Ceramics, Sushi, and Sightseeing, May 11th - 24th, 2024

Fly from your home airport to KIX, Kansai International airport in Osaka, Japan. Most US flights will land tomorrow due to the time change.

Sheri will meet you as you arrive. Check into the Nikko Hotel located conveniently at the airport, just a short walk away. Relax and rest up for an action packed tour starting tomorrow.

Visit various sites in Osaka, including the Rikyu Museum, where you'll learn about the beginnings of the Japanese Tea Ceremony and enjoy an informal tea ceremony with our group. Travel to Okayama that night. Hotel Granvia Okayama.

We'll visit galleries and studios in Bizen like the Kibido Bizenyaki, pictured above. 

Travel to Kumamoto in Kyushu, southwest Japan. Visit the castle, the breathtaking Suizenji Garden, and the Kumamoto Prefectural Traditional Crafts Center with all kinds of pottery and other crafts. Richmond Hotel.

Get away from the city and visit a very special place deep in the mountains. Visit inspiring waterfalls, stay at a family run inn who are direct descendants of the Heike Samurai Clan. Enjoy a scrumptious dinner like this! Shared rooms at Heike-so or Sakura-so.

We'll do some fun hands-on workshops at the Gokanosho Crafts Center. Learn from Japanese masters. Get creative in mediums you've probably never tried before.

Visit the Agano Kiln and see the 12th and 13th generation making Kodayaki style pottery. See the centuries old order book for their ancestors exclusive designs.

A chartered bus will take us to Indigo Dyeing Workshop with Master Ogata, where you'll make your unique masterpiece. We'll also

visit a potter, Master Koga.

Visit Kyushu Ceramic Museum in Arita, and walk around downtown Arita - Japan's porcelain birthplace. 

Travel to Kyoto in the early evening. Hotel Forza Kyoto Shijo Kawaramachi, located near the Nishiki Market and Gion. 

Above: Raku Museum Chawan - Tour of Kyoto today. We'll see: the ornate Nijo Castle, the            Raku Museum, the Robert Yellin Gallery - filled with "The Who's Who" in Japanese Pottery, and the Golden Pavilion. 

Above: Shinohara Nozomu -Today we'll take a tour of Shigaraki Pottery town with Seita. We'll go to the internationally known Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural park, and visit three different well established Shigaraki potters. 

We'll visit the Kiyomizudera temple, the Ceramics Center, Kiyomizu-yaki area, where there are many pottery galleries/stores. We'll tour the Unraku-gama studio there.

Due to the time change, you'll often arrive in the US before you left Japan! No planned activities today except traveling from Kyoto to KIX airport on the "Hello Kitty" train to the KIX, Kansai airport in Osaka.

You'll want to come back to Japan as soon as you leave! The Japanese people are the kindest on the planet! Deposit now to reserve your space in an ARTsome Trip2Japan!