“The Journey itself is my home”
Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694)
Suggested Itineraries
WE WORK WITH YOU, USING OUR EXPERIENCE TO CREATE A PERSONALISED APPROACH TO JAPAN’S RICH ARTISTIC HERITAGE AND VIBRANT CULTURAL PRESENT THAT WILL EACH TIME BE UNIQUE.
EXPLORING JAPANESE ARTS AND CRAFTS PROVIDES LIMITLESS SCOPE FOR HOW AN ITINERARY CAN BE BUILT.
KADENSHO’S ITINERARIES ARE CREATED IN CONSULTATION WITH THE TRAVELLER -
PERHAPS FOCUS ON A PARTICULAR GENRE - SAY CERAMICS, TEXTILES, OR BUDDHIST ART - OR DIVE INTO THE CONTEMPORARY ART SCENE.
KADENSHO ALWAYS BRINGS ITS EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE TO BEAR, REVEALING THE BEST OF JAPANESE ART IN THE BEST LOCATIONS IT CAN BE FOUND.
TO REALLY GET UNDER THE SKIN OF JAPAN, BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MUSEUMS, COLLECTIONS, WORKSHOPS, GALLERIES AND TEMPLES, A KADENSHO ITINERARY MAKES ROOM FOR EXPLORING THE STREETS AND ENJOYING GREAT FOOD.
SCOPING OUT THE BEST IN THE SEASONAL ROSTER OF EXHIBITIONS, FESTIVALS AND PERFORMANCE, WE WILL TRAVEL FAR BEYOND THE SUPERFICIAL.
A FULL OVERVIEW OF JAPAN’S ART HISTORY MIGHT BE A GOOD PLACE TO START. HERE’S A SAMPLE OF WHAT THAT KIND OF ITINERARY COULD BE
WITH THE DAYS PLANNED TO ALLOW FOR EXTEMPORISING AND GOOD EATING!
KADENSHO JAPAN ART PILGRIMAGE
(11 DAYS, INC. ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE)
TOKYO DAYS 1 TO 4
There are remarkable monuments to Edo-Tokyo’s 400 years of existence all across its vast wards and satellites. From its beating heart to its quiet backwaters, we’ll travel through the city’s many distinctive neighbourhoods seeking out art, and getting a full sense of Tokyo’s Iki or “panache”.
Tokyo National Museum holds the country’s superlative collection of Japanese art, representative of each epoch of its history, up to the recent past. From there, we’ll seek out how the bones of old Edo underlie the modern metropolis. They crop up in little-visited gardens created by poets and feudal lords, and in hidden architectural gems that somehow survived the fires, bombs and earthquakes.
An ever-evolving city of stunning modernity sits atop that of the past. Contemporary and classic art fill its more than 120 art museums - many unknown to the average visitor. We’ll explore how Japanese artists responded to the shock of the new after the country opened up to the West, and how their creative drive continues to respond to the 21st Century, in settings as notable as architectural gems as for the art they contain.
Throughout, we will share with you our intimate familiarity with Tokyo, visiting artists and makers in their studios, chatting to gallerists, and enjoying the hugely varied and sophisticated food culture the city is renowned for.
KYOTO DAYS 5 to 8
An early morning ride on the Shinkansen Bullet Train will take us to Kyoto, Imperial Capital for eleven centuries and heartland of Japanese history. Today it is a modern, vibrant city, but also home to an unparalleled array of temples, gardens and villas, museums and other cultural locations that speak of its long and often turbulent story.
The founders of Heian-kyō, “Capital of Peace and Tranquility”, pursued the cult of beauty with such obsession that every aspect of their lives was imbued with elegance. Their tastes can seen in astonishing and exquisite buildings, sculptures and other art works that somehow survived the years of upheaval, when rough soldiers usurped the power of aristocratic aesthetes.
Samurai devotion to Zen Buddhism brought revolutionary developments in artistic expression. Away from the maelstrom of Kyoto’s many tourist honey-traps, we’ll meditate on the fruits of this transformation, from the austere ink painting of the 14th Century to the bold baroque favoured by the warrior-princes of the 16th.
The city has been shaped by its townsfolk as much as by nobles and warlords. We’ll explore their lives past and present, with time devoted to visiting private collections, artists and makers, and to taking in the best of the shops and galleries where the continuity of Kyoto’s artistic heritage can best be appreciated.
KYOTO TO ODAWARA DAY 9
The journey back to Tokyo takes a refreshing detour to the land-sculpture which is the Enoura Observatory and art foundation, overlooking the blue waters of Sagami Bay, followed by the sybaritic pleasures of a night at a hot spring ryokan.
ODAWARA TO TOKYO DAY 10
Arriving back in Tokyo, the rest of the day is dedicated to the Art of Shopping, with a curated spin around some of the city’s fantastic shops and galleries. There are folk arts, textiles, ceramics, paper and lacquerware, as well as antique and contemporary design galleries, high-fashion, and foodie paradises to be explored.
TOKYO DAY 11
Depending on flight times, a final visit to some more of the city’s wonderful venues for arts and crafts before heading home.
