Want to learn the secrets of Japan?
Kiyoshi Matsumoto
Author of Japan Unmasked??Cross-Cultural Communication Specialist??Japanese Hospitality & Tourism Marketing Consultant
If so, then join me on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see things from a Japanese perspective!
In April 2024, I am guiding an historic tour of the Hokkoku Kaido (北国街道) trail. Immerse yourself in Japanese history, traditions, people and nature – a tour that is educational, transformative, fun and highly entertaining.?
The Hokkoku Kaido was a highway passing through Kaga Province and Kanazawa to connect Kyoto and Osaka to the Edo (Tokyo), and today this lessor travelled route offers great opportunity to enjoy an authentic Japanese cultural experience.
This 11-day private tour is designed for truly discerning and avid international travellers. Savour the real Japan – its unique hospitality, enriching cultural activities, and the very best of seasonal cuisines – whilst having lots of opportunity to interact with the locals. This is a small exclusive tour limited to just 6 guests.
All accommodation, restaurants and cultural experiences have been personally and recently vetted by your host, Kiyoshi Matsumoto, to ensure the very best experiences.
The Hokkoku Kaido Tour Itinerary includes:
? Nature and adventure in remote ancient mountain and fishing villages
? Spring cherry blossoms in some of Japan's most magical settings
? Japan's best local food and sake
? Relaxing onsen bathing
? Traditional tea ceremony led by the 11th Ohi Chozemon (Toshio)
? Dinner with geisha entertainment
? Traditional Japanese crafts
The 11 Days of Japan
16 April 2024 –?Day 1: Tokyo
I would like to personally welcome all guests at the Hokkoku Kaido Tour.? Wherever you are from, we meet in Tokyo where our 11-day private tour starts. Overnight accommodation is at centrally located Hyatt Centric Ginza Tokyo. ?
A welcome reception and briefing are held a local restaurant. Here you will meet other tour participants as well as your host Kiyoshi Matsumoto and your dedicated tour concierge.
Your first day in Tokyo is to acclimatize to Japan and, depending on your arrival time, you may have the day for self-exploration.
?For your convenience, a dedicated luggage transport for the entire journey has been organised. No more heavy suitcases for the entirety of your journey with us – ?just your valuables to accompany you!
17 April 2024
Day 2: Tokyo – Nagano – Ogawa and Takayama Village
To start the journey, we travel in style through to Shinano (Nagano) by the first- class Shinkansen “Gran Class”.
The first stop is Zenkoji Buddhist temple. It's a place of mystic transformation where all are welcome to cleanse their soul. An apt beginning to what should be a transformational journey for all.
This temple is the subject of a folktale. The tale centres on a reclusive old and mean-spirited woman who refused to participate in her community festival – ignoring the pleas of her neighbours to join them. With disdain the old woman continued her daily chores, not wishing to share her sweets, her money nor her spirit. Whilst hanging out a cloth to dry, she was dismayed that it was suddenly snatched by a mysterious cow, which ran away with the cloth toward Zenkoji temple; the old woman indignantly took chase.
On approaching the temple and hearing the sweet chanting, the old woman became enchanted, and she instantly transformed from a soar ‘old cow’ into an open-hearted and community spirted person – which she forever remained. ?The white cloth can still be seen in a nearby mountain rock formation.? ???
This old local saying “Pulled by oxen, I visit Zenkoji temple.” refers to this folktale and of the transformational.
Next, we travel to Ogawa and Takayama villages via private luxury coach. Both of these small enclaves have the reputation as “the Most Beautiful Villages in Japan” – famous for their exquisite Sakura Cheery Blossoms and exceptional scenery.
Ogawa’s heights offer breathtaking views of northern Honshu and the Northern Alps. It is from these heights, with these amazing views, that we will host our Sakura Hanami Party this afternoon. We have chosen a secluded location in a private residence that offers the region's very best panorama of Sakura cherry blossoms and snow-capped peaks.?Here you will savour local produce, sakes and traditional entertainment.
On this night (Night Two), plus the following evening, you stay in at the luxurious traditional inn – Fuji-so. It's one of only 12 members of Japan’s most exclusive ryokan network – “Exquisite Ryokans”, offering Japan’s pinnacle of traditional hospitality.
Relax in onsen before enjoying a beautifully prepared traditional kaiseki dinner at Fujii-so.
18 April 2024
Day 3: Takayama Village
Takayama is a place to enjoy at your own pace - continuing to marvel at the many cherry blossom displays in this invigorating mountain climate.? It's a very authentic Japanese mountain onsen village, famous for its beautiful scenery and waterfalls - easily explored on foot or by e-bike.
