9-Days Autumn Special:

Unique & Classic Photography, Art & Design Trip to Japan in Autumn 2022

Destination Highlights

Osaka

Image Credits:新梅田シティ 空中庭園展望台 スカイビル_OSAKA_©Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau

Osaka is Japan’s second city and an extremely vibrant and lively place in its own right. While it has its fair share of ‘tourist’ sights, it’s the everyday life of this historic port city that makes Osaka so fascinating.

People here are known for getting things done and for having a good time, and this is reflected well by the vast number of options for going out around the city.

Osaka’s aquarium is also world class, and you won’t want to miss a ride on one of the city’s several giant ferris wheels:  just don’t look down if you’re afraid of heights!

Perhaps the most dramatic of these big shiny attractions is perched on top of the Hep 5 department store in the Umeda district.

A reconstructed replacement for the original destroyed in the razing of the city at the end of World War II, Osaka Castle and the surrounding park is still well worth a visit. A number of interesting museums are also scattered around the city.

Osaka lights up (very literally) after nightfall, and a walk through the bright lights of the Namba district is a great way to soak up the atmosphere, with thousands of restaurants, bars and entertainment spots to choose from.

This, and the city’s rich history and relative diversity, all contribute to its reputation as a required destination for Japan’s foodie scene.

Osaka really is one of Japan’s truly all action cities and a stay here is a chance to experience so much of what life in modern day urban Japan has to offer.

Nara (Click Here To See Video.)

Video Credits: (C) Japan National Tourism Organization – JNTO)

Image Credits:20200908_Nara_tsubosakadera_temple_27_fxz5km_©JNTO

Just 30 minutes by local train from Osaka, Nara is renowned for the wealth of its Buddhist and Shinto heritage (and also its deer).

Nara is recognised as an end point of the ancient Silk Road trading route, and as such one of the first areas to become a mainstay of Buddhist teachings from China across the sea.

The Daibutsu or Great Buddha statue here is hugely impressive. And so too is the  wooden structure which houses it, to this day the world’s largest wooden building (and a third smaller than the original!). The proliferation of shrines and temples here is set against a beautiful background of low lying mountains.

Nara Park at its centre is famously home to a vast population of very inquisitive deer, and is a popular destination for Japanese school group tours, because of its historical cultural significance and because Nara is a delightful place to visit, deer and all!

Koyasan (Click Here To See Video.)

Video Credits: (C) Japan National Tourism Organization – JNTO & Image Credits: Wakayama Tourism Federation)

Image Credits壇上伽藍-1-Wakayama Tourism Federation

Image Credits:写経-Wakayama Tourism Federation

Image Credits:精進料理-Wakayama Tourism Federation

Koyasan (Mt. Koya) is one of the holiest mountains in all of Japan, home to more than 100 temples and monasteries. Koyasan is where Shingon Buddhism originates, one of the major schools of Japanese Buddhism which has over ten million members and 4,000 temples nationwide.

There has been a religious community here since its finding in 816 by the monk, Kukai, after his return from two years’ study in China. Koyasan is a peaceful and beautiful wooded area, great for walking in any season and of course for quiet contemplation.

Temple stays or shukubo are especially celebrated by vegetarians: the range and intricacy of their shojin ryori, (traditional monks’ cuisine) made without any animal products is sure to impress the most carnivorous of foodies. Rise early to enjoy a morning chant with the monks.

Tokushima

Tokushima is a pleasant palm-lined town and a centre of the Japanese art of bunraku puppet theatre.

It’s also home to the nation’s liveliest summer Obon dance festival or Awa-Odori, with hundreds of locals performing traditional dances through the city streets.

Indeed, the dancing doesn’t stop year-round at the Awaodori Hall, and a trip to Tokushima would not be complete without a visit.

Tokushima is also famous for its indigo dying, a technique used across many fabric designs throughout Japan.

IYA VALLEY

The Iya Valley is considered one of Japan’s three ‘hidden regions’ and when you see the terrain you will appreciate why! Set deep in the heart of Shikoku, the area is made up of narrow river gorges and steep mountain peaks, covered in thick vegetation.

