A sloping stone lane of old wooden houses in Higashiyama, a pagoda above the rooftops

Japan

Kosher Japan: Food, Shabbat and Jewish Japan

Japan is a long way from a kosher kitchen. On our Japan trips the kitchen comes with you: dinners at Chabad of Tokyo and at the synagogue in Kobe, breakfast under our own mashgiach, and a Shabbat with Japan's oldest Jewish community.

Our Japan trips

Three ways to see Japan, in date order

Two fourteen-night cruises that begin or end in Tokyo, and a ten-day escorted tour on land in May 2027.

Snow-capped Mount Fuji framed by red autumn maple leaves

Tokyo to Hong Kong

Japan, South Korea and China, November 2026

Dates: November 8–22, 2026
From: $7,200 per person

Kosher Cruise to Japan, South Korea and China, November 2026

Hong Kong Island's skyline lit up at dusk, seen across Victoria Harbour from Kowloon

Hong Kong to Tokyo

Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan, February 2027

Dates: February 14–28, 2027
From: $7,200 per person

Kosher Cruise to Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan, February 2027

Mount Fuji behind the red Chureito Pagoda in autumn

Japan

Japan, May 2027

Dates: May 24 – June 2, 2027
From: $5,900 per person

Kosher Tour of Japan, May 2027

Dates and from-prices are the ones published today, per person sharing a double room or cabin, in US dollars. Each page carries the full itinerary, the hotels or the ports, the price and the terms.

Kashrut

Kosher food in Japan: how every meal is covered

On the tour, every meal is kosher, under strict supervision. Dinners, Shabbat included, are catered at Chabad of Tokyo and at the Ohel Shelomo Synagogue in Kobe, which is also under the auspices of Chabad. Breakfast is prepared under the supervision of our mashgiach and served in our own dining room at the hotel.

On touring days you take a packed lunch, and there are snacks on the coach. The milk is chalav stam, with soy or almond milk on the table; the bread is pat Yisrael. If you keep chalav Yisrael, or like a particular cereal, bring a supply with you: in Japan only corn flakes and plain oats carry a kosher certificate.

On the cruises the group eats apart from the ship's other guests: meals freshly prepared for the group alone by an executive kosher chef, under mashgichim responsible for the kosher kitchen, and served in a dining area that is ours. Everything is Chalav Yisrael, Pat Yisrael and Bishul Yisrael, and packed lunches go ashore with you. Tell us about any allergy or dietary need when you inquire.

A pond edged with large rocks and pine trees in the Ninomaru garden — Nijo Castle garden, Kyoto

Jewish Japan

Jewish Japan: Kobe, Tokyo and Chiune Sugihara

Kobe has Japan's oldest Jewish community, whose story goes back to the 1860s. Its synagogue, Ohel Shelomo, founded in the early 1900s by Jews from Iraq and Syria, is the oldest in Japan still in use.

Kobe

During the Second World War the city became a haven for the refugees saved by the Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara. On the tour, Shabbat is spent in Kobe with the community at Ohel Shelomo: services, the Shabbat meals, and a gentle walk past the old Jewish homes of Kitano and the story of the Sugihara refugees. Sugihara House, in Kaunas, is on our Kosher Heritage Tour of Lithuania and Poland.

Chabad of Tokyo

The tour opens with a welcome dinner at Chabad of Tokyo, and the dinners in Tokyo are catered there.

A green Victorian house in Kitano, Kobe, with a bronze statue on a bench outside — Kitano, Kobe

A red cable-car gondola above autumn trees, the towers of Kobe and the port spread out below — Kobe from the Nunobiki ropeway

The modest house and garden of Sugihara House in Kaunas — Sugihara House, Kaunas

Shabbat

Shabbat in a Japanese hotel

There is no eruv in Japan, and the hotels are towers, so Shabbat is planned ahead.

At the ANA Crowne Plaza in Kobe a non-Jewish attendant runs the elevators to the upper floors; the emergency stairs are alarmed. We tape your door latch on Erev Shabbat if you would like, the bathroom light is left on, and tea lights are provided. On the tour there is a minyan every day. On the November cruise the first Shabbat is in port at Fukuoka and the second at sea; on the February cruise both begin in port, at Manila and at Osaka.

Green wooded slopes falling to the Inland Sea, dotted with small islands, seen from Mount Misen — The Inland Sea from Mount Misen

On land · May 24 – June 2, 2027

Ten days from Tokyo to Hiroshima

Ten days with the group and a local English-speaking guide: four nights at the InterContinental The Strings in Tokyo and five at the ANA Crowne Plaza in Kobe, with the bullet train between. Most days the touring starts at 9:00am and finishes by about 6:00pm, after Shacharit and breakfast.

