We hired a guide to take us through the Tokyo National Museum with a goal to learn something about Japanese art. People from the West (which means me) are familiar with western art from the renaissance to impressionism and abstract expressionism, but learning about Asian art is not something one gets taught much in an arts humanities class in college. At the gallery, we had the pleasure of being guided by Rafa, the most organized and exceptional guide we've ever encountered. Rafa, a Sephardic...

To understand Japan, it is essential to acknowledge the values instilled by Shintoism  and Buddhism  over the centuries, along with the external influences on the Japanese population. We explored beyond Tokyo by visiting Kamakura , a coastal town an hour to the south. Our Context guide, Fabien, a French expatriate, took us on this journey. Kamakura is a charming town, renowned for its remarkable 13.35-meter-tall bronze Buddha at Kotoku-in , which was constructed in 1252. We proceeded to the...

We wandered through the gardens of the 17th-century Ritsurin Park.  The beauty and serenity of the numerous gardens and parks we explored is likely my top highlight from Japan. This garden features over 1,400 pine trees, most of which are pruned by the gardeners to resemble large, elegantly curved bonsai.

The Double Vine Bridges  known as Oku Iya Niju Kazurabashi are twin suspension bridges made of intertwined vines. I am not a fan of crossing bridges that sway with every footstep, but if you don’t look down between the slats, it is doable.

We traveled along the steep slopes of the Iya Valley to a ravine with a 300-year-old thatched farmhouse, part of the Chiiori Trust , a unique project that seeks to preserve age-old rural traditions in the valley. A delightful 80-year-old lady prepared our lunch and entertained us with a traditional folk song. She truly embodied the essence of life in a blue zone. The tempura was amazing!! We continued on to have tea in a village in Ochiai, a community featuring traditional homes, some of...

Taking a ferry is a very pleasant way to get to your next destination. We proceeded to Mount Koya and the Iya Valley by ferry across to Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s main islands. First we will talk about highlights from the Iya Valley. We attended a dance performance in the town of Tokushima at the Awa Odori Kaikan Museum . Dance has been a significant aspect of the local culture for 400 years. The dancers were graceful and athletic, and although they weren't on par with Balanchine and...

Mount Koya is the central hub of the Shingon Buddhist sect. Buddhism consists of three primary schools: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana, each with numerous sects, subsects, and movements. The core tenets of Buddhism focus on understanding suffering, identifying its causes, and pursuing a path to liberation through mindfulness, compassion, and ethical behavior, all aimed at achieving nirvana (enlightenment).   We wandered through an enchanting cemetery nestled among towering cedars and...

Contemporary Japan has its own unique aesthetics and architecture; this was the focus of our last tour in Tokyo with Context. Our guide was Jay, who holds a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Tokyo and is an ex-pat from the US. Before settling in Japan 25 years ago, Jay spent time in Syria, Russia, and the UK. The quality of the Context guides continues to impress me. We met up with Jay in the Harajuku district , famous for its cutting-edge fashion retail. As an urban...

Our first exposure to the Ginza  area of Tokyo was to have dinner at a bustling Italian restaurant called The Kitchen Salvatore Cuomo Ginza . The food was decent, but the service left much to be desired. We experienced a long wait for our meal, and they played loud heavy metal rock music. Eventually, Scott's dinner came out but we still had to wait another ten minutes for mine to arrive. As a former New Yorker, I have no problem expressing myself and in this case, I pulled out Google...

The Zentsuji Temple is revered as the birthplace of the Buddhist priest Kobo Daishi. Kobo Daishi  founded the Shingon  school of Japanese Buddhism. There are many schools of Buddhism all with a goal of reaching enlightenment. If you are wondering what are the red hats and aprons about, they are adornments intended to ward off evil and protect children.

While cruising through the valley, we paused briefly at a small village, Nagoro , with around a dozen residents and hundreds of scarecrows . An elderly woman, Tsukimi Ayano, has transformed the village into a town of the unliving to keep her company. It was both beautiful and somewhat eerie; not a place to visit on Halloween, but perfect for a Friday the 13th sequel.

Japan has lots of islands. We took a ferry to Honshu and then traveled by high-speed train to Hiroshima.   Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park and the Peace Memorial Museum serve as solemn reminders of the atomic blast that devastated the city on August 6, 1945. Within the park lies the skeletal remains of a building now called the Atomic Bomb Dome , which was originally the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall built in 1914. The structure has been preserved as it was after the...

We then traveled to Tokyo via bullet train for the final four days of our Intro to Asia tour. We checked into The Okura Tokyo , a stunning hotel rebuilt in 2019, situated across from the US Embassy. After experiencing subpar accommodations (in my opinion) with National Geographic, we finally enjoyed a lovely, spacious, and elegant corner room on the 29th floor with a view of Tokyo. I was quite satisfied and didn't feel the need to request a third room, as I sometimes do. In Tokyo, we chose...

In Tokyo, we chose Context  to book our tours. We appreciate both ToursByLocals  and Context, and our choice usually depends on what each company offers for the destination we're visiting. Additionally, I find it optimal to stick with one company per location, though there is room for flexibility. Context typically features guides with a slightly higher academic background. We spent the entire day with Angel, an aspiring PhD candidate from Spain, who is studying the impact of Shintoism and...

We took a bullet train to Tokyo from Hiroshima for the last four days of our Japan tour. We stayed at The Okura Tokyo , which is a beautiful hotel that was rebuilt in 2019 and is located opposite the US Embassy. After what I considered to be mediocre accommodations with National Geographic, we were delighted to have a lovely, spacious, and elegant corner room on the 29th floor with a big view of Tokyo. I was very pleased and didn't feel the need to ask for a third room, as I occasionally do....

In the Iya Valley, we stayed at a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn called Hotel Hikyonyu , which featured an onsen , an on-site hot spring bath. The onsen was very relaxing, but the inn itself was simple and not exactly the 4 or 5-star lodging we prefer. In lieu of marble bathrooms, we had prefab "lego-land" bathrooms. At least here, we were able to procure a couple of extra futons for more padding and the room was not cold, so we slept better. National Geographic didn't score well for our...

We attended a dance performance in the town of Tokushima  at the Awa Odori Kaikan Museum . Dance has been a significant aspect of theie local culture for 400 years. The dancers were graceful and athletic, and although it was not like seeing an evening of Balanchine and the NY City Ballet, they were enjoyable to watch.

A ferry transported us to the small island of Naoshima, which has become a hub for contemporary art and architecture. The Benesse Art Site was established through the collaboration of an industrialist and a mayor, aiming to highlight this small island in the Seto Inland Sea by developing a venue where contemporary art and a beachfront hotel merge, allowing guests to experience staying in a museum. On our Nat Geo trip, this hotel stood out as the best in terms of design and comfort, earning...

We arrived in Kyoto from Singapore a day before the National Geographic Inside Japan tour to acclimate and explore on our own. Before discussing Kyoto, I must mention the ordeal of getting through Osaka Airport. Our Singapore Airlines flight was excellent as usual, but the immigration process in Osaka was chaotic. We spent two hours in a line moving at a snail's pace, seemingly due to more visitors than available officers. There is a “ Visit Japan Web QR code ” we could have downloaded in...