An incredible week-long tour through Japan’s legendary artistic and cultural history, set in its most ancient heartlands
Nagoya > Inuyama > Gujo Hachiman > Gero Onsen > Gassho > Osaka-cho > Nakatsugawa > Kijishi-no-Sato > Arimatsu > Nagoya
Linger a while in Japan with this week-long tour that weaves through dramatic mountain landscapes, historic towns and the birthplaces of many gorgeous Japanese crafts and traditions renowned throughout the world to this day.
Arrive at Nagoya Station with enough time to check in and find yourself dinner in this foodie paradise.
Your friendly hotel reception will have plenty of advice, though we recommend a visit to nearby Sakae, a lively downtown district that heaves with locals and tourists alike.
As Nagoya fades into green, you’ll be greeted by an Edo Period castle town, renowned for its picturesque historic architecture. Spend the morning sightseeing on foot, exploring the local area and one of the oldest surviving castles in Japan – Inuyama Castle.
Visit the Imasen Inuyama Karakuri Museum for a playful demonstration of Japanese arts and craft – Karakuri – lifelike marionettes skilfully constructed with hidden mechanisms to perform human actions; together with automata dolls, the zashiki karakuri.
After dinner, check in at the five-star boutique Hotel Indigo Inuyama Urakuen Garden
Gujo Hachiman is the hillside settlement famous for its crafts, its stunning mountaintop castle and temple, and an endless maze of waterways. Start with a stroll around town, stopping at Jionzen-ji Temple, founded in the 16th century by Lord Endo Yoshitaka.
Most of the buildings in this town are of great historical importance and lovingly conserved. Walk back through time, past carpenters workshops and traditional houses. Choose this afternoon from optional rafting on Nagara River or screenrinting classes.
Stay tonight at the foot of Gujo Hachiman Castle at Hotel Sekisuien. Admire the town below over dinner at the hotel.
Gero is bursting with hot spring waters and from its lush, fertile land comes some of the finest sake in the country. Observe sake-making techniques, take an optional class in classical label design and you’ll have time for a taste of their delicious small-batch and classic sake.
At one workshop you’ll make a sarubobo, a bright red lucky charm said to give good health, a blessed marriage and healthy children. Sightseeing continues at Onsen-ji Temple and to Gassho, marked by hand-built stone walls and old high-roofed hida houses.
Retire for the night at a spectacular spa resort hotel and experience the hot springs of Gero.
This morning you’ll head up into the mountains for a light hike at Osaka-cho, the town with the most waterfalls in Japan. You’ll be guided through this misty maze along the Ontake Lava Flow nature trail and walk through to Mitsudaki Falls, dating back over 300,000 years.
Visit Kashimo Meijiza Theatre for a behind-the-scenes tour of this wooden kabuki playhouse, the decorative puppets of which you can operate on your backstage tour.
Return to central Nakatsugawa for a stay at Nagataki Ryokan – a traditional Japanese inn for dinner.
Visit Kijishi-no-Sato in the Kiso Valley, where you will discover the skilled work of the kijishi (woodturners) who use local persimmon, cherry and horse chestnut trees and the cherished Kiso hinoki (Japanese Cypress). Take your turn at the woodturning wheel, and take home a beautiful plate. Next visit Tsumago, an ancient post town where modern technology and cars are hidden from view and the streets are filled with quaint ryokans and minshuku guest houses. Follow in the footsteps of samurai and geishas as you take your turn on a famous stretch of the important Kyoto-Tokyo trade route – the Nakasendo.
You’ll check in at your hotel in Nagoya with plenty of time to refresh yourself before heading out into the big city for dinner.
After a sumptuous breakfast, use your day pass on the Meguru, Nagoya Sightseeing Route Bus; take in this beautiful city at your own pace and drop on and off at key attractions. Why not visit the outstanding Nagoya Castle, built in 1612; Honmaru Palace considered one of the finest samurai architecture ever built; Tokugawa Art Museum, with the finest collection of Edo Period artwork in the world; Old Shikemichi Town offers a walk through the merchant history of Nagoya; Yanagibashi Central Market known as the kitchen of the Tokai region to end will give you an appetite for this evening.
Return to your hotel for ovenight stay.
After a wonderful breakfast, catch a morning train to the heritage site of Arimatsu. Spend much of the day exploring small-town Japan and its love of intricate crafts – the home of shibori textiles, usually referred to as Japanese tie-dye with the indigo grass indigenous to Nagano. Dye some handkerchiefs yourself as souvenirs, before returning to Nagano for lunch.
You’ll be back in Nagoya by the afternoon, to continue exploring this great city – or to make your way onwards through the vast beauty of Japan, or back home to Europe.
