What’s a good tour for two or three weeks in Japan?

My wife and I are considering a trip to Japan. Our interests are mainly textiles and gardens. Any suggestions of suitable tours, perhaps of two to three weeks’ duration?
R. Hurcum, Tamworth, NSW

No one does gardens like the Japanese.Credit: iStock

Tanpopo Journeys operates a small number of textile trips to Japan each year, and their Textiles and Traditional Arts of Japan tour visits several cities famous for their temple gardens. Australia-based tour operator Internationally Different operates a 14-day craft-based tour that starts and ends in Osaka. The tour is hosted by Valerie Kirk, a tapestry weaver and former senior lecturer and head of textiles at the Australian National University. ASA Cultural Tours has a 15-day “Cherry blossom and the art of the Japanese Garden” tour led by Jim Fogarty, a landscape designer and gardening media personality with a specialist interest in Japanese gardens.

The mosaics of the San Vitale basilica in Ravenna.Credit: iStock

My partner and I are spending six days in Ravenna, Italy, and want to take day trips to nearby towns. We have spent time in Bologna previously. We are particularly interested in art, history, architecture and archaeology. We are also taking our family to Rome for a week, including our 11- and eight-year-old grandchildren. Any suggestions for kid-friendly activities?
G. Wilson, Northcote, Vic

Expect to spend at least two days exploring Ravenna – it’s a world-class wonder, packed with early Christian and Byzantine churches that preserve a superb legacy of mosaics dating back to the fifth century AD. Its UNESCO monuments bear witness to the greatness of Ravenna from the time when this was the capital of the Western Roman Empire. Be sure to include Ca De Ven (“house of wine”), a beautiful restaurant at the heart of the old city, famous for its Romagna cuisine in a cavernous, cathedral-like medieval wine store.

Just a short distance away, Faenza is home to the International Museum of Ceramics, with a superb collection of works from all over Italy and beyond. Rimini is another worthwhile day trip, famous for its Tiberius Bridge and the Arch of Augustus, as well as its grandiose cathedral, the Tempio Malatestiano, designed by Alberti, with frescoes by Piero della Francesca.

In Rome, you might take your grandchildren to the Gladiator School operated by the Gruppo Storico Romano, where they’ll see Roman swordplay in action and “train” as gladiators in a safe environment. The vast grounds of Villa Borghese are a great place for them to let off some steam, while the Explora Children’s Museum is a hands-on discovery museum full of electronic and scientific wizardry. They might also try a gelato-making workshop or a pasta-making session.

We’re spending a few weeks in Tanzania next year. Any recommendations on less-visited game parks as well as locally based operators who offer budget trips? How long should we spend in Dar es Salaam, and what are the attractions?
R. Saltman, Mosman, NSW

Ruaha National Park in central Tanzania is one of the largest in the country, but despite its size it gets relatively few visitors. Together with neighbouring Kizigio and Rungwa River Game Reserves, Ruaha forms one of East Africa’s largest nature conservancies. Ruaha’s wildlife population includes more than 10,000 elephants, 30,000 buffaloes, 20,000 zebra as well as lions and leopards and more than 400 bird species.

At over 30,000 square kilometres, Nyerere National Park is one of Africa’s largest game reserves, yet because it is so remote, it is virtually untouched. Covering areas of open savannah, wetlands and rivers, Nyerere has a high level of biodiversity, with Africa’s iconic species found within its borders including lion, leopard, zebra, black rhino, spotted hyena, wild dog, hippo, buffalo and Nile crocodile.

Kilipeak Adventure, Wildlife Oasis Tours and Watu Safaris are locally based safari operators. A couple of days in Dar es Salaam will probably do, with highlights including the Village Museum, an open-air museum with traditional dwellings from various parts of Tanzania, the National Museum & House of Culture and the beaches, seafood shacks, Slipway Bazaar and beachfront cafes along the city’s Msasani Peninsula.

I am going to Toronto for 10 days for my grandson’s wedding next September. I’ll also visit Vancouver for a week. What sightseeing would you recommend for me and an adult granddaughter?
M. Rabin, Randwick, NSW

Niagara Falls is not too far from Toronto.Credit: iStock

In Vancouver, take in the cafe, cultural precinct and market on Granville Island and the hip boutiques and cafes along Robson Street. The Grouse Mountain Skyride is a gondola ride that hoists you to the Peak of Vancouver, riding high across forests of Douglas fir to a viewing area with panoramas across the city to the Pacific Ocean. You’ll probably want more fresh air and the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in North Vancouver is one of the world’s longest and highest pedestrian suspension bridges. You might also take a ferry across to Vancouver Island and visit Victoria, the provincial capital, a genteel city with fine parks and cafes, also known for its mild winters.

Canada’s economic powerhouse, Toronto, is a vibrant, buzzy city with a huge and varied multicultural population that speaks more than 140 languages, and a cultural and culinary scene that reflects that diversity. The Royal Ontario Museum has notable collections of Asian art and temple sculptures as well as natural history. The Distillery District is Toronto’s arts and cultural capital, packed with galleries, artists’ studios, boutiques and cafes on a sprawling site repurposed from a 19th-century distillery. Just a short ferry ride away, Toronto Island Park has impressive views of the city’s skyline across the water.

From Toronto you’re not too far from Niagara Falls; don’t miss the chance to visit, and stay on the Canadian side: the view is more impressive than from the American side. You might take a cruise on the Maid of the Mist. The Niagara Parks Commission does a wonderful job of maintaining the lawns and gardens that stretch along the Niagara Parkway, another highlight.

Travel advice is general; readers should consider their personal circumstances