Kyoto

Kyoto rewards patience. The famous temples are crowded from ten until four, so the answer is to be there at seven in the morning or after five, which a hotel in Higashiyama or Gion makes easy. Traditional ryokans offer tatami rooms, a private onsen bath and a multi course kaiseki dinner served in your room; the modern hotels offer beds you recognise and staff who can get you into a tea ceremony that is not staged for tourists. Many clients do two nights of each. The cherry blossom weeks of early April and the autumn colour of mid November are the peaks and book up a year ahead.