Tokyo and Hakone

Tsukiji Outer Market, Asakusa and the Senso-ji temple, a boat along the Sumida River to Odaiba, teamLab Borderless, Tokyo Tower and Shibuya Crossing; on the last day the Meiji Shrine and Harajuku. A day at Mount Fuji and the lakes of Hakone.

Kyoto

Two days: the Golden Pavilion, the Zen garden of Ryoanji and the Arashiyama bamboo forest; then Nishiki Market, Nijo Castle, the Kiyomizu-dera temple and the old lanes below it, and a tea ceremony.

Hiroshima and Miyajima

The ferry to Miyajima for the Itsukushima Shrine and its torii in the sea, the cable car up Mount Misen, then the Peace Park and the A-Bomb Museum.

Osaka

Osaka Castle and the open-air deck of the Umeda Sky Building, then the bullet train back to Tokyo.

Kosher Tour of Japan, May 2027

The Rainbow Bridge and the Tokyo skyline across the bay from Odaiba, pine trees in the foreground — Tokyo Bay from Odaiba

Steam rising from the volcanic vents of Owakudani — Owakudani, Hakone

Raked white gravel around a group of rocks set in moss, below an old earthen wall and green trees — Ryoanji, Kyoto

Two deer grazing on the wet sand at Miyajima, the great red torii standing in the shallows behind — Miyajima

The arched stone Cenotaph with flowers laid before it, the A-Bomb Dome framed in the distance — The Hiroshima Peace Park

The twin towers of the Umeda Sky Building joined at the top, from below against a blue sky — The Umeda Sky Building, Osaka

By sea · November 2026 and February 2027

Japan by sea: from Tokyo, and back to it

Two fourteen-night voyages aboard Holland America's Westerdam, with our own kosher kitchen team and dining area on board.

From Tokyo on Sunday, November 8, 2026, the ship calls at Shimizu below Mount Fuji, Osaka, Kochi and Hiroshima, sails the Kanmon Strait and spends a Shabbat in port at Fukuoka, then goes on to Busan and Jeju, Shanghai and Hong Kong: Kosher Cruise to Japan, South Korea and China, November 2026

From Hong Kong on Sunday, February 14, 2027, by way of the Philippines and Taiwan, the ship reaches Japan at Ishigaki Island, then Naha and Osaka, and ends in Tokyo on February 28: Kosher Cruise to Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan, February 2027

The Kanmon Bridge spanning the strait between Honshu and Kyushu, with green hills behind — The Kanmon Strait

Calm, clear turquoise water at Kabira Bay, Ishigaki Island — Kabira Bay, Ishigaki

The stone walls and red gate of Shuri Castle above Naha, Okinawa — Shuri Castle, Naha

Questions

Questions travelers ask about kosher Japan

Is it hard to keep kosher in Japan?

On your own it takes planning: breakfast cereal is one example, as only corn flakes and plain oats carry a kosher certificate in Japan. With us, every meal is arranged: dinners at Chabad of Tokyo and at the Ohel Shelomo Synagogue in Kobe, breakfast under our mashgiach, and packed lunches on touring days.

Is there a synagogue in Japan?

Yes. Ohel Shelomo in Kobe, founded in the early 1900s by Jews from Iraq and Syria, is the oldest synagogue in Japan still in use, and Chabad of Tokyo serves the capital. The tour keeps Shabbat at Ohel Shelomo.

When is your Japan tour?

May 24 to June 2, 2027, from $5,900 per person, sharing a double room: Kosher Tour of Japan, May 2027. By sea, a cruise from Tokyo on November 8, 2026, and one to Tokyo from Hong Kong, arriving February 28, 2027.

Will we see the cherry blossom?

Not on the May tour: it comes after the cherry blossom season, which in Tokyo and Kyoto is usually late March and early April. Tell us if a spring departure would interest you.

Who guides the tour?

A local English-speaking guide leads the touring every day. For May 2027 the group is led by Cindy Kline, who has guided our Japan tours before.

Are flights included?

No. Flights to and from Japan are not included. On the tour a group transfer meets the most common flights on the first day and takes you to the airport on the last.

Discover

The world beyond the ordinary.

Connect

Shared journeys. Lasting friendships.

Enrich

Memories that touch the soul.

Jerusalem at dusk, seen from the Inbal Hotel

Inquire

Speak to someone about your trip

Call the line for your region, or send an inquiry and we will come back to you.

info@koshertravelers.com

Speak to Shelley in reservations. Every missed call and message is returned.

Since 1991 · Glatt Mehadrin