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Bask in the Glory of Nature in Wakasa, Fukui, With REAL WAKASA: A Limited-Time-Only Private Cultural Experience Plan for One Group Per Day
The Wakasa Fukui region offers four special experiences for you to try!
1. Get a taste of Japanese cuisine in your own privately rented temple! Savor dishes made with local ingredients from the sea using traditionally crafted Wakasa lacquer chopsticks. Add some light-hearted banter to your meal with the addition of a geisha dinner party experience.
2. Take in an unbroken 360-degree panoramic view of the Sea of Japan and the Five Lakes of Mikata! Admire the beauty of the setting sun before coming back to a privately rented guest house in a quaint fishing village. There, a home-cooked meal made with local ingredients and graciously crafted by your host awaits you.
3. Lake Suigetsu is home to 70,000-year-old varves, or sedimentary layers, which serve as a standard form of measurement for the age of fossils and archeological artifacts. Come see these ancient varves in the museum and go on an environmentally sustainable battery-propelled, guided boat ride to learn more about the process of collecting these unique varves. A tour of a local beer factory and meals can also be prepared.
4. Cook your very own seasonal dishes, using ingredients harvested from the forest and the sea, on a kamado, a type of traditional Japanese wood stove! You can enjoy your lunch in a Japanese-style room in a traditional Japanese house.
In this program, you can use a real kamado, sample real local ingredients in all their simplicity in style, record a video of staff for later use, and receive a guide on how to create your own delicious food at home. -
Inbound Tourism Project Kizuna: Private Rental of a Fukui City Cultural Property for Traditional and Cultural Experiences
This is no ordinary project—it is unique in that it aims to use “food” and “lifestyle” to unravel the history, traditions, and spirit of Fukui, a city that grew alongside Zen Buddhism. Visitors will be able to experience the teachings of Dogen, founder of the Japanese Sōtō Zen school of Buddhism, who taught that "everything in daily life, including waking, eating, cleaning, washing, and bathing, is as important as seated meditation, and thus forms the practice of the Zen practitioner.”
Soybeans are an integral part of the Sōtō Zen diet, and now, for the first time ever, guided factory tours are offered at two factories which process this key ingredient: Fuku Syouyu (a soy sauce factory established in 1918) and Komego Miso (a miso factory established in 1832).
Traditional Food and Craft Experience in a Historical Site, Reserved Exclusively for Your Private Use:
There are half-day rentals of five private houses in Osagoe Folk Village Museum, a cultural property of Fukui City featuring traditionally-built farming houses. This experience is the first of its kind to combine tours, traditional handicrafts, and food into a combination package for inbound tourists. Visitors can try their hand at making traditional Wakasa lacquer chopsticks and polishing Shakudani stones, which are used as building materials in nearby temples. Meals are served based on the Zen Buddhist style of vegetarianism. Visitors will get to select their own ingredients, make their own rice balls, and then wrap up by enjoying their own creations. -
Cultural Experience in Privately Booked World Heritage Site x A Meal from Japan’s Top Chef: “THE LEGENDARY JAPAN” program for wealthy overseas visitors offers a private, premium experience of Japanese history and culture
Guests receive special cultural experiences at Kyoto’s World Heritage Ninnaji Temple, such as a ritual prayers in the Daikokudo Hall and a special Buddhist memorial service at the Kondo Hall, which is designated National Treasure. You can also view an illumination of historic buildings and observe the wall paintings of the Five Wisdom Kings, which has been opened for the first time in approximately 400 years. After this cultural experience, you can enjoy top-tier traditional Japanese kaiseki meal by Chef Masayoshi Nishikawa, a top Japanese chef at Kyoto’s famous “Gion Nishikawa,” where it is nearly impossible to get a reservation. This exquisite meal prepared from only the best of the best Japanese ingredients is served in the Jikido Hall, which the general public cannot enter.
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2-day 1-night package with a Ghibli Park ticket and an authentic tea ceremony experience at a long-standing Japanese restaurant
1. Shiratama, a long-standing Japanese restaurant in Nagoya, the culture of hospitality has been passed down over 400 years from the Edo period. In this tour, guests are offered special cuisine overflowing with seasonal flavor and carefully selected dishes within the restaurant's beautiful interior decorations.
2. At Shiratama, guests will participate in an authentic tea ceremony experience, one of Japan's most famous traditions. Each tea ceremony strives to improve on the last so that guests can experience the intrinsic art and aesthetic beauty of tea ceremony. Guests can also admire tea ceremony tools from the Owari Domain. This program is a one-of-a-kind, rare opportunity to fully immerse yourself in the charm of Japanese tea.
3. On the second day, you will visit Ghibli Park, which opened in Aichi Commemorative Park (Moricoro Park) in November 2022, and celebrates the world of Studio Ghibli films. There are no large attractions or rides in Ghibli Park; rather, walk around the forest and paths, feel the breeze on your skin, and discover the secrets of the park's magical atmosphere.
4. This program includes same-day tickets for Ghibli Park’s main area “Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse”. In this massive facility, you can enjoy video exhibitions, three technical exhibitions, a children’s play area, shops, and cafes. -
Yamanashi Wine & Food Festival
Enjoy a festival of captivating wine and food in Yamanashi, a city filled with the flavors and harmony of autumn.
