Elaine Ngim

Day 1 (28 Oct) - Osaka

Arriving in Japan, airport pickup to be arranged for this day upon arrival. ___________________________________________________ Hotel: OMO5 Gion

Day 2 (29 Oct) - Kyoto

I wanted to start your trip off with a few of the classic highlights of Kyoto for your family. First would be a visit to Daitokuji Complex, which is the birthplace of Japan's tea ceremony. During our conversation, I remember you mentioning this being something that you want everyone to experience, but not necessarily something you want to spend all day on, so I'd like to arrange a short tea ceremony with one of the masters of the art form.

After that, I'd like to send you all to Arashiyama. This district kind of exemplifies Kyoto's classics beauty. We usually send people there via a traditional boat ride down the Hozugawa River. The valley that the boat travels through should be beautiful with momiji and other Autumn foliage at the time that you guys visit.

Activities:

Tea Ceremony at Daitokuji temple complex

Sagano Romance Train (time permitting)

Tenryuji Temple

Zen Garden

Bamboo Thicket

Dinner Suggestion: Zauo fishing restaurant

Day 3 (30 Oct) - Kyoto

For each region that you visit, I would like to plan a culinary experience. For Tokyo there was the etiquette lesson, paired with the kaiseki lunch. For Kyoto, I'd like to pair you with a chef who will teach you all of the basics of washoku (Japanese cuisine). They'll start with the selection of ingredients at Kyoto's largest market, Nishiki and possibly a visit to one of the local farms to pick vegetables from. From there they will teach you how to prepare the ingredients, and prepare a meal. The Japanese chef that we have in mind is from a family of chefs. His father started a Michelin-starred restaurant, and he continued his father's legacy by starting one in New York City. It is absolutely a rare opportunity, but you guys would end up spending most of the day with him.

Activities:

• Farm-to-table Japanese culinary experience

Day 4 (31 Oct) - Kyoto/Osaka

Today is a more low-key day dedicated to some of the highlights of the Kyoto area. This day is for getting in the sites that I'm sure you, your sister and your husband have seen, but perhaps want to show your parents who are visiting for the first time. Again, I don't want to bombard you guys with temples, so I wanted to limit this to half a day. Also, these places tend to be very crowded, so it's probably best to keep time spent there to a minimum. These visits will be with a knowledgeable guide that can also tell you about the history of each location, along with its significance.

After that, I'd like to arrange a street food tour of Osaka. Your guide would be an Osaka native. The menu will typically include Osaka favorites like oden, takoyaki, kushikatsu, ramen and sweets, amongst other things, however I can ask the guide to customize the menu to include things that you want to add in.

Activities:

Golden Pavilion (time permitting)

Kiyomizudera Temple

Fushimi Inari

Dotonbori Canal Cruise (time permitting)

Osaka Street food tour

Restaurant Suggestion: Kishin for lunch or breakfast

Day 5 (1 Nov) - Kyoto

After the day activities are completed for both groups, I'd like to arrange for something... unique. I'd like to book a temple to use for your family to enjoy Kyoto-style cuisine prepared by a private chef for dinner, and also arrange entertainment for your family for this night. The temple has a beautiful garden, and is located in the center of Kyoto. I thought that this would not only be an excellent way to enjoy a really nice meal, but also a good way to avoid any extra "moving around" for this day as you guys will have been doing a lot of moving about for the first half of the day. I'd like to arrange for two forms of entertainment. 

You mentioned that you definitely wanted a geisha experience when we spoke on the phone, so the first one would be for a maiko or geisha to perform for you guys while there, and enjoying your dinner. The second option is kind of out there, and completely opposite to the first. It's a ninjutsu fighting demonstration. Two people would perform ninjutsu moves inside of the temple for your family to enjoy. Two very different performances, but both very quintessentially Japanese.

Activities:

Temple 'rental' for food and entertainment for the day

Restaurant Suggestion: Private chef - dinner at a temple w/entertainment

Day 6 (2 Nov) - Karatsu

Today is special, and would be the most important day for having a good guide. It is always very difficult to describe Japanese matsuri events, and this one is no exception,

The matsuri is broken up into three days. The night of November 2nd (the 1st night) is the more spectacular part of the festival, and so I've chosen it over the day portion that will take place on the following day. We try to send all of our guests to at least one matsuri while visiting, as it is unlike anything else that we could offer, and each matsuri is an event that only happens once a year, and so it is something that is precious for the community that is celebrating it, and you can really feel that in the air. The streets should also be lined with yatai vendors selling traditional matsuri bites (yakitori, yakiton, yakisoba, tebasaki, etc.). The night events only begin around 7:30PM, so that would leave you guys with ample time to reach Karatsu, even if you are leaving from Kyoto on the same day.

Activities:

Karatsu Kunchi Yoiyama portion of the matsuri

Day 7 (3 Nov) - Hakata

As the day before will have been slightly busy (traveling from Kyoto to go to the festival, etc.) I wanted to keep this day a bit more relaxed in terms of activities, and maybe split the group up into two again. The first group would go fishing at Hakata port, and the second group would go fruit picking outside of Kurume. Both groups would have a guide with them. For the fruit picking, figs would be in season at that time, as will persimmons, mandarin oranges, and possibly pears. After picking the fruit, I thought that it would be nice to have a bento-style picnic at the orchard, or going into Kurume for lunch before returning to Hakata.

