Traditions of Japan - Art, crafts, history, society

Nezu Kaichiro’s collection of Japanese arts is well presented in the eponymous museum, which also has a delightful garden (subject to confirmation due to exhibition schedules). There is time to explore the Omotesando area, where architecture meets fashion. By contrast, the Asakusa Kannon Temple in shitamachi (literally ‘downtown’) is surrounded by busy street stalls.

Bullet train to Kanazawa (luggage by road, next day service), an attractive city which retains much of its old character. After lunch, visit the Kenrokuen, one of Japan’s finest strolling landscape gardens, and the traditional Seisonkaku villa. Nearby, the D.T. Suzuki Museum, designed by Taniguchi Yoshio, commemorates the ideas of a leading Zen Buddhist philosopher. The circular, glass and steel form of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art is striking. First of three nights in Kanazawa.

In the Nagamachi area there remain many old samurai houses. Visit the Nomura House, a beautifully restored example. In the afternoon there is a lacquer maker’s studio visit (by special arrangement). The intriguing Myoryu-ji temple includes hidden tunnels and secret rooms, traps, and a labyrinth of corridors designed as defence for the castle, once standing alongside.

Morning walk to include Terajima Kurando’s house, the geisha quarter with its charming latticed wooden houses, a gold leaf museum and the Utatsu Shrine. The rest of the day is free for exploration of the market or the Prefectural Museum to see the Kutani pottery for which Kanazawa is famous.

Drive through Japan’s central Alps to visit Shirakawa-go, famous for its gassho-zukuri houses with their distinctive thatched roofs, and visit the folk museum. In Takayama, a small town with streets lined with heritage wooden merchant houses, visit Takayama Jinya, the seat of the Edo-period government in the region. Overnight in Takayama.

An early morning walk along the Miyagawa river to visit the market and nearby temples before driving to Nagoya Airport. Fly to Izumo (Fuji Dream Airlines), arriving mid-afternoon. First of two nights at Matsue, beside Lake Shinji, in an onsen hotel. Onsen are natural hot springs and onsen bathing (optional) is a much-loved Japanese form of relaxation.

Ancient myths about the origin of Japan tell of Izumo and the Izumo Taisha, dating back before the Heian period, as well as the Kamosu and Yaegaki Shrines, which are all dedicated to early gods. Matsue Castle is one of the few remaining medieval castles. Here in the 1890s the writer Lafcadio Hearn, met his wife Koizumi Setsu and worked on his studies of so-called ‘strange things’ – Japanese ghost stories and superstitions. His home gives a flavour of his life.

The Adachi Museum, created by Adachi Zenko in 1980, has a spectacular landscape garden as well as his collection of paintings by Yokoyama Taikan, a leader of the Nihonga school in the 1930s. Drive south passing Mount Daisen to Bizen, famous for its brownish natural glaze earthenware pottery, where we visit a kiln. First of three nights in Kyoto.

A day in the eastern foothills. Visit Ginkakuji, the temple of the silver pavilion built by Ashikaga Yoshimasa in the 15th century. In the Zen temple complex Nanzen-ji there is a famous tiger garden and fine 17th-century painted screens by Kano Tan’yu. Nearby is the intimate sub-temple Konchi-in.

Ryoan-ji’s dry garden is perhaps Kyoto’s most famous stone garden. The large walled temple compound of Daitoku-ji, established in the 14th century, is an important foundation of Japanese Zen Buddhism. Its many sub-temples contain dry landscape gardens; one of the finest (and smallest) is in the Daisen-in. In the afternoon visit Saiho-ji, with its enchanting dappled moss garden.

Morning excursion to Uji, the location of the last few chapters of The Tale of Genji. The Byodo-in temple was a villa made into a temple in 1052 by Fujiwara no Yorimichi (of the Heian period power-holding family). Its Phoenix Hall appears to spread its wings in front of the lake. Bullet train to Tokyo and overnight.

The tour ends after breakfast. (Flights to London are not included – there is an airport transfer in time for the recommended flight back to London – see Practicalities).