Overview
Renowned travel writer and photographer Christopher P. Baker and Japan’s most acclaimed photo instructor, George Nobechi, have put their minds together to curate this spectacular 14-day photo tour / workshop timed to coincide with Japan’s mesmerizingly beautiful fall foliage and the Takayama Autumn Festival.
Christopher—the Lowell Thomas Award ‘Travel Journalist of the Year’–has used his knowledge of Japan based on his magazine assignments and as update editor & photographer of the National Geographic Traveler Japan guidebook to incorporate a dream-list of destinations and cultural experiences, from samurai swordsmiths and cormorant fishing to a traditional tea ceremony. George, who was born in Tokyo, educated in British Columbia, and founded Nobechi Creative and the Karuizawa Foto Fest, added his Japanese sensitivity to hone the program still further, promising participants a rare and respectful insight and treatment of his home country. Together, they share two distinct aesthetic visions: Chris’ born of his four decades as a visual storyteller for National Geographic and other leading publications; George’s sparse, quintessentially Japanese minimalist realism that awakens a deeper understanding of your potential as an artist.
We’ll travel in early fall, avoiding the crowds of peak momi-ji-gari (autumn foliage), yet still delighting in uplands ablaze in a thousand shades of vibrant orange, red, and crimson. This is the best time of year, when the weather is crisp and the skies crystal clear. The highlight of our tour is Hatchiman Matsuri—the two-day Takayama Autumn Festival—featuring elaborate floats amid a centuries-old traditional setting bathed by night in the soft glow of lantern light. To which add visits to magnificent temples and Buddhist shrines… gorgeous Mt. Fuji… and Kyoto, the ancient Japanese capital, with its geishas strolling the lantern-lit streets in kimonos.
Along the way, you’ll be immersed in traditional, ancient Japan as we explore its tooi inaka (deep country), dress in yukatas (casual kimonos), feast on fresh seafoods, soak in communal onsen (hot springs), sleep on comfy futons atop tatami mats… and return home stress free, serene, and with your memories (and memory cards) chock-full of indelibly wonderful memories.
Itinerary
(Subject to change)
DAY 1:Tokyo Participants arrive and settle into our hotel, in the heart of Ginza. Meet with Christopher and George in the evening for orientation. Then walk to dinner through the iconic Ginza District, the first area of Tokyo to Westernize and the “Fifth Avenue” equivalent of Tokyo with boutiques of world famous Japanese and international brands. The blue hour features shining architecture, colorful neon, and wonderful street photography opportunities. The photo walk will be followed by dinner at one of the best izakaya (Japanese style taverns) in Tokyo in an atmospheric setting under the railroad tracks for a quintessential Tokyo experience. (Option to add extra nights before the tour with additional option for bilingual photo guide for Tokyo excursions.) Overnight: Tokyo
DAY 2: Tokyo to Takayama After breakfast at the hotel, we depart by taxis to Tokyo Station to board the Shinkansen (bullet train) bound for Nagoya. We will keep fingers crossed for a possible Mt. Fuji sighting on the way. At Nagoya, transfer to the Hida Express Train and embark on a picturesque 2.5-hour journey to the intimate mountainous city of Takayama. After dropping our bags at the hotel, we will connect with and photograph a master ceramicist and a traditional miso and soy sauce maker. Dinner will be an unforgettable experience at a family-run, high-end Hida Wagyu Beef restaurant. With the tourists gone, the streets of the Old Town area will be quiet and beautiful for some optional night photography. Overnight: Takayama
Day 3: Takayama ‘Autumn Festival’ An early morning walk to the two Takayama morning markets: outside the magistrate house (Jinya) and by the Miyagawa River. This will be followed by a “slow” breakfast at a family-run Showa-Era (mid-20th century) style coffee shop. After breakfast, walk to the area surrounding the Sakurayama Hachiman Shrine, home to the autumn (Hachiman) festival. Eleven lacquered and gilded hand-pulled carts will be on display. The festival is a UNESCO Intangible World Cultural Heritage event. You will be free to follow along with your favorite floats or pick an area and let them come to you. Photographic opportunities abound from street photography to portraiture to documentary, still life and more. Around various breaks, the festivities continue into the evening and the rest of the day’s schedule will be cleared such that you can photograph when you wish, rest when you wish, eat when you wish. The center of town is very walkable and very easy and safe for you to explore. Overnight: Takayama