In Takayama Village, where we stay for 2 nights, there are a total of eight onsen, each with unique mineral qualities. Onsen contain many types of chemical ingredients such as chloride, magnesium, calcium, iron and potassium, with each onsen offering different therapeutic effects for the human body. The most popular type of hot spring among the Japanese is the sulfur-rich, which is known for all its healing benefits.
Of the eight onsen around Takayama Village, several are located in the open air. It is this outdoor bathing experience that the Japanese value most.? Their tranquil mountain or gorge locations offer an ambience that permeates not only the body but also the mind. You can explore these onsen by hiring an e-bike and really enjoy Takayama.
Takayama is also an emerging high-altitude wine region, with several fine cellar doors to sample. If you are interested in the visual arts, you can arrange an individual visit to the Hokusai Museum. The museum showcases the art of ukiyo-e by its greatest exponent - Hokusai - in the nearby town of Obuse. Without the introduction of ukiyo-e in France in the 1850s, the Impressionist art movement would never have existed!
Tonight, a commemorative dinner has been arranged exclusively for you in a restaurant overlooking a beautifully lit, unique cherry tree. Local winemakers have been invited. Enjoy listening to their stories and chatting with the locals.
Your overnight suite at Fujii-so.
19 April 2024
?Day 4: Takayama Village – Toyama
On our fourth day we travel in style through to Etchu (Toyama) by the Shinkansen Gran Class. For the gourmand within us all, Toyama is famous for its food and sake.
A highlight is a visit to the exclusive sake brewery Shiroiwa, famous for the IWA brand created by Richard Geoffroy, former Chef de Cave for Dom Perignon Champagne. The brewery is only open to visitors by special arrangement.
Together with famed innovative wood-inspired architect Kengo Kuma, Geoffroy has brought a new vitality to the art of sake vintage-making in an outstanding zen-inspired facility within an alpine setting. Here’s an opportunity to sample the pinnacle of sake and to learn about its pedigree.
In search of great food and sake pairings while in Toyama, we visit three renowned and very different restaurants - first sushi at its best, then traditional kaiseki using local seafood and mountain vegetables, and finally French-Japanese fusion using local game. All emphasise the unique flavour of fish from Toyama Bay.
The region is renowned for the quality of its food. One of the reasons for this is the difference in altitude - the Tateyama Mountains are about 3,000 metres high, while Toyama Bay is about 1,000 metres deep. This 4,000-metre difference in altitude is the secret ingredient for the unique taste of the bay's fish and seafood, as oxygen-rich water and forest components from the Tateyama Mountains flow into Toyama Bay - a bay known as a "natural fish tank".
The first restaurant, Sushi JinJin, is run by chef Izumi Kimura. He enjoys serving firefly squid, white shrimp, sakura trout and black sea bream in spring. A speciality is their brown sushi rice, which is made using only red vinegar and no sugar, which reduces the acidity and creates a fuller and more fragrant flavour.
Your overnight accommodation is at Doubletree by Hilton Toyama, the area’s premier accommodation.
20 April 2024 ?
Day 5: Toyama
Morning at leisure - we visit our second restaurant in Toyama, Oryori Fujii, which was awarded two stars in the latest special edition of the Michelin Guide Hokuriku. Here, the greatest pleasure comes from watching Chef Fujii work his magic on the food. In keeping with the very best of Japanese cuisine, he celebrates the ingredients by 'subtracting' rather than 'adding' to the flavours.
Aesthetics are also an important part of Japanese dining. Not only is the Zen architecture and design of each restaurant beautiful in its simplicity, but the local art of Japanese ceramics and cutlery making is also showcased. The sake is sourced from the renowned and local Masuda Brewery, which has developed a special private label formula for the restaurant.
Toyama was a port city that reached its commercial peak in the late Edo and early Meiji periods. With Japan's reopening to the world in the late 19th century, the Sea of Japan became less important as a domestic trading route, leading to a decline in both shipping and population - the town lost its vitality and significance.
In 2004, however, one man helped to change all that - starting a revival for Iwase, a northern seaside suburb of Toyama City, which today is once again extremely attractive and vibrant. That man is Mr Ryuichiro Masuda, a fifth-generation patriarch and president of the Masuda Sake Brewery. He started the process in 2004 by buying and renovating a former lumber yard in Iwase. First a soba shop was opened here, and then Mr Ryuichiro Masuda set up the Iwase Town Development Company, which has seen an increasing number of properties renovated and top craftsmen and restaurateurs invited to set up their studios and food outlets here.
The result is a beautiful, traditionally inspired district full of working artisans - potters, sculptors and glassworkers - and some of the region's finest restaurants serving the best of local cuisine. All have now made Iwase their home.