Special lunches and dinners will be served for one day only in the larger area that includes Erinji Temple, the family temple of warrior Takeda Shingen; Daizenji Temple, which has a long tradition of growing grapes; historical architecture built by a Japanese railroad magnate; and the vineyards of famous wineries. These areas usually do not allow eating or drinking, and some cannot even be entered without special permission.
Cooking contest winners and chefs from reputable restaurants in Tokyo and Yamanashi will select regional wines that match their cuisine, and the carefully selected local ingredients and wine will harmonize to deliver a delicious, heartwarming experience. -
Japan Fruits
Japan Fruits, a duty-free shop (Note 1) selling fresh, high-value Japanese fruits and cut fruit that can be eaten on the spot, will open in the special security-restricted area (the food and shopping area after passing through customs) of Terminal 3 of Tokyo International Airport for a limited time from early October 2023 until the end of January 2024.
Visitors can experience the full appeal of fruits, which can only be gained by visiting the store, including comparing the flavors of different fruits in season. Grapes and mandarin oranges are sold in October and November, mandarin oranges and strawberries in November and December, and strawberries in January; melons and apples are sold from October to the end of January. Please buy some as a souvenir for that special someone (Note 1). In addition, the store will also display information about tourist farms with fresh fruit harvesting experiences and other tourist attractions in the surrounding areas.
Please enjoy the delicious charm of Japan Fruits while reminiscing on your happy memories of Japan before getting on the plane.
(Note 1: Due to plant quarantine regulations, there are a limited number of countries and regions where Japanese fruits can be taken.) -
Vegalta Sendai Hospitality Program (SSS seat with a special event)
This special viewing ticket includes: a pitch viewing tour where you can feel the passion of the supporters and view the players warming up in a behind-the-scenes look at the stadium that you usually cannot see; a kick-in ceremony in a stadium where over 10,000 spectators gather; and premium hospitality centered on local cuisine and drinks. This ticket permits holders to choose a special room or a seat on the top level in the main stands to watch the match.
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Light Up NIKKO 2023
For three days over winter, when their gates close at 4 PM, the UNESCO Shrines and Temples of Nikko will be lit up against the night sky and offer an entirely changed atmosphere than that during the day.
During these three days, visitors will encounter a completely different side to the normal daytime experiences of Nikko-san Rinnoji Temple, Nikko Futarasan-jinja Shrine, and Nikko Toshogu Shrine. Stage performances, food courts showcasing cuisine from around Nikko, and all sorts of hands-on content will amplify the colors of Light Up NIKKO set against Nikko Toshogu Shrine’s magnificent five-storied pagoda, the magisterial Nikko Futarasan-jinja Shrine, and Nikko-san Rinnoji Temple, which attracts lively crowds well into the night.
Personal experiences will also be offered to guests who decide to spend the night, culminating in a magical three-day event that will make visitors want to return to Nikko again and again. -
Film site tourism promotion program to add value to filming sites of the Godzilla movies
By efficiently utilizing the popular Japanese character Godzilla, which has high name recognition overseas (52.6% in US, 51.0% in China, 45.5% in the UK), this program aims to generate tourism demand and further spread awareness of this entire area overseas by launching this program at the same time as the release of the newest film this week. Making a pilgrimage of sites connected to pop culture, from Japanese films and games, is extremely popular with international visitors and is expected to see more tourism demand in the future. In recent years, there has also been a rising demand for filming by cosplayers and YouTubers. As such, the following programs will be held.
◆Program 1◆ Major collab event for the new film “Godzilla -1.0”: “Reborn” into the world of the film?!
Collab events that recreate the world of Godzilla at each filming site, including Miho, Chikusei, and Kasama. The actual film production team participates in special venue settings and events to make it feel realistic! This program also strives to invigorate the region by collaborating with the Chamber of Commerce and the Tourism Association, linking with restaurants and producing souvenirs with original designs.
◆Program 2◆ Individual filming experience: full package
For overseas visitors who cannot bring along large machinery, there are options to access everything from film equipment, costumes, lighting, and changing rooms to boxed lunches, accommodations, interpreters, photographers, editors, and extras. This program offers a full location-shoot filming experience even if you are empty-handed! -
The tale of “Nada’s Kudarizake” from a sacred sake brewing area
The Nada Gogo is a cluster of sake breweries straddling Kobe and Nishinomiya cities in Hyogo Prefecture. It has prospered as Japan's largest sake production area since the Edo period (1603–1867). The history nurtured here is that of sake brewing itself, and learning about Nada Gogo, which created the original form of modern brewing, will lead to an understanding of sake brewing as a craft. For the first time ever, the Nada Gogo area will hold events in both Kobe and Tokyo in fall and winter 2023 themed on the history of sake brewing. There will also be a sake brewing experience tour in Nada Gogo, which is considered a sacred place for sake brewing. Learn about the culture of sake brewing that evolved from Japan's unique climate and spirit, and experience the flavor of the famous sake of Nada Gogo, which still boasts the largest sake production volume in the country.