Days 4: Takayama ‘Autumn Festival’ The festival starts and ends earlier on the second day, so after a light breakfast at the hotel, we will head out to photograph, especially in the good morning light. As the day and the festival winds down, an optional visit to a sake brewery and traditional Takayama townhouse can be arranged courtesy of our local resident friends. We will wrap up our stay in Takayama with a dinner of traditional regional cuisine. Overnight: Takayama
DAY 5: Takayama – Gujo Hachiman – Mino After breakfast, we will begin to journey south from Takayama. Our first stop will be the riverside castle town of Gujo Hachiman. The town features a serene Zen Buddhist temple with a gorgeous “borrowed landscape” garden; a charming, small and walkable historic section with a small irrigation canal populated with enormous koi fish you will ever see. There is a castle perched watchfully atop a cliff: only accessible by foot, it will be an optional visit. In the afternoon, we will continue on our journey, and sticking with the koi theme, we will visit the aptly named Monet’s Pond, in the middle of some rice fields with beautiful multi-colored koi and pond weeds and lily pads. Our journey will be complete when we arrive at the authentic merchant town of Mino. Its traditional warehouses and quaint streets are wonderful. We will check in at an unforgettable merchant-house-turned hotel and walk across the street to dinner. Overnight: Mino
DAY 6: Mino – Seki – Mino After a beautiful Japanese-style breakfast served at our hotel, we will drive up one of the quiet valleys to visit with a washi paper maker who still adheres to traditional styles of hand making paper while creating contemporary masterpieces. After photographing him at work in his studio space, we’ll having a special lunch served on premises. After lunch, we will drive south to Seki, one of Japan’s most famous centers for steel forging in Japan (traditionally samurai swords, but these days also kitchen knives, pruning shears, and scissors). Here, we ‘ll have a private photography session at a samurai swordsmith forge, where master craftsmen still wear traditional garb. We will have an early dinner (Seki is home to the best barbecued unagi–eel)–in Japan), which facilitates another cultural highlight: nighttime cormorant fishing in ancient tradition–a scene that unfolds like an ancient Japanese picture scroll in which fishing masters use tethered cormorants to catch sweetfish in the dark of night using flaming lanterns at the prow of their boats. Our boats will travel down the river together, in parallel to the fishing boat. This is the real deal and authentic as it has been for over a thousand years – no setups for tourists. Overnight: Mino
DAY 7: Kyoto After breakfast, we will ship our large suitcases to Kyoto for overnight service, once again taking with us our overnight bags and cameras as we drive down to Nagoya once more, where we board the bullet train for Kyoto, the capital of the Heian Court (794-1185), a four century-long period of the golden age of Japan’s aesthetic and cultural growth. We will take taxis from Kyoto Station to our hotel to drop off our bags before our local guides will take you on an afternoon stroll through our vibrant neighborhood. The walk will include areas with quaint Shinto shrines and cafes and shops, as well as serene Buddhist temples. You will have the evening free for dinner. Overnight: Kyoto
DAY 8: Kyoto We begin early today to explore Kiyomizu Temple right when it opens at 6AM. Kiyomizu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is an iconic location for the Japanese people known for its great wooden platform and its amazing views. Just below Kiyomizu is the historic hillside Ninenzaka district, which will be our next destination before the crowds arrive and pack this photogenic district of old wooden houses pinned by a five-story pagoda. We then walk to our private traditional tea ceremony at a Buddhist temple, set in a lovely garden on the edge of Ninenzaka. We will then embark on a photo walk, taking us through Maruyama Park where we may see young people from all over the world renting kimonos to pose for pictures, or if lucky, a bridal photography session or two in traditional Japanese wedding attire. We will walk along the Lake Biwa Irrigation Canal and a set of picturesque abandoned railroad tracks before arriving at the spectacular Nanzen-Ji Temple Complex. This temple features not only dry land stone gardens, but also a beautiful koi pond, a stunning, functioning brick aqueduct and more. There should be plenty there to occupy us, and there is a taxi stand from which you can return to our hotel or go on to other destinations in Kyoto, or you can continue with our local guides on a two-mile additional walk along the beautiful Philosopher’s Path that runs North to Ginkaku-Ji, the Silver Pavilion. Overnight: Kyoto