The isolated location of the Iya Valley and its inhospitable terrain made it a favourite hideaway for defeated clans and exiled political dissidents in days gone by.

Today modern engineering has opened up the area to cars and trains, but even so, you will still get a very good idea of the true nature of the valley as the narrow roads wind their way around the edge of hillsides and tunnels bore straight through previously impassable mountains.

Although now more accessible, the Iya Valley remains very rural and very traditional making it a fantastic place to appreciate a side of Japan very different to the bright lights in the big cities.

Activities in Iya include boat trips along the river, crossing the vine bridges (for the daring!) that once served as quick escape routes for fleeing armies and some interesting museums, as well as simply taking in the wonderful scenery all around you.

Takamatsu

Image Credits:10002567_Ritsuin Garden_提供：（公社）香川県観光協会

Takamatsu is the largest city in Kagawa Prefecture in the northeast corner of Shikoku island. Takamatsu faces the Inland Sea and has a long history as a port, acting as something of a link between Shikoku and the main island of Honshu.

The city’s top attraction is Ritsurin Koen, one of Japan’s finest examples of a landscape garden, considered by many to be on a par with the famous ‘Big Three’ gardens of Mito, Okayama and Kanazawa.

Also of interest are Yashima, a flat-topped mountain and nearby Shikoku-Mura, a collection of traditional houses and other buildings brought from all over Shikoku to display local architecture and construction techniques.

Naoshima

Image Credits：Udon Making photo011l 提供：（公社）香川県観光協会

Naoshima could easily be another pretty but forgotten island in the Seto Inland Sea scraping a living from fishing. However a unique art project has given Naoshima its deserved global reputation. Naoshima is home to a large collection of contemporary art galleries, exhibits and installations which offer a tour de force of architectural expression integrating art and the natural environment.

Two of the main galleries, the Chichu Art Museum and Benesse House, were designed by the world famous architect Tadao Ando and feature works by Claude Monet, Walter de Maria, James Turrell, Andy Warhol, Richard Long and Bruce Nauman among others. Distances between the main art sites are small and the picturesque island can be explored on foot or by bike. Bicycles are available to hire at Miyanoura Port.

Hiroshima

Image Credits:102_Hioroshima_©Courtesy of Hiroshima Prefecture

Image Credits: 1074_Hioroshima_©Courtesy of Hiroshima Prefecture

Hiroshima is of course well-known for being the site of one of two atomic bombs dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War.

In the decades since, a bright and vibrant city has risen phoenix-like from the ashes.

The Peace Park and Museum with visitors daily from all walks of life around the world are a poignant reminder of this source of Hiroshima’s fame, and its stories of the importance of striving for fellowship over destruction are especially powerful. Other areas to visit in the city include Hiroshima Castle and the baseball stadium.

The Shukkei-en garden is well worth an afternoon stroll, with a number of tea houses dotted about the grounds. No visit to Hiroshima would be complete without sampling okomiyaki, a kind of Japanese savoury pancake before your eyes using the ingredients of your choice. If you have your first okonomiyaki here, it’s certainly not likely to be your last.

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FLEXIBLE COVID COVER [IF COVID RESTRICTIONS ARE STILL IN PLACE]

• Full refund if your tour is cancelled or a travel ban prevents you travelling due to Covid 19.
• New Safety Measures on all our tours (complying with Japanese Covid guidelines)
• Free Date Change (If Covid prevents the tour from operating) (T&C applied)
• Associated with 22 Years Experience Travel Partner in Japan Unique Japan Tours who are expert  in Japan Travel

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Our local partner company UJT Services G.K. [also owned by Unique Japan Tours], will oversee all operations of your trip from start to finish. Our team in Tokyo are busy working behind the scenes ensuring each tour runs smoothly, in real time! So, rest assured, no matter what your problem may be, we will be with you all the way. While on our small group tours, your tour leader &/or local guides will be your key contacts for any emergencies

If you are excited to experience magnificent autumn leaves color landscapes in Japan, we are happy to accommodate you for fall color trip to witness beautiful Autumn, so Contact us without any delay.

Book your seats to the extraordinary Autumn Special – Photography, Art & Design Trip to Japan by The Lens India