Routes · Asia

Tokyo to Brunei: Bandar Seri Begawan

Tokyo → Bandar Seri Begawan

Golden mosques, a water village and rainforest Best season (general guide): Year-round (driest Feb–Apr)

Brunei is a small sultanate on the north coast of Borneo, quiet and green, with grand mosques and large areas of untouched rainforest. This route spends five nights in the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, a city of about 72,000 people, and uses it as a base for day trips. From Tokyo you'll connect through a hub. Over 70 per cent of Brunei's people live in Brunei–Muara, the district around the capital, and the country is one of the few remaining absolute monarchies.

How to pace it: arrive and walk the waterfront. On day two, see the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, completed in 1958, with its golden dome beside an artificial lagoon, the larger Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, built for the sultan's silver jubilee, and the Royal Regalia Museum, with the coronation chariot and gifts given to the sultan. Day three is for a water taxi across to Kampong Ayer, villages on stilts over the Brunei River linked by walkways, with their own schools, mosques and shops.

Give day four to Ulu Temburong National Park, primary rainforest in the east of the country reached by road and boat, with a canopy walkway. On day five, take a boat trip into the mangroves, where proboscis monkeys live. Istana Nurul Iman, the sultan's palace and said to be the largest residential palace in the world, opens to the public for a few days at the end of Ramadan.

Practical notes: Brunei is warm and wet all year, with no true dry season, so pack rain gear whatever the month; February and March are usually the least rainy. Try ambuyat, a starchy sago dish eaten with bamboo forks.

Safety: Canada asks travellers to Brunei to take normal security precautions (updated 26 May 2026), and the US rates Brunei Level 1 (14 May 2026).

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