Its home to one of the last well-preserved samurai-era neighborhoods in Japan, Gilman notes.

The city is also known for historic teahouses and shops selling Wajima lacquerware.

Next, Gilman recommends visitors spend at least one night in the nearby Kaga Onsen area.

Two women in traditional dress walking through a preserved area of Kyoto

Credit:Puripat Lertpunyaroj/Getty Images

This collection of hot-spring towns is home toryokanssuch asKayotei.

(He can also arrange a guided day trip to a private tea estate in nearby Uji.)

From Kyoto, its on to Nara, Japans first capital city.

The lobby of the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo hotel

Courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group

Stay at the museum-like, Tadao AndodesignedBenesse House.

The following day, take a lesson inkintsugi,the art of repairing broken ceramics with gold lacquer.

The next day, get a hands-on lesson inroketsu.

An aerial view of houses in the Shirakawa-go Village, Japan

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Guests can take part in a tea ceremony, help with the animals, or wander the country lanes.

Its a short trip north to Matusumoto, one of the few remaining well-preserved Samurai castles in Japan.

Spend the days doing hot springs, temples, and traditional cuisine.

Exterior of Benesse House, the hotel at Benesse Art Site.

Courtesy of Benesse Art Site Naoshima

Days 6-8

On day six, leave Shikoku for Japans southernmost main island, Kyushu.

A third of the city was destroyed, Mazzaro says, but Nagasaki has made a remarkable recovery.

Rikugien gardens in Tokyo, Japan

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People walk along a street in the Japanese village of Tsumago

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The Matsumoto Castle, in spring

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Visitors at Ishite-ji temple in Shikoku, one of the 88 temple pilgrimage sites

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Ritsurin Park, Japan

A woman looks at historic photographs in the Atomic Bomb Museum Nagasaki

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