DAY 9: Kyoto We again rise early to beat the crowds to Kyoto’s most popular site for visitors–the Fushimi Inari Shrine, the shrine dedicated to the god of rice and commerce, a site known for its 10,000 vermilion torii gates snaking up the mountainside. We’ll return to the hotel for breakfast and a short break before a portrait session with a maiko (an apprentice geisha) in Heian Shrine garden. We then transfer to the Nishijin district and a centuries-old weaving house to photograph traditional silk fabrics being made. The limited space makes photography somewhat challenging, but with a critical eye you can discern lovely detail elements among the looms and silk reels. Overnight: Kyoto
DAY 10: ‘Bullet Train’ to Five Lakes & Mount Fuji After an early breakfast, we will ship our suitcases to our hotel in Tokyo, and pack TWO days’ worth of clothes so that we may travel light. We will transfer to Kyoto Station by taxi and take the bullet train to Shizuoka and transfer to a private microbus. We will drive north, making a stop a beautiful Shiraito Falls before proceeding to the western side of Mt. Fuji as we drive around its western flank and make stops viewing it from various vantage points including across lake waters. In the afternoon, we’ll visit Kubota Itchiku Art Museum, dedicated to the revived art of centuries-old Tsujigahana silk-dyeing and set in its own exquisite garden. The late afternoon will be spent seeking the best views of the iconic sacred mountain at sunset before we arrive at our hot spring hotel just before dinner (served at the hotel). Overnight: Lake Kawaguchiko
DAY 11: Five Lakes & Mount Fuji We will rise early for a short drive to the Arakuren Sengen Shrine, where we’ll photograph sunrise at the five-storied Chureito Pagoda overlooking the town of Fujiyoshida and, beyond, snowcapped Mt. Fuji- perhaps our best chance of photographing Mt. Fuji without clouds! We’ll then head to the lovely Kitaguchi Hongu shrine, and/or Hananomiyako Park to photograph the magnificent floral displays, with Mt. Fuji as a backdrop. After time for an ohirune (siesta) back at our hotel, we’ll head to Saiko Iyashi no Santo, a traditional thatched village with traditional craft workshops. Here, we’ll photograph a model dressed in traditional kimono. Overnight:Lake Kawaguchiko
DAY 12: Tokyo After breakfast, we will check out and drive back to Shizuoka to board the bullet train one last time to travel back to Tokyo. We will first transfer to our hotel and drop our day bags (and greet our suitcases, which will be waiting for us) before you are free for the afternoon to do some shopping, etc. In the late afternoon, we will arrange a visit to Team Lab (or similar), one of the latest in Instagrammable interactive digital art museums before we head to dinner and some night street photography. Overnight: Tokyo
DAY 13: Tokyo An early morning visit to a sumo stable to witness the aura of these amazing giants up close. The rest of your day will be free for you to visit other areas of Tokyo, or you can accompany our photographer guide for an exploration of some of Tokyo’s many remarkable neighborhood districts, parks and markets. We’ll wrap our tour with a slideshow of everyone’s favorite images, followed by a farewell dinner. Overnight: Tokyo
DAY 14: Tokyo – Nikko – Lake Chuzenji Participants are transported to the airport to board their flights home.
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DAY 14: Tokyo – Nikko – Lake Chuzenji Travel by train to Nikko before boarding our microbus. Visit the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Nikko, including spectacular Toshogu Shrine, where the great shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu’s mausoleum lies, as well as Rinno-Ji Temple, then drive up famed Iroha-Zaka hill for the fall foliage, with a quick stop at Akechidaira Ropeway for spectacular views of Lake Chuzenji before continuing on to Lake Chuzenji itself to check in at our hot spring hotel. Dinner will be on premises. Overnight: Lake Chuzenji
DAY 15: Lake Chuzenji After breakfast, we will drive to various sites around Lake Chuzenji, including beautiful Kegon Falls, one of Japan’s most famous waterfalls, Ryuzu Falls, the boardwalk at Senjogahara Marsh and beautiful Yunoko Lake, where hot spring waters meet clear mountain water. Views of iconic Mt Nantai (a perfect volcano with beautiful late fall foliage due to the elevation) will be our companions for the day. We return to our hotel for dinner. Overnight: Lake Chuzenji
Day 16: Lake Chuzenji – Tokyo After a leisurely morning enjoying the grounds of our hotel, we will travel back down to Nikko Station to transfer to the train, arriving mid-afternoon in Tokyo. We will check in to our hotel and you will have the rest of the day and evening free. An optional dinner will be arranged such that no one will need to dine alone. You could also fly out that evening if you wanted to do so (if you do so, please do not plan on any flights leaving before 6pm in the evening to be safe). Overnight: Tokyo
Day 17- Depart Depart for home.