​Most people arrive in Varanasi on the morning or afternoon, and I never do anything ambitious - sightseeing is not a priority on arrival day. We check into our first hotel, a pleasant one-minute walk from the ghats, and have a rest for an hour before touring Sarnath.

Sarnath’s 10 km from Varanasi city center, and it takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half depending on the traffic, since we have to negotiate the cantonment area. Buddha delivered his first sermon at Sarnath, titled the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, and the Dhamek Stupa dominates the landscape as a solid brick tower 44 m high with a full circumambulatory path. What most first-time visitors don’t know is that the Mulagandha Kuti Vihar temple has wonderful Japanese-era interiors painted by Kosetsu Nosu in the 1930s, which is invariably the highlight of our tour for Japanese groups. We finish our day in Deer Park before the 6 pm closing time, and spend the night in a riverside hotel in Varanasi.

I’ve made this a light day since we have six days of temple visits ahead, and I know my Japanese pilgrims need a break. An optional boat ride occurs on these terms early in the morning around 5:30 am, with views of people bathing in the Ganges. Some people opt out of the boat ride and have the right to do so - it’s entirely optional - and prefer a good night’s rest after visiting Dashashwamedh Ghat and the Ganga Aarti in the evening. I’ll admit that the steps during the Ganga Aarti can get crowded - elbow-to-elbow at peak season - and it’s not a pleasant experience for everyone. If you want to avoid the congestion, we can always watch it from the river on a rowboat at an additional cost. We stay in the same hotel overnight since we leave early the next day.

This is the day when everyone realizes why I warned them about the drive on Day 3. I’ve done my best to leave at a decent hour for the drive from Varanasi to Bodhgaya, which is around 250 km with good roads taking six to seven hours. Expect delays on this day since roadworks near the border often cause traffic, and we depart at 7 am with breakfast in hand. Bodhgaya is a relief compared to Varanasi, and if there is any daylight left, we take a walk around the Mahabodhi Temple complex before dinner, reserving our full day for exploring the place without the fatigue of a long drive. We stay overnight in Bodhgaya, close to the temple complex.

Another early start for us, since 7 am is ideal for seeing the Mahabodhi Temple without the crowds. The Mahabodhi Temple complex is where Lord Buddha attained Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree and is built around this sacred fig tree. We should walk around the complex at least once since it’s customary to walk around Buddhist temples in the clockwise direction, which not many people know. Something many first-time visitors don’t know is that the tree is not the original one but a sapling planted from the branches of the original Bodhi Tree. You can ask the monks, though, if you want to know which one is which! We have the option of either spending our afternoon doing mostly free time or visiting the Great Buddha Statue, as well as other Thai, Tibetan, and Bhutanese monasteries, which dot the complex - each one built in their style. We stay overnight in Bodhgaya for the second time.

It’s another early morning for us, and we begin our journey to Kushinagar with a stop in Rajgir to see the Griddhakuta hill, also known as Vulture Peak, where Buddha is said to have delved several sermons and where the Vulture Peak monastery is located. It has steps, although not too steep, as we head to the top, and I inform visitors with knee problems beforehand. From Rajgir, we proceed to Nalanda, an ancient seat of learning reduced to only a few red brick ruins today. We have limited shade in the complex, and it can get exceptionally hot and stuffy around lunchtime. Kushinagar is our final destination for the day as we drive for around a 7-hour stretch on the road with several other stops in between. Our day is the longest, and I’m honest with my pilgrims about it - I like to manage expectations since the roads can be bumpy, with some stretches not as smooth as others. We stay overnight in Kushinagar.

We spend the morning wandering through the Mahaparinirvana temple complex, home to the 6.1 m long reclining Buddha made from a single block of red sandstone in the center of the complex. It can be emotionally taxing for some of my Japanese pilgrims since you don’t tour it in a hurry like other places - the idea is to sit down at the end of the row and contemplate Buddha’s teachings. Not far from the temple is the much smaller Ramabhar Stupa, which marks the exact spot where Buddha’s body was cremated. It’s not as impressive as the Mahaparinirvana Temple but hosts far fewer people, making it ideal for a quiet meal. Kushinagar has its airport, which opened in 2021 exclusively for Buddhist Circuit tourists, from which most groups return after their 6-day pilgrimage. There is no need to go back to Varanasi. That’s it for this Buddhist Circuit Tour With Japanese Speaking Guide, which takes six days and covers the four main seats in Lord Buddha’s life. It involves more traveling than most people expect on average, although I think it’s worth it in the end.