Itinerary

Day 1: DEPART USA

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Depart home city for Tokyo, Japan. The suggested group flight on United Airlines leaves from Santa Barbara at 10:18 a.m., connects in Los Angeles for a non-stop flight to Tokyo.

Accommodation: IMPERIAL HOTEL (view website)

Day 2: ARRIVE TOKYO

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Arrive Tokyo (Narita) at 3:55 p.m. Transfer to the Imperial Hotel, located in the heart of the city on the edge of the famous Ginza district and next to the Imperial Palace.

Accommodation: IMPERIAL HOTEL (view website)

Day 3: TOKYO

Thursday, November 06, 2008

The tour begins with a stop at the Imperial Palace Plaza to view the home of the royal family. Then visit the Asakusa Temple of the Goddess Cannon, one of the oldest shrines in Tokyo dating from the 7th century. Peruse the shops along the centuries-old Nakamise Shopping Arcade, lined with colorful stalls selling traditional Japanese knick-knacks, festival foods and rice crackers. After lunch, tour the Edo History Museum and the ultra-modern Tokyo International Forum, an immense structure of curving glass, steel and shimmering bridges. Return to the hotel. This evening, gather for a festive welcome dinner. (B,L,D)

Accommodation: IMPERIAL HOTEL (view website)

Day 4: TOKYO

Friday, November 07, 2008

After breakfast, visit Roppongi Hills, where outstanding public art gives this new district vibrancy as a cultural center. Tour the Mori Art Museum, the district’s stellar anchor. This translucent glass “Museum Cone” was designed by Gluckman Mayner Architects, whose projects include the Whitney and the Dia Center in New York, the Guggenheim in Berlin, and the expanded Picasso Museum in Malaga, Spain. After an independent lunch in Roppongi, drive through the fashionable districts of Omote-Sando and Harajuku en route to one of the holiest places in Japan– the Meiji Shrine. Commemorating the emperor whose reign transformed Japan into a modern power, the shrine is a peaceful enclave of Shinto temples and gardens, with gates made from 1,700-year-old cypress trees. Return to the hotel. Evening at leisure. (B)

Accommodation: IMPERIAL HOTEL (view website)

Day 5: TOKYO / HIMEJI / HIROSHIMA

Saturday, November 08, 2008

After breakfast, depart Tokyo for Himeji by shinkansen (bullet) train. Explore Himeji Castle, the grandest and most spectacular of Japan’s twelve surviving feudal castles. Continue by bullet train to Hiroshima. Entirely rebuilt after the devastation of the atomic bomb in World War II, Hiroshima is a modern city. The evening is free to explore the local restaurant scene. (B)

Accommodation: RIHGA ROYAL HIROSHIMA (view website)

Day 6: HIROSHIMA

Sunday, November 09, 2008

An excursion is planned outside the city to nearby Miyajima Island, a holy place of Shintoism since ancient times. Itsukushima Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, dates from the 13th century and plays on the contrasts in color and form between mountains and sea, illustrating the Japanese concept of scenic beauty that combines nature and human creativity. After lunch at a local restaurant, return to Hiroshima to spend the afternoon in the Peace Memorial Museum and Park. Return to the hotel for an evening at leisure. (B,L)

Accommodation: RIHGA ROYAL HIROSHIMA (view website)

Day 7: HIROSHIMA / NAOSHIMA

Monday, November 10, 2008

Depart Hiroshima and travel by bullet train and ferry to the island oasis of Naoshima, a mecca of Japanese and Western contemporary art in the Inland Sea National Park. Two nights will be spent in the Benesse House complex, a unique museum/hotel that is part of the larger Benesse Art Site. The Site includes two museums and several structures designed by Tadao Ando as well as outdoor installations by James Turrell, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Dan Graham, Karel Appel, and Yayoi Kusama, whose large Pumpkin stands on the waterfront.

Visit the spectacular newly-opened Chichu Museum with a collection of Impressionist and contemporary art. Continue to the Benesse House Museum for a reception and tour followed by dinner. (B,D)

Accommodation: BENESSE HOUSE ART SITE (view website)

Day 8: NAOSHIMA

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

This morning, tour the art installations of the Art House Project in a nearby village. Lunch independently and the afternoon will be at leisure to enjoy this extraordinary setting where art and nature are fully integrated. Dinner tonight is at the hotel. (B,D)

Accommodation: BENESSE HOUSE ART SITE (view website)

Day 9: NAOSHIMA / TAKAMATSU

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Travel by ferry to the island of Shikoku to visit Takamatsu, a thriving castle town during the Edo Period. En route, stop in the small town of Mure to tour the former studio of Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi, now a museum where many of the artist’s monumental sculptures are on view. Also visit the Ritsurin Garden, where ponds and artificial hills reflect the scenery of Japanese paintings. Gather tonight for dinner at the hotel. ANA Hotel Clement (B,L,D)

Accommodation: ANA HOTEL CLEMENT (view website)

Day 10: TAKAMATSU / KYOTO

Thursday, November 13, 2008

This morning, depart for Kyoto, the cultural center of Japan. Capital of the country for many years, it was spared from the destruction of World War II. Traditional tea-houses, palaces, gardens and over two thousand Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines remain intact. The city is also the cradle of Japan’s traditional arts and crafts. Dinner tonight is at a local restaurant. (B,D)

Accommodation: KYOTO OKURA HOTEL (view website)

Day 11: KYOTO

Friday, November 14, 2008

Early mornings have a special magic in Kyoto. Explore the markets near the hotel or taxi to the Philosopher’s Walk, a beautiful path along a canal lined with cherry, willow and pine trees that connects a series of temples. After breakfast, visit the serene 500-year-old Ryoan-ji Temple, known for its Garden of Emptiness, perhaps the world’s finest Zen garden. It is known for its raked white gravel and carefully placed stones that seem to drift on waves of sand. Continue to the famous gold-leafed Kinkaku-ji Temple (Golden Pavilion), an opulent structure whose golden reflection is mirrored in a surrounding pond. Following lunch, explore Tenryu-ji, one of the most lavish temple and garden complexes in Kyoto, and Nijo Castle, an impressive medieval castle with elaborate gardens. Built in 1603, it was the official residence of the first Tokugawa shogun, and symbolized the power and riches of the shogunate. With its moat, thick walls and impenetrable gates, it was designed to both intimidate and impress. Its famous “singing floors” warned residents of intruders. (B,L)

Accommodation: KYOTO OKURA HOTEL (view website)

Day 12: KYOTO / MIHO MUSEUM / KYOTO

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Depart Kyoto this morning for a drive into the countryside to visit I.M. Pei’s masterpiece, the Miho Museum. High in a mountainside paradise, the Miho is hidden between two precipitous ridges in a setting that Pei likens to a traditional landscape scroll in which half-seen structures and soaring roofs peep from behind trees and clouds. The museum houses the Koyama Shumei Family Collection with over one thousand works of art from around the world. Lunch will be at the museum’s organic, vegetarian restaurant. Return to Kyoto. The remainder of the afternoon is at leisure. Gather this evening for a farewell dinner at a restaurant in the Gion district, with a geisha and maiko performance. (B,L,D)

Accommodation: KYOTO OKURA HOTEL (view website)

Day 13: KYOTO / OSAKA / RETURN TO USA

Sunday, November 16, 2008

After breakfast, drive to Osaka for the flight home. Depart from the spectacular Kansai Airport in Osaka, designed by architect Renzo Piano. The suggested group flight to San Francisco leaves at 4:45 p.m. and arrives in San Francisco at 10:30 a.m. the same day. Connecting flights to Santa Barbara or Los Angeles are available. (B)