Search
Category
Area
Season
-
Project hosted by the prominent Takeda family, which has supported Arimatsu tie-dyeing for 400 years, to deliver an experience of hospitality meant for the Shogun
(1) Dressing in the finest Arimatsu tie-dyed kimono and having authentic makeup (for women) applied is a rare experience even for Japanese people. This is a rare and valuable experience for overseas visitors, and they will enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience of elegance. In this attire, participants will have commemorative photographs taken at Japanese gardens, a traditional house, and around the town.
(2) A tea ceremony will be held at the tea house Saishoan, a significant tea house which was visited by the Tokugawa Shogun twice. Participants will enjoy an authentic Japanese tea ceremony using a tea bowl made by an artist who is a living national treasure. The tea room is a special place that exudes a simple atmosphere of the Japanese idea of wabi-sabi, or imperfect and ephemeral beauty.
(3) Wear a kimono and take a stroll through the traditional streets of Arimatsu, a town that has continued since the Edo period. On the way, visit an Arimatsu tie-dyeing workshop to observe the dyeing process of Sekka, also known as Itajime, or board-clamping tie-dye. The moment the dyed work is finished is truly awe-inspiring, creating a one-of-a-kind, original work of art. -
Admire the beauty of Japan at Mishima Taisha Shrine, an Important Cultural Property - The ultimate shrine experience to be appreciated with all five senses
Special nighttime viewing of Mishima Taisha Shrine, an Important Cultural Property, decorated with lit-up autumn foliage and waka poems written on tanzaku paper strips. Guided by a British guide who has passed the first grade of the Jinja Kentei (Shinto culture exam), visitors will tour the precincts and pavilions and experience a formal visit to the shrine led by a Shinto priest in accordance with traditional manners at the hall of worship. Special seating, arranged around the designated cultural property Maidono Stage, allows visitors to appreciate gagaku (traditional Japanese court music) performed by Hideki Togi, a court musician. After the gagaku performance, guests will enjoy a premium dinner at Ryusenen Japanese Garden, a registered Tangible Cultural Property, featuring creative Japanese cuisine developed by a renowned chef using branded agricultural and marine products from Mishima in the western foothills of Hakone and Izu.
-
Okumikawa Active Tour
Engage your entire body on this active adventure through the history and nature of Shinshiro City by e-bike or SUP with a professional guide who knows all of the hidden gems.
Activate your senses, release all the pent up stress, and apply your whole body actively by pedaling on an e-bike or paddling on a stand-up paddle board in the great outdoors. Then, just for good measure, take time to reflect on your feelings, emotions, thoughts, and life through a meditation experience, waterfall training exercise, and other activities that have withstood the test of time.
After a full day of physical exercise, relax your body by taking a soak in the hot springs, and relax your mind with dishes made from local ingredients. You will find the welcoming embrace of sleep as soon as your head hits the pillow. This wellness tour is one where you can truly rediscover yourself. -
Promotion of Mino City, home to a World Heritage site, for visitors to Japan Creation and sale of high value-added products using Japanese paper produced by the UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage "Washi: Japanese Handmade Paper Techniques"
Participants will have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the experience of washi paper, which has been refined under the clear Nagara River and is produced using the UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage "Washi: Japanese Handmade Paper Techniques."
After observing the techniques of a handmade washi craftsman, participants will make washi paper themselves in a paper-making workshop and create washi lanterns using the washi paper they made.
Participants then bring the lanterns they have made to the Mino Washi Akari Exhibition, held every year from October to November. By enjoying the exhibition in this way, participants will have a hands-on experience of this traditional culture instead of simply admiring it from afar. -
Giant salamander premium night tour
Akame Valley is home to many giant salamanders, the living fossils that are designated as a special natural monument, and is also a spot where the existence of a crossbreed with the Chinese salamander was confirmed. The giant salamander, the world's largest amphibian, is an endangered species that can only lives in parts of the Americas, China, and Japan, and is on the verge of extinction in mainland China. Observe the precious giant salamander in Akame Valley and have a first-hand experience of observing its nighttime behavior. Investigating the DNA of captured salamander and learning about biodiversity means it is also an extremely valuable experiential tour from an academic standpoint.
-
Night Party of Atami Cherry Blossoms (winter cherry blossoms that bloom the earliest in Japan) ~Atami Onsen / Showa Nostalgia Journey~
Atami, famous for its hot springs and beautiful ocean views, is only around 40 minutes from Tokyo Station by bullet train. In addition to hot springs, Atami is replete with wonderful places rich in culture, nature, and food.
For this event, Atami's early-blooming cherry blossoms, its Showa retro town, and Kiunkaku/Atami Geigi Kenban have been packaged together to create a single event: Atami Cherry Blossoms: Night Party.
Enjoy a nighttime light-up display of Itogawa’s Atami cherry blossoms, which bloom the earliest in Japan and can only be viewed at this time. This display and a mystical lantern monument create
a view of cherry blossoms that can only be enjoyed in Atami during winter.
Also, at Kiunkaku (Tangible Cultural Property), which can usually only be observed and not entered, visitors can do a photo shoot wearing a yukata or Showa retro clothing at this limited-time event.
Although Atami is often thought of in Japan as a place for young people to gather during trips, it has the atmosphere of the Showa period and is a historic tourist site.