After lunch at Oryori Fujii, we explore Iwase and many of the artists' studios. Normally tourists are not allowed and access is by appointment only. You will see some of the finest traditional Japanese woodcarving, pottery and glasswork. We also visit the local craft beer and sake brewery.
Your overnight accommodation at the Doubletree by Hilton Toyama, the area's premier accommodation.
21 April 2024
Day 6: Toyama – Gokayama – Kanazawa
Your morning is at leisure before our 1.5-hour mountain drive to the remote village of Toga in Toyama Prefecture. Here Chef Eiji Taniguchi has created L'évo restaurant that is a two-star Michelin restaurant, renowned for his avant-garde regional cuisine. L'évo offers a three-hour French-Japanese fusion lunch in the middle of the mountain wilderness. Paired with sake or non-alcoholic tea, he will enhance your enjoyment of this fine dining experience.?
Later that afternoon, a short drive away, we will visit the Gokayama World Heritage site with its triangular thatched roofed Gassho-style houses. These centuries-old homes – translated to ‘hands in prayer’ – are found only in two small villages deep in the mountains of Toyama – Suganuma and Ainokura villages.?
Then we travel to Kanazawa city, a famous Edo period samurai enclave, as our convenient base for three (3) nights. We stay at the city’s premier accommodation – Hyatt Centric Kanazawa.
22 April 2024
领英推荐
Day 7: Kanazawa
Kanazawa is renowned as showcase of Japan’s traditional culture. Here there are a myriad of different cultural activities and sites to explore. It is for this reason that we have used the first day to organize some extraordinary group opportunities and also allowed a full day free in our Kanazawa stay for you to choose from a long list of individual activities.
For our first day we have organized two cultural highlights that offer significant insight for you into the traditional Japanese psyche and spirit. The first is a tea ceremony led by the 11th Ohi Chozemon (Toshio), a rare experience for any person, little lone a foreigner. Toshio recently received the Imperial Prize and the Japan Art Academy Award for his work with tea. He will relate why the tea ceremony remains at the heart of Japanese culture.
The tea ceremony is very much a Zen concept where the unification of the physical and the spiritual offer an explanation of the universal. Here?ichigo ichie?means that every moment in life is unique, never to occur again, and this concept is the true soul of omotenashi. Participating in a tea ceremony is to be in the moment devoid of all outside influences.
Another of the day’s highlights is our Geisha Evening. It must be said that the Geisha is a concept totally unique to Japan, a form of private hospitality and entertainment that has nothing to do with sex. They offer the Japanese exclusive and private conversation in a society that was devoid of other such opportunity, as well as cultural pursuits of dance, poetry and music. It is rare for any foreigner to enjoy a full Geisha experience.
Lady Baba, the leading Geisha at Kaikoro, awaits you in this extraordinary space. We have organised a private party for a geisha performance and dinner. A private performance enables you to fully appreciate the geishas’ elegant song and dance, accompanied by English commentary from Lady Baba. Lady Baba’s way of explaining the unique geisha culture of Kanazawa is specifically tailored to international guests. You will also interact with geisha through game and instrument play.
Your overnight accommodation at Hyatt Centric Kanazawa.
23 April 2024
Day 8: Kanazawa
Today, you can explore the historic and compact city of Kanazawa on foot at your own pace or alternatively join one of many guided cultural walking tours on offer. This is our journey’s halfway point and whether you wish to sightsee or simply relax – it’s your choice.
Here are some suggestions for leisure activities:
??Early morning visit to explore Kenrokuen Garden, one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan
??Museum tours around Kenrokuen Garden
??Experience martial arts such as Kyudo and Kendo at the Kendo Hall
??Morning tour of?Maeda Clan graveyard and Zen temple Daijyoji
??Tour of Omi-cho market with a renowned local chef
??Bar hopping with Kiyoshi in a hidden gem of Kanazawa nightlife
??Tour of the Noto Peninsula including the Chirihama Nagisa Driveway
As this is Kiyoshi's home region, he will provide you with a wealth of insider knowledge about this remarkable destination.
Your overnight accommodation at Hyatt Centric Kanazawa.
24 April 2024
Day 9: Kanazawa – Echizen – Wakasa Bay
Departing Kanazawa early morning we travel a short one-hour trip by the Shinkansen to Echizen City. Over 1,200 Japanese artisans live and work within a small enclave of Echizen City. The time-honoured traditions of Japanese arts and crafts are all not only all on show but here represent some of the finest that Japan has to offer. You will delve into master blade making, the delicate art of washi paper, the ancient and prized techniques of Japanese lacquerware, the beauty and simplicity of Japanese ceramics, as well as the crafting of the traditional and all practical Tansu chests.