After regrouping, I'd like to arrange a dinner that kind of represents not only Hakata, but has elements of cuisine that Kyushu is known for. As I know food is something that is a major part of this trip, I wanted this leg to include something that is more adventurous. Kyushu uses a LOTTT of pork in their dishes. In fact, I'm pretty sure the tonkotsu broth originated in Kurume. Motsunabe is a dish that is quite famous in this region and it is basically nabe, but all parts of the animal are used. I wanted you guys to try it out, but I do understand that pork is not something that is eaten by muslims, so I'd like to send you guys to a mizutaki restaurant instead. 

Mizutaki is essentially the same thing, but instead of pork, chicken is used instead, and the restaurant that I have in mind uses jidori chicken, which is a special breed in Japan that is known for its flavor. After having a proper meal at a mizutaki restaurant, if everyone is still hungry, I think it would be nice to visit some yatai stalls for drinks and snacks, as Fukuoka probably has the most yatai of any city in Japan (although the number of street food vendors has been declining since COVID).

Activities:

Fishing excursion

Fruit picking near Kurume

Yatai Stalls

Day 8 (4 Nov) - Kurashsiki

NOTE: Straight to Nagoya

Kurashiki is a beautifully preserved town in Okayama. There is a very picturesque canal that goes through the Bikan historical area that the town is known for (I'll include a picture of this canal in your gallery below). The reason for stopping here is multi-fold. The first reason is that it is an excellent place for your ryokan stay. There are buildings in the area that are hundreds of years old, and the town has preserved its "old world" charm and character. The second reason is its proximity to the Seto Inland Sea for the activities that are planned for the following day. Your guide will take you to the places below.

Activities:

Big merchant Ohashi House

Kurashiki Folk Crafts Museum

Lunch in Ivy Square which was a cotton spinning company

Day 9 (5 Nov) - Nagoya

Full rest day. ________________________________________ Hotel: Indigo: Inuyama Urakuen Garden

Day 10 (6 Nov) - Nagoya

Nakasendo trail. ________________________________________ Hotel: Indigo: Inuyama Urakuen Garden

Day 11 (7 Nov) - Takayama day-trip

NOTE: Free day with private car?

My suggestion for the morning of this day is a beautiful village that is called Hida no Sato. Shirakawa-go is very famous for preserving its traditional thatch-roof style houses, and for the most part the traditions of that period in Japan. Hiida no Sato is similar, however every house in this village has a different traditional Japanese craft that everyone can participate in.

The English site doesn't really do it justice (it also looks like it was built in the early 90's), however it is a very nice place to visit. Not only are their activities and crafts to experience, but the village itself serves as an open-air museum, and is really beautiful. I think that this is the perfect activity for both a few hands-on experiences (they have udon-making lessons here, along with many other traditional crafts lessons), and also just taking in the beauty of the picturesque countryside.

Activities:

Takayama Town Museum

Takayama Matsuri Yatai Exhibit

Sanmachi Suji

Hiida Folk Village tour (time permitting)

Day 12 (8 Nov) - Tokyo

NOTE: No sake tasting

I know that not everyone in your group may drink alcohol, but I did want to arrange something for those of you that do enjoy sake, as Tokyo has one of the absolute best places on Earth to learn about it. There's a sake learning center where they gather all different types of sake from across Japan, and teach not only about the process of making sake, but also which types of sake pair best with certain types of dishes, and fish. If everyone is not interested in joining in on this activity, we could arrange for a guide to take those who don't want to join to tour Sensoji Temple and the Nakamise area there.

The food tour of Ueno is nice, because it's a neighborhood that is rarely visited by tourists, so the places are relatively unknown. Also, the person who hosts this tour is one of the best authorities on ramen in Japan, as he has been to all of the Michelin-star restaurants in Tokyo, and hundreds of the ramen spots. He is also a sake sommelier!

Activities:

Sake Taste Testing Center

Ueno Izakaya food tour

Day 13 (9 Nov) - Tokyo

Since this trip is very much centered around culinary, and cultural experiences, I wanted to include and a short "lesson" on eating etiquette in Japan at a two-star Michelin restaurant. In Japan there are ways that you should accept a meal when it is being handed to you. There are also special phrases that are used when starting a meal, and when you are finished with a meal and of course ways to handle cutlery and chopsticks. I thought that this would be a nice experience to include in the itinerary, however we could move the fish market tour and sushi making lesson to this day if you don't think it is something you guys would be interested in. The restaurant that this would take place in is known for its kaiseki meals.

We like to orientate all of our clients when they arrive in Tokyo. We typically do this by sending them somewhere that gives them an idea of just how massive Tokyo is. Tokyo SkyTree is an excellent location to do so.

The Toyosu fish market and sushi-making lesson was one of the activities that you rated highest when we initially spoke on the phone. I know that placing it here is cutting it close, but typically this experience starts early in the morning (around 8AM) and ends around 12:30 or 1PM. Toyosu is now the new hub for fishmongers in Japan. Tsukiji still has fish restaurants in the area, however the wholesale fish market is no longer located there. We typically combine these two activities together, so usually your guide of the fish market is a sushi chef, or the same person who will also be teaching you how to make sushi. The fish that you choose at the market is the fish that you will be using to make sushi with. Your guide/chef should tell you about how to choose a good fish, and what makes a good fish... good.

Activities: 

Japanese culinary etiquette lesson at Michelin-star restaurant

Tokyo SkyTree (on this day if not done on Day 12)

Toyosu Fish Market tour + Sushi making lesson

Day 14 (10 Nov) - Tokyo

Unplanned day. ________________________________________ Hotel: Mitsui Premier Tokyo

Day 15 (11 Nov) - Tokyo

Unplanned day. ________________________________________ Hotel: Mitsui Premier Tokyo

Day 16 (12 Nov) - Tokyo

Airport drop off to be arranged for everyone via a private car.