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Join Kathleen Fung, founder of Far Fung Places, for this unique journey to Japan, to off the beaten path places where traditional life is intact, and where time-honored handicrafts are still being produced as they were 300 years ago. We visit the main Japanese cities to get a sense of history but leave them for journeys into rural Japan to focus on the natural beauty of the country. The trip is scheduled in Spring when mountains and valleys will be beginning to transform into vibrant spring hues with a kiss of cherry blossoms in Kyoto.
Temperatures will range from the 50s to high 70s.
We start with the iconic city of Tokyo. Kathleen’s favorite guide and author in Tokyo will take us to places she visited when she was a child growing up in the middle of the city. We visit the main sights like the Tokyo National Museum to get a sense of history and national treasures, but on foot we explore quiet neighborhoods, family temples, and a cemetery where the most famous shogun is interred.
Taste sushi in the Tokyo central market with Kathleen’s friend and a culinary specialist who gives us the background of this famous iconic seafood center. Kathleen’s arranged a private curator talk and demonstration of woodblock printing at a renowned institute in Tokyo.
In Kanazawa we stroll through the Kenroku-en garden flush with spring colors, explore the city’s geisha quarter with its chaya houses, and not far are the feudal samurai houses. Suzanne Ross, a national treasure, invites us to her studio for an introduction to Urushi, which has a 9,000-year history. Listen to her story of how she arrived over 35 years ago not speaking Japanese, but knowing she had a passion to learn about Japanese lacquer ware.
In Fukui we drop into the 13th-century
Eihei-ji Temples where 180 monks meditate, eat, and sleep on a small tatami mat measuring only three by six feet.
From here, we bullet train to Shikoku located on the shore of the Seto Inland Sea and spend three nights at Takamatsu with its splendid Ritsurin Koen, a vast 185-acre Japanese garden dating back to the 17th century. Sip Japanese green tea at sunset admiring the fall colors of the garden.
From Takamatsu we make a day trip by ferry to Naoshima island to see a remarkable collection of art that first started as a pumpkin that appeared on the island pier. The island transformed itself into something new...and now boasts artwork from Claude Monet, James Turrell, and Walter De Maria to the steel, glass, and wood designs from architect, Tadao Andoh.
Leaving the rich artistic heritage of Shikoku, we bullet train to Fukuoka, a multi-faceted city: modern, yet traditional with its 900-year-old temples, festivals, and a history of hand-made arts and crafts that preserve its cultural heritage. On a day’s trip outside Fukuoka, we meet a textile artisan and his family in their family home where they create kurume kasuri, or double ikat, a skill so demanding that only a handful of weavers in three countries around the world are masters of this art form. Journey to Ohta pottery village, a secluded haven where clay transforms into masterpieces using centuries-old techniques. This is more than a trip—it’s a journey through time––and then on to Hita, called little Kyoto on Kyushu Island.
Leaving Fukuoka, we bullet train to Kyoto, one of the greatest classical cities in the world.
Aside from the castles, the city has over 400 Shinto shrines and 1,650 Buddhist temples scattered throughout its regions. Our program includes the cultural biggies like Nara (former capital of Japan) with its massive bronze Buddha statue, Nijo Castle with the ‘singing nightingale floor’, the Golden temple awash with spring colors, the impressive Sanjusangendo temple with its 1001 statues of Kannon, and the iconic I.M. Pei Miho Museum with its private collections of Asian and Western art.
Far Fung Places has a comprehensive meal program with breakfast and either lunch or dinner. For evenings when dinner is not included, you may join Kathleen for an optional dine out at a local restaurant or at one of the hotel restaurants.
Land/Air Cost
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