Please come enjoy this Showa retro world while gazing at the winter cherry blossoms. -
Kawazu SAKURA x WASABI Premium Tourism Home of the new Kawazu Cherry Blossom Festival and the famous wasabi-don (wasabi rice bowl)!
(1) Kawazu SAKURA x WASABI Premium Tour
This tour features the Suruga Bay Ferry + Mt. Fuji Taxi from Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport or JR Shizuoka Station during the Kawazu Cherry Blossom Festival. Experience the towering 3,776 meter height of Mt. Fuji from a ferry, and try harvesting mizu-wasabi, a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage, in an area usually not open to the public.
(2) Premium experience at the Kawazu Cherry Blossom Terrace, only in Kawazu
Enjoy special moments on a charming terrace for some Kawazu cherry blossom viewing and carefully selected Kawazu cuisine. You will be waited on by the famous Dancers of Izu.
(3) SAKURA & WASABI Premium Accommodation Plan
A premium dining and accommodation plan featuring Kawazu cherry blossoms, local wasabi, etc. has been planned by accommodation facilities exclusively for this season.
(4) Creating tourism content as the home of the wasabi-don (wasabi rice bowl)
Grate on your own wasabi to sample the flavor and excitement of world-class mizu-wasabi from Kawazu, a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage. -
Experience Heian culture in a program themed around prayer and elegance at the captivating Saiku historical site ～Enchanted Saiku: A Spiritual and Aesthetic Experience～
The main feature of this program is the Saiku firelight Noh performance held on Saturday, November 4 and Friday, February 2. A special stage will be set up in the reconstructed buildings from the Heian period in Saiku Heian-Era Park on the site of the Saiku National Historic Site, with special performances of Saiku-related Noh theater to be held. In November, a stylish projection mapping event called Saiku Heian Emaki 2023 will be held at the same location for two days, before and after the Noh performance. Enjoy an evening of Heian-themed art that varies from Noh theater. Every Saturday and Sunday from November to January, various Heian pastimes (ban-sugoroku, kai-awase, ceremonial kimono dressing, bows and arrows, etc.) can be enjoyed here. Visitors can also try out the sokaren palanquin of the Saio princesses. High value-added tours that combine well with the main Noh performance viewing include (1) a mini-tour with a Japanese historian of the Emado ruins and Take Shrine, both of which are connected to Noh performances; (2) special commentary on Noh performances by Yoshimasa Kanze; (3) a Saiku Terroir Culinary Evening, showcasing the ingredients and cuisine of this land where the capital stood for 600 years; and (4) a journey back in time to the Heian period at the Hotel Saio-no-Miya, named after the Saio princesses. On New Year's Eve, the annual Taina event is held here to ward off demons from the Heian period. Visitors can take part in the Hyakki Yagyo procession dressed as demons (Japanese-style cosplay) to ward off evil spirits. Following this, there will be a special New Year's tour to see the first sunrise at Oyodo Beach, which appears in the famous book The Tales of Ise.
-
Celebrating the 4th World Kyudo Championship in Nagoya: Martial arts tourism exploring the history and culture of Nagoya
This special tour program allows visitors to experience the true history and culture of Nagoya in some of its premier spots. At Nagoya Castle, visitors can tour the Honmaru Palace after normal closing hours, while at Atsuta Shrine, visitors can worship at the Kagura-den prayer hall and other special areas are normally inaccessible. At The Tokugawa Art Museum, visitors can disassemble and reassemble Japanese swords and handle matchlock firearms. Also available is a hands-on workshop at Yamakatsu Senko Dyeworks, which has kept traditional Nagoya kuromontsuki-zome dyeing techniques alive since the Edo period. Try your hand at dyeing a washcloth with a family crest of your choice. Several special programs that cannot be experienced on regular private tours have been made available, such as a lecture on the spirit of martial arts by the 22nd head of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu school, who served as a swordsmanship instructor for the Owari Tokugawa family. A total of 12 types of full-day or half-day bus tours combining these special experiences are available from February 24 to 28, 2024, just before the 4th World Kyudo Championship in Nagoya. Take this opportunity to experience the history and culture of Nagoya and the fighting spirit of Japanese martial arts.
-
Value-added tours on the occasion of international art fairs
Newly developed experiential content and tours that showcase the potential of Japan's art, traditional performing arts, culture, and other tourism resources will be made possible through Tokyo Gendai, the first large-scale international art fair held in Japan. In addition to Yokohama, where the art fair will be held, there will be authentic content and special experiences offered in Tokyo, Odawara, and Kyoto with experts in contemporary art and Japanese art and culture, including experiences in undisclosed cultural properties and areas that are not usually open to visitors.
All content has been created exclusively for this special occasion and the participants. In Yokohama, where the art fair is held, there will be a special Noh performance and flower offering performance at the famous Sankeien Garden, as well as a tour of the popular cultural arts institution BankART1929. In the surrounding area of Odawara, there will be chartered private visits to art sites created by world-renowned Japanese artists. In Tokyo, for more stimulating and one-of-a-kind content, a special viewing of the world premiere will be held along with the commissioning of a new work to world-class pianists and artists. In Kyoto, all experiences are private visits reserved exclusively for the participants, offering various forms of experiences to contextualize Japanese culture, history, traditions, and arts. The program includes visits to temples, shrines, and gardens, special viewings at art museums, special viewings of contemporary art (commissioned work), visits to artists' studios, and special gallery exhibitions.