to have such a congenial group."

Expert Guide

Guests credit Bender himself with a large part of the tour's success. Also a tour escort, one guest review noted, "Any facts Andrew Bender shared made our understanding of everything Japanese 'astounding,' helping travelers recognize connections they might otherwise have missed."

It comes naturally to Bender, an American who has spent decades living and working in Japan and with Japanese entities in the U.S. — including over 25 years with Esprit Travel. He's also an award-winning travel and food writer, who has contributed to numerous guidebooks to Japan for Lonely Planet and Frommer's, as well as articles for Forbes, the Los Angeles Times and inflight magazines.

"It's true what they say, that Japan can be hard to understand," he reflects. "I've lived it!

"But at Esprit, our special sauce is that, unlike other tour operators, having feet in both countries gives a unique position to explain the intricacies of Japan in a way that brings it home for visitors."

Whether Japan has been on your bucket list or already feels like an old friend, this adventure offers plenty to explore—or plenty of reasons to fall in love with Japan all over again.

The Cuisine & Culture of Japan tour departs May 2–14, 2027. Pricing starts at $6,879 per person (double occupancy). For more information and registration, visit Esprit Travel.