Our 2017 Japan artists tour covers 16 days, beginning in Tokyo and ending in Kyoto. In between, we will visit the Izu Peninsula, Takayama and Eiheiji, with painting almost every day in a variety of locations covering landscapes, sea views, waterfalls, temples and shrines, modern buildings, world heritage villages and beautiful Japanese gardens.
Itinerary
Day 1 Monday, October 30, 2017: Guests arrive in Tokyo and check-in to the New Otani Hotel, for a four-night stay. The hotel, set in the grounds of 400-year-old gardens, is in a convenient location with easy access to subway lines and is connected by limousine bus service with both Haneda and Narita International Airports. We will enjoy a traditional Japanese meal together in nearby Akasaka the first night.
Tokyo
Day 2 Tuesday, October 31: We will travel by Metro to Shinjuku Gyōen for a day’s painting in the national gardens, with the backdrop of Shinjuku’s skyscrapers. Non-painters can also enjoy the beautiful garden and later go on to explore Shinjuku, one of Tokyo’s main (and busiest) shopping, commercial and entertainment hubs.
Day 3 Wednesday, November 1: Again taking the subway, we will travel to the Asakusa district of Tokyo, home to the 634 metre tall Sky Tree, the world’s largest TV tower. Painters will spend the day among the temples, shops and street markets of this lively area.
Day 4 Thursday, November 2: Our last full day in Tokyo will be spent mostly in the Ueno area painting near the Shinobazu lotus pond or exploring art galleries in the park. In the evening, we’ll enjoy a group yakitori dinner in Roppongi.
Day 5 Friday, November 3: There will be an opportunity to paint in the beautiful gardens of the New Otani Hotel in the morning before checking out. After an early lunch, a private coach will take us (and our luggage) 180 km southwest to the seaside resort of Shimoda on the Izu Peninsula. This town is best known as the place where in 1854 Commodore Perry from the U.S. Navy signed a trade treaty with Japan ending the country’s centuries of self-imposed isolation from the rest of the world. Our accommodation here for five nights will be at the Hotel Izukyū Shimoda with views of the coastline from every room. After settling in and perhaps enjoying the onsen (hot springs), we will have a Japanese dinner together at the hotel.
Shimoda
Day 6 Saturday, November 4: Today we will be driven in two mini-vans to Kisami Ohama – a popular (in summer) surf beach, for a morning of painting the seascape. After lunch at a beachside snack bar, we’ll head back into Shimoda township to Perry Road where there is much to see or paint during the afternoon.
Day 7 Sunday, November 5: After breakfast, our mini vans will take everyone further along the Izu Peninsula to a lookout at Irozaki where there is a perfect spot to paint the landscape. We’ll bring the non-painters back to a little fishing village called Yumigahama where there are some lovely walks along the coastline. Everyone will join together for seafood or noodles in Yumigahama before returning to Shimoda township, where a scenic walk (given Michelin stars for its beauty) will be ideal for more painting and/or continuing on to the aquarium.
Autumn kōyō
Day 8 Monday, November 6: Today we’ll be travelling about an hour away from the hotel to Kawazu Nanadaru (seven waterfalls) in central Izu, set among beautiful Japanese mountains. The falls and the scenery provide plenty of scope for a day’s painting while there is a lot for non-painters to explore. Lunch can be taken at one of several picturesque restaurants alongside the river.
Day 9 Tuesday, November 7: Melbourne Cup Day and we’ll do our best to see if we can stream the big race from Flemington or at least organise a sweep! The plan is for a relaxed day around the hotel. Guests will need to pack their suitcases today to be sent on ahead by takkyūbin (express delivery service) to our next destination in Takayama. Tonight we will enjoy a farewell to Izu dinner at Bistro de Marni, a lovely French inspired restaurant owned by good friends of ours just outside Shimoda.
Day 10 Wednesday, November 8: A day of travel today and the chance to experience the super efficient Japanese train network and the shinkansen (bullet train). We leave Shimoda after breakfast and travel from Shimoda station via Atami and Nagoya to Takayama – three different trains and all with first class (Green Car) seats. We’ll arrange traditional Japanese obento boxed lunches en route.
Our accommodation for the next four nights is at the Hotel Associa Takayama Resort. This evening we will gather in the ryōkan’s banquet room for a traditional kaiseki meal featuring local delicacies and sake from the region.
Takayama street scene
Day 11 Thursday, November 9: A full day in the beautiful old town of Takayama with painting opportunities in the streets and in the hillside temples and shrines. Lunch and dinner can be taken at any of the many restaurants in town or back at the resort which boasts a number of restaurants, both Japanese and western.
Day 12 Friday, November 10: Today we take a private coach about an hour or so north of Takayama along the expressway and through some very long (almost 30 km) tunnels to the little village of Ainokura. Here we will find a number of preserved gasshō-zukuri houses. Literally this means prayer-construction and you will see that the thatched roof houses are shaped as hands in prayer. They are quite charming and totally photogenic. If we are lucky, the surrounding mountains should be covered in vibrant autumn colours. Nearby is a washi (Japanese paper) making atelier where non-painters might like to try their hand. There are a couple of restaurants in the small village for lunch.
Gasshō-zukuri houses
Day 13 Saturday, November 11: Another morning of painting in the old town of Takayama. In the afternoon, we will visit the town’s museums to see the puppets and yatai (floats) that are used in the annual spring festival. They are quite amazing and well worth the visit. In the morning, we need to send our large suitcases by takkyūbin delivery to our hotel in Kyoto.
Day 14 Sunday, November 12: Another travel day. After breakfast at the ryōkan, we will head by coach through some spectacular autumn scenery to the temple of Eiheiji. This is one of the biggest (and best preserved) Zen temples in Japan and it takes at least an hour to explore all the rooms. We will then proceed by coach to nearby Fukui railway station for lunch before boarding the Thunderbird express train to Kyoto, the last stop on our tour. Our hotel for two nights is the ANA Crowne Plaza where we have organized a group dinner.
Day 15 Monday, November 13: After breakfast, we will cross the road to the Nijō Castle, former home of the Tokugawa shōgun. After a tour of the buildings we will move to a section of the gardens for painting before returning to the hotel for lunch. In the afternoon, we will gather in a private room at the hotel for a review of everyone’s art over cocktails. Dinner can be at the hotel (there are several fine restaurants) or in the nearby area.
Nijō-jō, Kyoto
Day 16 Tuesday, November 14: Our Japan Tour ends after breakfast. As it is autumn time, there will be some glorious sights at the various temples dotted around the ancient city of Kyoto, and many of our guests have planned to stay on for the next couple of days to visit more of the sights here and in nearby Nara.
THIS TOUR IS NOW FULLY BOOKED.
July 2017