Spirit of Japan

SUMMARY ITINERARY

TIME LOCATION RECOMMENDED HOTEL

Day 1     KYOTO    Sangen Ninenzaka/ Arashiyama Benkei

Today we welcome you to Kyoto for your journey into the spiritual and the arts. First we’ll settle you into your elegant Ryokan. Then we’ll be taking you to one of our favorite restaurants. A nice gentle introduction to a contemplative trip.

Day 2     KYOTO    Sangen Ninenzaka/ Arashiyama Benkei

Today your morning will start early, as we introduce you to one of Japan’s most progressive Buddhist priests. This monk studied abroad in the US and is famous for his progressive views on tech, futurism and LGBTQ rights (he ‘married Ellen Page to her partner on her trip to Japan!)  We’ll arrange for a private meditation session for you, giving you a chance to learn from and chat with the Buddhist Priest.

Next we’ll give you a taste of the Buddhist Lifestyle, taking you to a beautiful temple for an introduction to Shojin Ryori Cuisine. This temple has one of the best rated restaurants in all of Japan, serving traditional Buddhist vegetarian food. It’s a great chance to see how culinary mastery meets with a spiritual philosophy.

Afterwards we will channel Bill Bryson for a walk in the woods! Only our time won’t be spent learning about prose, but Poetry. We will be heading with a local professor to walk and visit Basho’s House of Fallen Persimmons, the house where Japan’s native son and most famous literary figure Basho wrote some of his most renowned Haikus. We’ll learn from the Professor how haiku still impacts Japan and Basho’s connection to the spiritual as inspiration.

Afterwards you’ll return to your Ryokan to enjoy a delicious dinner.

Day 3     KYOTO    Sangen Ninenzaka/ Arashiyama Benkei

In the morning we’ll be introducing you to one of Japan’s most famous guide for handi-crafts. She’ll be taking you on a tour to some of Kyoto’s most famed artisans for an in depth look at how spirituality connects to craftsmanship.

After lunch, we’ll head with our guide to the home of one of these craftsmen, Miyamoto-san,  who will be showing us his techniques for carving Buddhist Figures, which he supplies to some of Japan’s most famous and revered temples. Afterwards we’ll have a chance to try our hand at wood-carving and painting as we construct a Domo Figurine with him!

Afterwards we’ll return to our Ryokan for another beautiful meal.

Day 4     KYOTO    Sangen Ninenzaka/ Arashiyama Benkei

In the morning we’ll be going on a bike-ride with our favorite “Art-Lete”. She’ll be taking us on a cycling trip around Kyoto to stop in on some of the more hidden spiritual spots in the city, as well introducing us to a few artists and their studios along the way.

Next we’d have the choice of introducing you to either one of the premier scholars and experts of Kyoto, A graduate of Yale and Harvard whose work has been mentioned by Shinzo Abe as being one of Japan’s most valuable foreign ambassadors. He will be taking us to some of his favorite sites in Kyoto to discuss how Tourism has changed Japan for the better and worse. As well as showing us some of the few remaining “hidden” spots of Japan.

Our other option is to introduce you to the “future” of Japan, Atticus is the founder of Kyoto VR.  He will be taking us to several heritage businesses that are trying to thread the needle between preserving the past while looking towards the future. In addition, we will visit some of the sites that Atticus’s company is preserving in VR, to look at what the future of tourism in Kyoto may look like

In the evening we can either book a stunning final meal for your time in Kyoto or you may dine at your Ryokan in the evening.

Day 5 KYOTO –NARA Hinoki House/Kasuga Tsukihitei

Today in the morning we recommend a final walk in Arashiyama or along the Philosopher’s path (We can arrange this with an actual philosopher if you’d like! One of Kyoto’s experts on aesthetics).

In the afternoon you’ll take the train to Nara. Upon arrival, we’ll pick you up and transfer you to your hotel.

In the evening, we’ll introduce you to one of our friend’s one of Japan’s most well-respected filmmakers. He’s a Nara Resident and will be taking you to a few of the spots for food and drink that he’s fallen in love with over his many years living in Nara. He also is one of Nara’s most passionate advocates of Buddhism, Shinto and history, and will be happy to share his thoughts with you over a meal or a drink.

