Hidden corners of San'in

Coming in 2024

Osaka, Matsue, Iwami, Masuda, Hagi, Hiroshima

Escorted Group Tour

Join us this on our small group tour to explore the hidden corners of San’in. After two delightful Zoom lectures by Japan Times writer and regional travel expert, Alice Gordenker in 2021, we’ve created this tour to bring to life the places and people she introduced us to last summer. In last fall we will enjoy spectacular scenery and fall foliage while learning about the arts and culture of Japan. 

We will start our tour on the craft-themed “White Rabbit” train after an initial evening at a conveniently located airport hotel. We will begin our exploration of the San’in with our first stop, in the picturesque old town of Kurayoshi, in Tottori, where we will learn about local efforts to preserve the traditional “teshigoto” (handwork) for which the region is known.

Over the ensuing days, Alice will take us to a museum with one of the most stunning gardens in Japan, a top-notch collection of Nihonga painting and a brand-new wing devoted to the noted artist and epicure, Kitaoji Rosanjin (1883-1959). We’ll explore nearby workshops that specialize in indigo dying, metalwork and ceramics. Alice will introduce you to a village that once supplied the world with silver and is now a center for design and sustainable living, and take us inside the world of Iwami Kagura, an ancient form of storytelling through music and dance unique to this part of Japan. We’ll go beyond performances to see how the masks and costumes are made and the central role this tradition still plays in the local community. We’ll continue the journey with a stay at a magnificent contemporary ryokan near the ceramics city of Hagi and then end in historic Hiroshima with a visit to the Peace Museum and dining on local favorites.

Day 1

Depart Home



Depart for Japan on your individually arranged flight.

Day 2

Arrive Osaka Japan



Transfer via hotel shuttle to our first-night hotel located at Osaka Kansai Airport.



Accommodation: Osaka Kansai Nikko Hotel
Meals included: None

Day 3

Taste of Totorri



In the morning we will travel by express train from the airport to connect with the “White Rabbit” limited express train that will carry us out of the coastal area and into scenic mountain countryside to begin our travels in the San’in region. The cars are outfitted with local crafts, and there’s a viewing window at the front that is sure to delight train buffs. Our lunch will be a “ekiben” (local station specialties) bento enjoyed en route to our first stop in Tottori, the charming town of Kurayoshi, where we will stroll along restored traditional storehouses. We’ll visit a workshop where folk dolls are made and meet with residents who have revived production of the local kasuri cotton fabric, receiving a demonstration on antique weaving machinery. From there, we will travel on by coach, with a rest stop at a road-side farmers’ market where we can sample Asian-pear soft ice cream, before ending the day at our hotel in the castle town of Matsue, Shimane Prefecture. Dinner tonight will be on your own with suggestions from the tour leaders.

Accommodations: Matsue Excel Tokyu Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 4

Yasugi and Matsue



We start today with a visit to the Adachi Museum of Art, known for its immaculately manicured Japanese garden which incorporates numerous techniques of traditional garden design. We’ll enjoy a large selection of Nihonga paintings, including many by Yokoyama Taikan as well as contemporary artists. Ceramic fans will be especially interested in the new wing dedicated to the designs of noted epicure Kitaoji Rosanjin. The museum also has a strong collection of ceramics by Kawai Kanjiro, who was born in Yasugi. After a Japanese lunch overlooking a traditional garden, we will visit nearby craft workshops, including an indigo dye studio and an iron workshop that specializes in ikebana vessels and lighting designs. Returning to Matsue, we will visit a sake brewery to learn how rice-wine is made and enjoy our first group dinner in an izakaya sampling local specialties.

Accommodations: Matsue Excel Tokyu Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5

Iwami



After a stop to see Matsue’s medieval wooden samurai castle, one of just 12 original castles in Japan, we will travel by bus to Omori-cho, a beautifully restored valley town that was once a thriving center of silver production. Over a 25-year period, the people of Gungendo, a sustainable clothing- and home products design company, have restored this once-dilapidated town into a mecca for superior esthetics and conscious living. We will hear from employees about the 25-year process of restoring the town, touring several traditional buildings, including the thatch-roofed Hinaya, a lovely old minka. After lunch, enjoy strolling and shopping on your own, popping into the mysterious Rakan-ji Buddhist Temple built in 1766, or join tour staff to learn about the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, at the visitor center.

At the end of the day, our bus will take us into the nearby hills for dinner at our hotel and a special performance of Iwami Kagura storytelling through dance and music.

Accommodations: Iwami Winery Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6

Yunotsu Onsenb and Hamada



Today we will continue our exploration of the Kagura we saw the night before, so important to the local culture, stopping first in the picturesque hot-springs town of Yunotsu Onsen to meet a master who crafts the expressive masks from handmade washi. After lunch in a café offering fresh baked goods, we’ll also tour the workshop where the sumptuous costumes are made entirely by hand. Our stylish hotel tonight features local crafts. We’ll have a casual dinner in the hotel bar-restaurant. In the evening, relax in the hot-springs bath or catch up on laundry while perusing the art books in the comfortable lounge.

Accommodation: Mascos Hotel
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7

Masuda



This will be a day of local exploration, with a stop at an arts center designed by the world-famous architect Hiroshi Naito. Exhibitions at the Iwami Art Museum there showcase local artist and crafts. We will also visit an ancient Buddhist temple, Manpukuji, which has a traditional Japanese garden designed in the 15^th century by the ink-painting master Sesshu, who served as the head priest there. We will also visit a history and folklore museum housed in a old thatch-roofed farmhouse to learn how people once lived in the area. Dinner on your own with recommendations from tour leaders.

Accommodation: Mascos Hotel
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 8

Tsuwano and Hagi



Departing Masuda by bus en route to Hagi, we’ll stop along the way at the picturesque town of Tsuwano with its well-preserved samurai houses and peaceful waterways filled with colorful koi fish. Tsuwano is also a center of washi paper production and home to the Taikodani Shrine, with the photogenic rows of orange torii gates distinctive to shrines dedicated to the fox-god Inari. We end the touring today at a deluxe ryokan where we will enjoy hot spring baths, a full kaiseki dinner and accommodations with beds (so no floor sleeping this tour!)

Accommodation: Kai Nagato
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 9

Nagato Hot Spring and Hagi



Now in Yamaguchi Prefecture, we will explore the local area including the Motonosumi Inari shrine with its iconic row of red torii gates and stunning views over the rocky coast of the Japan Sea. Our main focus will be Hagi, where we can tour traditional samurai and merchant quarters and visit one of the kilns making the famous “Hagi-yaki” ceramics. There is an excellent ceramic dealer in town and we can sample soft ice-cream made with an unusual local citrus fruit once cultivated as a gift of tribute to the shogun.

Accommodation: Kai Nagato
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 10

Hiroshima



Today we will transfer by bus to tour central Hiroshima with a special focus on its Peace Park, featuring many moving memorials and the recently renovated and expanded Peace Memorial Museum, before our farewell dinner including local specialties.

Accommodation: Sheraton Hiroshima
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 11

Depart for home



Following breakfast in our hotel we will travel to Osaka Kansai International airport for our individually arranged flights. Flights from Osaka Kansai should be scheduled after 4:00 pm to allow ample time for airport transfer.



Meal included: Breakfast

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