From the natural to human-made, ancient to contemporary, urban to rural, folk arts to high fashion, deceivingly simple to mind-boggling complexity . . . we will experience the many facets of this fascinating society that has evolved uniquely through centuries of isolation 

Through intimate studio visits and talks by master artisans, get your fix of time-honoured textile techniques of resist dyeing, dyeing with natural pigments, hand painting, brocade weaving, stencilling, "nail-weaving", and hand-spinning. As well as exciting modern textiles that embody the interplay of old practices and new technologies. 

Celebrate Japan's arts and crafts culture -- from mingei , the unsung heroes of everyday craftspeople to world renowned installations in select museums. Multiple textile and arts museum visits such as Ichiku Kubota Museum, dolls museum, and Little Indigo Museum as well as Bonsai Garden Museum

For the deeper appreciation that comes from working on a technique with your own hands, we will take in carefully-chosen hands-on workshops in Kimono stencil dyeing, Yuzen, Indigo Shibori, and traditional Tea Ceremony. 

If you're going all the way to Japan, time it for one of its most beautiful natural phenomena: Autumn. Thanks to the abundance of deciduous trees all over Japan, fall transforms the landscape with dizzying palettes of red, yellow, and brown.

Note: Impossible to guarantee but tour is well timed to coincide with several fall spots. 

Specialised textile markets, antiques shopping, traditional shops for notions and remnants, contemporary fabrics . . . these stops will delight the "crafty" ones! Since many places stay open until late, we will endeavour to visit them later in the evening after the day's sightseeing so you can browse at your leisure. 

Kyoto, as the storehouse of Japan's traditional culture, is a given. Outstanding pottery, kimono, doll-making, lacquerware, woodblock printing, and more. We also visit oft-overlooked Kanazawa, with its best preserved Edo architecture, spectacular Kenroku-en Gardens, and regional crafts of gold leaf, porcelain, delicate embroidery, and colourful washi umbrellas.

Our accommodations include charming ryokans (traditional inns) for a taste of classical Japanese life. Tatami matted floors, shoji sliding doors, onsen (hot springs and baths), zen-inducing surroundings, and tea ceremonies remind us that no matter how modern Japan may appear, at its beating heart is tradition.  

A given on every E.Y.H.O. tour since we are huge foodies! Explore famous food markets, brimming with regional abundance. Entire districts given over to the pursuit of the inner gourmand. Buddhist cuisine at shrines. Meals with local families and tiny eateries for connecting over the food of an exacting culture. Get ready for culinary immersion!

Explore tucked away rural beauty spots, gorges and waterfalls, and mountainsides bathed in fall colours. We will also take in exquisitely landscaped formal gardens, celebrated bamboo groves, and Shinto shrines, including a farming experience with local families in Kitakuwada..

Learn about traditional textiles such as Aizome, Yuzen, Tsuzure-ori, Indigo Shibori, Nishinjin-ori. Also, Ushikubi tsumugi sericulture. We cannot hope to accomplish everything that Japan offers by way of textile arts, but we will deliver a wide sweep.