The place

Kyoto in Late Autumn

Kyoto's temples and gardens are at their best in November, when maple leaves turn against packed schedules of tour buses elsewhere in the city. This trip works the quieter approaches: early mornings at Tofuku-ji before the gates open, an evening in Ohara away from downtown crowds, two nights in the tea town of Uji. It suits travellers who want to walk rather than be driven, and who'd rather see six things well than twelve things briefly.

How it runs

Base in a single ryokan in eastern Kyoto for the first week, then move to Nara and Uji before a final two nights back in the city. Days are built around a 6am-9am window at the most visited sites, with afternoons left loose for tea houses, bathhouses, or simply resting. A Kyoto-based guide, fluent in the city's back streets, travels with the group throughout; a private coach handles the longer transfers.

What you do

• —Dawn visit to Tofuku-ji before the public gate opens
• —Full day walking the Philosopher's Path and Nanzen-ji
• —Tea ceremony with a working tea master in Uji
• —Overnight in a family-run ryokan with kaiseki dinner
• —Nara deer park and Todai-ji on a weekday morning