Day 6 NARA          Hinoki House/Kasuga Tsukihitei

In the morning we’ll be introducing you to the guide who you’ll spend the majority of your time with. Akiko-san is a world traveler who returned to her native Nara with the goal of helping travelers understand the history, spirituality and connection the Japanese have to its former capital.  Today she’ll be taking you to some of Nara city’s most famed temples and spiritual sites… Nara is much much deeper than the deer and the big Buddha and Akiko knows its stories and connections to the past better than anyone.

Day 7 NARA               Hinoki House/Kasuga Tsukihitei

In the morning we’ll be introducing you to our friend Tokiko-san, she is one of Nara’s most famous Musicians, hired to perform at many temple openings to play traditional music. If possible perform a private show for us and afterward talk with us about how spirituality and music interact in Japan.

Afterward Akiko will be taking us to some of her favorite artistic spots in the city to meet with some of Nara’s Artists. We’ll engage in some traditional activities (such as calligraphy) and look into some of the newer art ventures in the city.

Afterward we’ll take you to one of our favorite restaurants in Nara, tomorrow we’ll be leaving for the countryside!

Day 8 NARA-ASUKA          Countryside Ryokan

Today we’ll be heading out of Nara by Car for a trip to Asakusa, this area of Japan is even older than Nara, and is where the first concept of Japan as a nation originated from. It contains some of Japan’s oldest history and spirituality. Coincidentally it also has fantastic routes for Cycling.

We will head out by Private Car and spend the day cycling in this idyllic countryside setting, learning about the origins of Japan.  Dinner will be cooked together with the guests and Akiko-san at our Ryokan after we buy fresh fruit, vegetables, and protein from the local markets. We will cook and eat under the stars before bedding down for the night at our charming 200-year-old Ryokan, owned by friends of Akiko.

Day 9   ASUKA-Countryside Ryokan and Farm

Today we’ll be leaving Asuka for a full day of spiritual practice and healthy living. We’ll be heading to one of our favorite Ryokan’s, which also doubles as a community center and farm. The Ryokan’s aim is to connect travelers to the land and the idea that health is both spiritual and physical. This place is paradise for healthy eaters and vegetarians, and we’ll have numerous opportunities for meditation, hands-on cooking and meditation. As well as talking to the women who have founded the Ryokan and center about how they believe Japanese spirituality can be honored and lived in the modern era.  Our dinner will be a delicious and fully organic meal made from ingredients on the farm. You can either help cook or relax.

Day 10 Country-side –MUROU Sasayuri-Ann

To conclude our time, we will head out by private car to Murou, home to Japan’s “female Koya-san”  (where women were allowed to practice Buddhism) and one of Japan’s largest open-air sculpture gardens. We will be staying at the Sasayuri-Ann, one of the most beautiful properties in this region of Japan. The owner Matsuyabashi san has refashioned traditional Japanese Farmhouses, into state of the art luxury villas, with iori fire-places, local musicians who can be hired to play an evening show on traditional Japanese Flutes, and morning walks through Murou’s gorgeous forests.

After check-in, you may enjoy conversation with the owner, participate in meditation and other Buddhist practices, and learn about Japan’s culture in a profound way.

Dinner tonight will be at the Sasayuri-Ann.

Day 11 MUROU        Sasayuri-Ann

Today you will enjoy a morning hike and a meditation session with Matsuyabashi-san, who is an esoteric Buddhist Priest himself. After meditation, he will take you on a nature hike to Akame 48 falls, an area that used to host actual ninjas for training.  And is important to mountain priests for its history connected to Shinto.

Afterward, we will head to Murou-ji to explore this gorgeous temple. Your expert guide will be happy to explain its history, its connection to Koya-san, and the history it represents in the pantheon of Japanese Buddhism.

Afterward, you’ll return to Murou-Ji for a final night under the stars.

Day 12 MUROU-KYOTO

In the morning you’ll check out of Sasayuri-ann. We will head to Murou Art Forest for an exploration of one of Japan’s largest sculpture gardens.  Afterward we will transfer you by private car to Murou Railway Station for your return Train to Kyoto. If you’d like we can extend your time exploring the spirituality and faiths of Japan with a stay in Koya-San.