Sample Journeys — A Portfolio
Journeys,
recently built.
Four fully designed itineraries — Kyoto to the Kii Peninsula, a Hokkaido honeymoon, a Kanazawa incentive, a slow autumn in Shikoku — laid out day by day so you can study the craft before requesting your own.
Recently Built · 2023–2024
Four journeys, designed one-on-one.
Each itinerary below was commissioned by a real traveler — honeymoons, milestone anniversaries, a corporate incentive, a returning client on her third trip. Use them as a study in what a Shiki itinerary contains; none are templates.
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01
A Slow Spring, From the Inland Sea to the Kumano Kodo
A retired couple from Boston, celebrating thirty years of marriage — Aman Kyoto, a private evening at Benesse House, two nights at a family-run ryokan in Hongu, and a dawn pilgrimage on the Nakahechi route with a Shiki-arranged yamabushi guide.
- Travelers
- Couple, 60s
- Nights
- 14 across 3 regions
- Season
- Late March – early April
- Trip value
- $41,800
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02
A Hokkaido Honeymoon, Powder and Quiet Onsen
A newly married pair from London — three nights at the Okushii Tower Suite, a private tea ceremony in a 17th-century Kyoto machiya, the bullet train to Hokkaido, and seven nights at a ski-in ryokan in Niseko with a Shiki-arranged private instructor.
- Travelers
- Honeymoon couple, early 30s
- Nights
- 11 across 3 regions
- Season
- January
- Trip value
- $36,200
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03
A Kanazawa Incentive, Twelve Executives, One Quiet City
A twelve-person leadership team from a New York private equity firm — Kenrokuen at dawn before public opening, a kaiseki dinner in a 150-year-old samurai house, a private gold-leaf workshop in Kanazawa's old quarter, and a closing night at a Higashiyama temple lodging.
- Travelers
- Corporate group of 12
- Nights
- 9 across 2 regions
- Season
- Mid-November
- Trip value
- $214,500
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04
A Return Journey — Shikoku's Hidden Interior, in Maples
A returning client on her third trip — a week in a Kyoto machiya, three nights deep in the Iya Valley at a 200-year-old vine-bridge hamlet ryokan reached only by Shiki's local driver, and a closing week on Naoshima with after-hours Chichu access.
- Travelers
- Solo traveler, returning client
- Nights
- 13 across 3 regions
- Season
- Mid-November
- Trip value
- $29,400
A Journey We Recently Designed · No. 01
Fourteen nights, from Kyoto to the Kumano Kodo.
A retired couple from Boston, marking thirty years of marriage, asked us for a slow spring journey that moved from temple gardens toward the sea. What we designed — together, over six weeks of correspondence with their specialist Mai — is the journey below.
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Day 1 — 3
Kyoto, Higashiyama
Arrival at Kansai, private transfer to a restored 19th-century machiya in Sannenzaka. A slow afternoon; the first dinner at a kaiseki counter known only to residents of the neighborhood.
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Day 4 — 5
Kyoto, deeper
A private tea ceremony with a 14th-generation Urasenke teacher at her home in northern Kyoto. A dawn visit to Kibune before the footpath opens. Two nights at Aman Kyoto.
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Day 6 — 7
Naoshima
Bullet train to Okayama, ferry to Naoshima. Two nights at Benesse House, with an after-hours Chichu visit arranged by Shiki directly with the museum — only 4 guests, no other visitors.
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Day 8 — 10
Kii Peninsula
Drive south through the Kumano region. Three nights at a family-run ryokan above the Oto River, with an early-morning pilgrimage on the Nakahechi route led by a Shiki-arranged yamabushi.
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Day 11 — 14
Return to Kyoto, slowly
Train north to Kyoto for four final nights at Tawaraya. A private viewing at a private collection in Okazaki; a closing kaiseki at a ryotei Mai's grandmother used to visit.
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Throughout
On-the-ground support
A named specialist in Tokyo, a 24/7 in-country concierge line answered by Shiki staff (never outsourced), and a hand-bound printed itinerary delivered to the first hotel.
What Sits Behind the Pages Above
Every journey is built one-on-one, then supported on the ground.
The four itineraries above are not templates. None of them were assembled from a catalogue, and none of them can be repeated exactly — each was shaped by six to twelve weeks of correspondence between the traveler and a single Shiki specialist based in our Shibuya studio.
Behind each sample you see: 11 full-time trip designers in Tokyo and 6 regional specialists in Kyoto, Kanazawa, and Okinawa; 180+ partner ryokans, including Aman, Hoshinoya, and family-owned properties that reject the majority of inbound requests; and a 99.2% first-attempt confirmation rate across all proposed ryokan and dining reservations last year.
On the road, every traveler is supported by our 24/7 in-country line — answered by Shiki staff in Tokyo, never a call center — and arrives to a hand-bound printed itinerary waiting at the first hotel. JR Pass logistics, pocket Wi-Fi, and a pre-loaded IC card are arranged in advance.
— The Shiki Japan studio, Shibuya, since 2009.
The Work, in Numbers
Quietly, since 2009.
- 3,100+ Private itineraries designed since 2009, for travelers from 47 countries.
- 4.97 /5 Verified Trustpilot score across 1,840+ reviews — #1 ranked Japan specialist, 2022–2024.
- 99.2% First-attempt confirmation rate across all proposed ryokan and dining reservations (2023 audit).
- 22 Specialists on the ground — 11 designers in Tokyo, 6 regional specialists in Kyoto, Kanazawa, and Okinawa.
A Personal Invitation
Design my Japan trip
with a Tokyo-based specialist.
Tell us the dates, the traveler, and a few of the things that matter to you. A named member of our studio will reply within a day with a first shape for the journey — and an honest read on whether Shiki is the right fit for the trip you have in mind.