Art Journeys in San-in and Shikoku
Itinerary
The following schedule is subject to change in accordance with the circumstances of our lodgings, transportation, local events and hosts. We will send participants the finalized itinerary one month in advance of the departure date.
(B) Breakfast (L) Lunch (D) Dinner
Day 1 Arrive in Tokyo (Narita) Airport:
Arrive at Narita Airport. Clear Customs and Immigration. Participants flying on our designated flight will be greeted by tour representative and transferred to the hotel near the airport.
Day 2 Narita - Haneda Airport -Yonago Airport – Matsue:
Meet our tour representative in the hotel lobby. S/he will hand you a ticket and help you take the airport shuttle bus to Haneda Airport. At Haneda Airport, check in by yourself with the airline for the flight to Yonago. Meet a tour guide/escort at the arrival lobby in Yonagao Ariport. Transfer to the hotel in Matsue.
You will have a half-day walking tour of Matsue, visiting Samurai house, Lafcardio Hearn’s former residence and Matsue Castle.
(B)(D)
Day 3 Matsue - Kiyomizu-dera Temple – Adachi Museum – Matsue:
In the morning, we will visit Kiyomizu-dera, a historical temple deep in the mountains of Yasugi. Our lunch will be a vegetarian meal. In the afternoon, we will visit the Adachi Museum known for its outstanding Japanese paintings, Mingei folkcrafts collection and the spectacular landscape garden which has been ranked as the finest Japanese garden by the Journal of Japanese Gardening since 2003. Our last stop will be Shiji-ko Lake which is known as the best place to view a sunset.
(B)(L)
Day 4 Matsue:
We will visit Mutsuko Yawatagaki, the director/quilt designer and producer at the Izumo Quilt Museum, which has a collection of exquisite quilts of Kimono textiles in a few-hundred year old Japanese house.
Free in the afternoon
(B) (L)
Day 5 Matsue - Izumo Taisha - Sakura-e:
Sending suitcases to Takamatsu, we will travel with a 3-nights-4 day-pack.
In the morning, we will take a chartered bus to visit Izumo Taisha, the oldest shrine in Japan, where Japan’s creation god, Okuni-nushi-no-mikoto is enshrined. In the afternoon, we will relax at our hotspring resort hotel in Sakura-e. That night, we will be special guests of a local harvest festival. We will participate in the ceremony and enjoy Kagura (sacred dance) performed by local people and dedicated to the gods and goddesses.
(B)(L)(D)
Day 6 Sakura-e – Hagi:
We will take the train to visit Hagi, a quaint pottery town along the coast. Hagi is also known for its vital role during the Meiji Restoration of 1867, when the Shogunate government surrendered power to the emperor. We will have a walking tour of this historic castle town with temples, shrines, rows of samurai houses, and craft shops.
(B)(L)
Day 7 Hagi:
We will visit the Hadanos, an award-winning potter family at their kiln.
Free in the afternoon.
(B)
Day 8 Hagi – Shin-Yamaguchi train station – Takamatsu:
We will take the bus and train to Takamatsu on Shikoku Island.
Arriving at Takamatsu, we will visit the famed Ritsurin Gardens. Designed 200 years ago for the Matsudaira rulers, the estate encompasses 135 acres, six ponds and thirteen pine-clad hills. Within the grounds there is a folk craft museum, a treasure trove of local pottery, furniture and textiles.
(B)(D)
Day 9 Takamatsu - Naoshima – Takamatsu:
A 45 minute, smooth ferry ride will take us to the small island of Naoshima (pop. 3,500). Part of this island has been transformed into a unique subterranean museum by the celebrated architect, Tadao Ando. The "House Project" showcases contemporary arts in traditional domestic architecture. We will also visit the Benesse Art Museum and have lunch at their terrace restaurant overlooking the Inland Sea and Shikoku Islands. During your free time, you may visit Chichu Museum on your own or take a pleasure walk to enjoy kinetic sculptures placed along a winding seaside path.
(B)
Day 10 Takamatsu - Kinashi – Takamatsu:
Free in the morning.
In the afternoon, we'll visit Kinashi, the small town which produces 80% of Japan 's pine Bonsai (miniature trees). We'll walk through fields of bonsai, tour several nurseries, and appreciate bonsai masterworks that have been lovingly tended for centuries.
(B)
Day 11 Takamatsu – Kamiyama:
We will visit Kamiyama town in Tokushima Prefecture. Kamiyama is known for their “International Artists in Residence” program, in which selected artists from Japan and abroad produce art which depicts the history, culture and traditions of Kamiyama. We will meet the artists and explore their art installations constructed in the forest trail, former Sake warehouse, and old theater.
Traditional puppet play will be performed by locals in the evening.
(B)(D)
Day 12 Kamiyama:
Free in the morning.
In the afternoon, we will visit Shozanji temple, one of Shikoku’s 88 pilgrimage temples, which is located on one of the sacred mountains near Kamiyama.
(B)(D)
Day 13 Kamiyama – Tokushima Airport – your next destination:
Transfer to Tokushima Airport by bus for our designated flight to Haneda Airport. The tour will be disbanded at the Tokushima Airport.
(B)