Experiences in Japan 

We work with an expert operator to put together the perfect hand crafted holiday for you.  Our Travel Consultant, Mags loves Japan  so read about her adventures in this blog to see why socks and flip flops is a growing trend!!

Japan Bucket List

Japan is brimming with exciting, inspiring hands on activities.  For instance,  whether you're interested in arts and crafts, history, sport, gardens or festivals, we want you to truly experience the culture.  From professional Japanese guides to ex-pats who have made Japan their home, our local experts are united in their desire to show you the mysteries of Japanese society.  They are able to give you a unique glimpse into this fascinating culture.

Kimono Hat

Things to do in Japan

Experience Tokyo's video arcades and themed cafes with a resident gaming geek.  Or as a complete contrast, get the inside track on Kyoto's Zen heritage with an expert in Japanese religion.  Step inside the secret world of sumo with an exclusive look behind the scenes at a morning sumo training session.  Alternatively visit Japan's stunning gardens with a botanical historian.   In conclusion whether you want to experience art classes, origami, tea ceremonies, flower arranging, kimonos, festivals, snow sculptures, calligraphy, dance or music, there are plenty of unique experiences in Japan! 

Flower arranging, Japan

Sumo wrestling, Japan

Wildlife experiences in Japan

Japan offers a surprising number of wildlife experiences.  You are able to see turtle beaches, snow monkeys in hot springs or Japanese Cranes dancing in mountain mists. 

Japanese Cranes

Amid the skyscraper blocks of Japan's big cities, cat cafés are now all the rage!  Many people live in tiny apartments, so having a pet is simply not an option.  It's not uncommon for cat café fans to visit on their favourite cat's birthday! Coffee, tea and cakes are served away from the cats behind glass windows. 

Cat Cafe, Japan

Snow Monkeys, Japan

Japanese Food Culture 

The food of Japan can take up a whole two weeks and is certainly a unique experience!  Experience an eco-farm stay in the mountains, pick tea, visit a wasabi farm, learn how to make noodles.  You can also cook with a Michelin chef, take a brewery tour or shop with chefs in a fish market.

Sushi, Japan

Street food tours in Japan

Osaka is famous throughout Japan for its food with its motto "eat drink and enjoy life".  With your local guide, take a food tour and see bars and eateries which line the neon illuminated streets. Also be sure to stop off at the 'Running Man' neon ad which has become a symbol of the area.  Food wise take the opportunity to try the highly poisonous fugu puffer fish.  Don't worry though, the skilled chefs here are experts at only serving the edible bits!  Additionally, well worth a try are octopus dumplings or okonomiyaki, the local version of pancakes.

Octopus Balls

Traditional Arts and Cultural Crafts of Japan

Take a day trip out of Tokyo to visit one of Japan's few remaining swordsmiths. Our insider guides are proud to work with a sword making master. Samurai swords have been made by hand in Japan since the 10th century using a special steel . Layers of steel with different carbon concentrations are folded and welded together to give the swords both strength and flexibility. Later the swordsmith skilfully adds a curve to the sword. Finally the blade must be polished which can take up to three weeks.

Traditional Japanese music and dance

Requiring nothing more than a willingness to learn, taking a Taiko drumming lesson is a fantastic way to try your hand at a traditional Japanese instrument!  We can arrange private or group lessons in Tokyo or Kyoto where you learn the basic rhythms of this traditional instrument.

Other musical experiences include back stage tours and dance classes .  For example we can get you 'behind the scenes' of the world of Japanese theatre known as kabuki.

Samauri, Japan

Geisha Culture in Kyoto

For many people the quintessential image of Japan is a graceful geisha in an exquisite kimono darting through a sliding screen door into a traditional teahouse. Often misunderstood in the West, geisha are essentially artists.  That is to say they are highly skilled in traditional arts such as fan dancing and shamisen playing as well as masters of wordplay and social etiquette. The majority of geisha live and work in Kyoto and are known as geiko in the local dialect.   A maiko is a trainee geiko.

Gion is Kyoto's most famous geisha district with a large concentration of tea houses. However, not just anyone can enter. A personal invitation is required and in traditional Japanese society, hierarchy and social connections are everything.  As a result most Japanese will never have the honour of an official invitation. Fortunately our insider guides have many strong connections in Kyoto and we can offer our clients a unique opportunity to experience a visit to a teahouse.  (Mags was lucky enough to visit the same Maiko that Joanna Lumley met in her TV programme in Japan!). 

Geiko, Kyoto

Onsen

For centuries the Japanese have used the therapeutic powers of naturally occurring hot springs called onsen.  Even today communal bathing in hot spring baths is a huge part of Japanese culture.

Hot spring baths come in different varieties from baths made of rocks and cypress wood, to tiny city bathhouses. Many onsen belong to ryokan (traditional Japanese inns) while others are public bathhouses. There are even gigantic onsen theme parks. 

Onsen, Japan

 Ryokan

Immerse yourself culturally and stay in a traditional Japanese ryokan inn.  With its tatami floors, sliding screens, slippers and kimonos, it offers a unique Japanese experience .

Ryokan, Japan

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