A Month in Deep Japan

Days 1-3: Settling into Tokyo

You arrive in Tokyo and settle in. After the first day, your time is open to explore the city at your own pace, with a private guide on call when you want one. The city is a soft entry point before the slower weeks ahead.

Days 4-6: A Pilgrimage into Stillness at Minobu

You travel west to Minobu, a temple town in the mountains of Yamanashi and the head temple of Nichiren Buddhism, one of the three sacred mountains of Japanese Buddhism alongside Mt. Koya and Mt. Hiei. You stay in a working temple lodging, walk by lantern after dark, chant alongside a monk at dawn, copy a sutra by hand, and eat as the monks have for centuries. The town has stayed quiet, with few visitors and no crowds.

Days 7-10: Walking the Old Town of Takayama

You take the train into the Hida mountains to Takayama, an old town known for its preserved streets and woodwork. A private guide walks you through the old quarter, with a free day to follow. You meet local artisans whose families have worked in the same trades for generations.

Days 11-15: Meditation, Gold, and the Crafts of Echizen

In Kanazawa, a city on the Sea of Japan coast, you try zazen meditation and a kintsugi workshop, where broken pottery is repaired with gold. You then move south into the neighbouring prefecture of Fukui, where you take part in the crafts of Echizen: making washi paper at a mill, visiting a forged-blade village, and trying lacquerware at a workshop. A free day or two is spread through both cities.

Days 16-20: Tea Hills and a Deeper Kyoto

You fly to Kyoto. In Wazuka, a small town in the hills an hour south of Kyoto City, you stay in the home of a tea farmer, walk the rows with her, and learn how she grows her crop without chemicals. In Kyoto City, a private guide takes you to temples, ateliers, and workshops not open to the public. The visits go further than what most travelers see of the city.

Days 21-23: The Mountains South of Osaka

You base yourself in Osaka and travel out to two of Japan's most sacred mountains. At Koyasan, the centre of Shingon Buddhism for more than 1,200 years, you stay in a temple lodging and join the monks' morning rituals. From Kumano, an ancient pilgrimage region in the mountains of the Kii Peninsula, a guide walks part of the Kumano Kodo, a pilgrimage trail used for more than a thousand years.

Days 24-28: Village Life in Okinawa

You fly to Okinawa, a chain of subtropical islands south of the main islands of Japan. You stay in villages on the northern island of Okinawa known for some of the longest lifespans in the world. The days are spent among elders whose habits of food, work, and community explain why, sharing meals, walking the village, and learning the small things that shape a long life here.

Days 29-35: Return to Tokyo

You return to Tokyo for your final nights, with the days open to do as you like before your flight home.