Japan Tours
Now & Zen - Arts ,Crafts and Culture of Japan

 

Arts, Crafts and Culture of Japan

Now & Zen - Arts ,Crafts and Culture of Japan
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Destination Management has been operating pottery and craft tours to Japan since 1988. Our personal contacts in Japan will ensure you of an indepth experience that other tours can`t match .

Enjoy the elegant charm of traditional Japan with authentic Ryokan accommodation, tea ceremony, Zen design stroll gardens, awe- inspiring temples and meet master potters and craft artists .

Visit specially selected galleries and museums that display the treasures of Japanese art, crafts, ceramics and culture, both historic and contemporary .

 

Fully Escorted

John Massy, audience development manager for the Queensland Art Gallery, will lead this special event.

John is an arts educator and practising artist with a great interest in the ceramics, culture and the arts of Japan. He also participated in our November '99 and April 2000 Tokoname Workshop & Pottery tours and has experienced much of Japan's artistry during his previous journeys through this fascinating country.

The Queensland Art Gallery, under John's curatorial direction, presented the exhibition "Living Culture" to celebrate the Sogetsu School of Ikebana 70th Anniversary as well as "Treasures from the Idemitsu Museum of Arts", and other exhibitions of calligraphy and arts.

The Queensland Art Gallery has the only collection in a public art museum in Australia illustrating production from all of the six old kiln sites in Japan.

Also , Mr Itsuo 'Samurai Joe' Okada, Japanese author, historian and theatrical performer will travel with you as guide and translator.

Mr Okada has 30 years experience of introducing foreign guests to parts of Japan and to special people who are not usually visited by individual travellers.

 

Old World Japan

See more of "old world" Japan as well as the "must see" places on this 19 day fully escorted tour.

Stroll through country villages, narrow cobblestone lanes and experience Japan as very few western travellers have done before. This close-up tour, will introduce you to traditional customs which still influence the people and lifestyle of today's Japan.

 

Traditional Inns ,Natural Spa Baths & Local Cuisine

Relax in the therapeutic waters of a natural spa bath at an Onsen, delight in the fine flavours and presentation of a Japanese banquet dinner and take an evening stroll dressed in your (yukata) cotton gown with big sleeves and (geta) wooden sandals supplied by your inn.

The picturesque architecture of exquisite wooden buildings, (shoji) sliding paper doors, tatami mat floors, carp ponds, courtyard gardens and stone lanterns create for you an image that is unmistakably 'Japan'. A welcome bow from a courteous innkeeper and friendly service make you feel like part of the family.

 

Personal Experience

Off the beaten track, few Japanese speak English. This stops most independent travellers from finding those little known, out of the way places that add great interest to your tour and create such a memorable experience.

Joe Okada is more than an interpreter and is there to help you explore Japan, find places that are not in the guide books and introduce you to the people.

This visit to Japan can be a complete cultural experience. For those with a spirit of adventure and a willingness to adapt to new ways of doing things it is an adventure of a lifetime. Even day to day aspects such as sleeping, bathing in hot springs and eating, all take on a new significance and become fun events.

 

Meet the Craft Artisans

Introductions in Japan can mean the difference between an artisan agreeing to meet you or not.

On this tour, special arrangements have been made for you to meet famous studio potters and craft artisans in their workshops to see the making of pottery, lacquerware, folding fans, washi paper, shibori dyeing, indigo dyeing, bamboo artistry and a kimono maker.

 

Autumn Leaves, Rural Villages

You will be seeing Japan when its maples and deciduous trees are displaying their brilliant red, orange and yellow colours of autumn.

Rural areas, high mountain peaks, small villages, national parks, therapeutic spas, historic forest trails and secluded valleys are all visited on this tour.

 

The Unknown Land

In Japan you will find some of the most striking scenery in eastern Asia.

Most people think of Japan as being densely populated but this is true only of the central coast lowlands. Over four-fifths of the country is mountainous and there is a much greater percentage of forest cover than in western Europe.

Nowhere in Japan is far from the sea and this has an immeasurable influence on both landscape and people.

Superficially westernised, Japan presents endless paradoxes and enigmas to western travellers, few of whom know much about it beyond its shiny consumer exports.

It is despite the veneer, profoundly oriental.

For more information about " Friends of the Queensland Art Gallery "

click on the link below.

http://www.qag.qld.gov.au/friends.htm

 

For Detailed Itinerary & Price Click Here

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