A 90-minute flight from Tokyo to Japan’s northernmost main islands, Hokkaido is known for Sapporo beer (the main city’s most famous export), its unspoiled national parks and having some of the best ski slopes in the world. Stay at Higashiyama Niseko Village, the last word in alpine luxury.

Hiroshima has more to offer than the moving Peace Memorial Museum and UNESCO World Heritage-listed Genbaku Dome dedicated to the devastations of nuclear war. There’s also the Itsukushima Shrine with its iconic floating red gate and Hiroshima MOCA, Japan’s first public museum dedicated entirely to contemporary art.

A breezy seaside town with low-key cafes, surf shops and postcard views of Mount Fuji from the sand, Kamakura is less than an hour from Tokyo by train. Modern ryokan Kishi-Ke hosts zen-promoting cultural workshops such as tea ceremonies and meditation practice and offers plant-based meals prepared in accordance with Buddhist temple cooking.

History buffs will love Hirado off the southern island of Kyushu, Japan’s first European trade port and home to an 18th-century castle that visitors can spend the night in. Make the most of your exclusive after-hours access to the gardens and on-site museum before tucking into a meal that showcases local produce like Hirado wagyu.

Host city of the 1998 Winter Olympics, Nagano is a haven for active types: skiers and snowboarders descend on the powder-rich slopes during the cooler months, while summer is all about hiking, mountain biking and kayaking. Recharge at the grand 37-room Hiramatsu Karuizawa Miyota.

Exploring Aomori in northern Honshu could mean trekking through the world’s largest virgin beech forest by morning, tasting traditionally caught ‘black diamond’ bluefin tuna at the Aomori Gyosai Center (also known as Furukawa Fish Market) for lunch and an evening watching glowing papier-mache dolls parade by at the Nebuta Festival, held every August.

On the northern tip of Kyushu, Fukuoka’s biggest attraction is Dazaifu Tenmangu, an ancient shrine planted with over 6000 plum trees that blossom spectacularly every March. Book one of the 13 rooms at the historic Cultia Dazaifu to attend the official night worship followed by a multi-course dinner at the hotel’s French-fusion restaurant.

Temperatures in Okinawa, a chain of islands between Japan’s mainland and Taiwan, are distinctly subtropical, hitting highs of 32°C in July and August. On the main island you’ll find white-sand beaches, a huge action-packed aquarium and Treeful Treehouse Sustainable Resort, an eco-luxury retreat where you’ll sleep 10 metres above the ground.

Just a two-hour train ride north of Tokyo, Nikko’s ancient architecture and pristine nature feel a world away. Visit the Nikko Toshogu Shrine (notable for its carvings of the “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” monkeys), explore Lake Chuzenji and retire to your ultra-plush room and a traditional Kaiseki dinner at The Ritz-Carlton.

No trip to Hakone is complete without staying in a ryokan. Book a suite at Gora Kadan, originally the summer villa of an imperial family, for private access to an open-air onsen, sauna and gorgeous  meals. Also on your hit list: the Hakone Ropeway for panoramic views and the Open-Air Museum, a mountainside sculpture park.

Clinging to steep slopes overlooking the Setouchi Islands, the picturesque port city of Onomichi is dotted with winding stone staircases. Take a temple walk, stopping for Onomichi ramen (a light mix of soy and chicken broth served with flat noodles and silky pork fat) before checking in at LOG, an artful hotel and restaurant.

A hub of the Japanese paper industry since the eighth century and a ceramics capital for a millennium, the Gifu Prefecture is a great place to shop for handcrafted souvenirs. See the thatched-roof houses of Shirakawa-go and book a night at the elegant Nipponia Mino Shokamachi estate, a display of traditional, sustainable design.

Thanks to the pristine spring waters of the Southern Alps, the Hokuto region is the birthplace of some of Japan’s finest tipples. Head to the Shichiken Brewery, which has been producing sake since 1750, or take a tour of the whisky warehouse at Suntory Hakushu Distillery. If you’re visiting during the summer months, don’t miss the fields of sunflowers.

Practise the art of shinrin-yoku – forest bathing for therapeutic effect – in Yakushima, a small island off the tip of Kagoshima. Keen walkers can take a 10-hour round-trip hike into the craggy wilderness to find Jomon Sugi, a giant Japanese cedar thought to be 7000 years old, before spending a relaxing evening at Sankara Hotel & Spa.

Part of the Mie Prefecture, the Ise-Shima Peninsula is blanketed by 55,544 hectares of national park. You’ll also find Ise-jingu Shrine, Japan’s most venerated Shinto site, and Amanemu, a 28-suite resort ideal for soaking in mineral-rich hot springs, unwinding with a mud wrap and tasting regional shellfish delicacies.