We have organized visits to these working art studios with some that are normally out of bounds for other tourists. Here there are opportunities for you not only to see, but also try your hand at these very Japanese crafts. For example, at Savage Custom Knives you will be instructed in the forging of your own quality kitchen blade as well as learning sharpening and maintenance techniques. Whilst at Ryozo studio you will discover how beautiful and versatile washi paper is made, and you will create your own washi paper sheets.
Situated on the northern Sea of Japan, Echizen was traditionally a significant trading port, and from its docks foreign goods and technologies were introduced to Japan. It was therefore only natural that Echizen became a centre of innovation, and of a thriving arts and crafts industry and remains today!
After 6 hours exploring Eichzen, we then travel to Omi Village in Wakasa Bay – our final destination by a private coach for about 80 minutes. For your next two nights enjoy luxurious accommodation at the new yet authentic Wakasa Kajitsu suites on the shores of Wakasa Bay. For your first night staying on the edge of this small fishing village, you will savour a beautifully prepared seafood dinner at Wakasa Kajitsu. Naturally seafood features in the local cuisine – in fact this province was the key supplier of seafood to the Imperial court in Kyoto for over a thousand years.
25 April 2024
Day 10: Wakasa Bay
Wakasa Bay is rich in nature – here forested slopes edge a tranquil sea. Your suite at Wakasa Kajitsu is located within the small fishing village of Ano and offers a constant changing vista of the Bay throughout each day. Drift to sleep and awake with the gentle rhythmic sounds of waves lapping the shoreline.
Within Ano Village we will stay in newly re-opened and now modern zen-inspired Wakasa Kajitsu ryokan. This renovation project is a collaboration with the small Ano community, breathing new life into an old yet famous ryokan. Wakasa Kajitsu’s thirteen rooms and suites, public areas and dining room boast a most innovative design and the utmost in attention to detail. It is the accommodation highlight of our tour with its tasteful furnishings and astounding views. Savour beautifully prepared meals, enjoy simply gazing out from the privacy of your own lounge or luxuriate in your suite’s bathing pool.
Imagine the backdrop of Wakasa Bay, where sea and mountain create ever-changing daily panoramas. Fishermen set nets and unload their bounty from floating fishponds. Here Fugu (blow fish), oyster and mackerel farming are staples. The village’s 18 old-tile-roofed houses nestle shoulder to shoulder along narrow ancient lanes. This is a remote fishing village where you can truly relax and delight in strolling undisturbed along the Bay’s shoreline.
Here peace and tranquility reign supreme.
In celebration of the Japanese spirit and as a fitting farewell to the insights gained during your Hokkoku Kaido tour, our last evening is a Japanese farewell dinner at a local sushi restaurant. A night of camaraderie and ancient Japanese culture.
Your overnight suite at Wakasa Kajitsu.
26 April 2024
Day 11: Farewell
It’s the time to say ‘sayonara’.
You depart by express train from Tsuruga Station to continue your travels east in direction for Tokyo or west in direction for Kyoto. We know that this will be seen by you in years to come as a seminal Japanese experience!
Arigato!
Tour Prices
?? from 2,020,000 Japanese Yen per person twin share
?? from 2,320,000 Japanese Yen?per person single
Inclusions
??10 nights accommodation with daily breakfast
??5 lunches, 6 dinners
??Small private group (maximum 6)
? Your host and licensed tour guide will accompany you throughout the trip
??Use the Hokuriku Shinkansen Gran Class (Tokyo - Nagano - Toyama and Kanazawa - Echizen) and private coaches (Toyama - Kanazawa and Echizen - Wakasa - Tsuruga) for transfers and sightseeing
? Ensure that the daily experiences are well understood in advance (e.g. through daily notes, etc)
? Interaction and contact with local people is important
? Luggage vans will be used to transport all luggage from one accommodation to the next
??Exclusive experiences at destinations
Tokyo (1 night)
Nagano (2 nights)
Toyama (2 nights)
Kanazawa (3 nights)
Echizen (2 nights)
Registration for this tour closes on 15 February 2024, so hurry to avoid disappointment.
English Global Communications at Nihon University
1 年Sounds like a fabulous personal tour of an amazingly beautiful area of Japan historically and culturally but there’s no mention of the price of the full 13 day tour.
Entrepreneur｜Digital Marketing Passionate｜Customer Oriented｜Ex-Finance | Japan Tourism
1 年This is a high class tour, hopefully one day I will be able to provide something similar (my niche is a bit different though), why did you not include Shirakawa-go in your tour?