Unseen Japan: Kyūshū island art & culture, Spring 2011 (March-April)

Somewhat isolated from the mainland Kyūshū, the southernmost island of the Japanese archipelago, does not often form part of western tour company itineraries. With its subtropical climate and mountainous interior dotted with volcanoes and hot springs Kyūshū offers a unique cultural experience unlike that of other parts of Japan.

Kyūshū has played a prominent role in the cultural development of Japan. Some of the earliest sources of Japanese civilisation can be found here. Also, being situated closest to the historical trade routes linking Japan to the outside world, the most prominent of which was the Silk Road, Kyūshū absorbed influences from China, Korea and other parts of Asia as well as being, up until the modern era, the sole contact with the western world through its port city of Nagasaki.

The relaxed pace of our tour of Kyūshū will allow tour members to enjoy and appreciate traditional Japanese culture in regions seldom visited by westerners. As well as visiting important museums, galleries, fine gardens, magnificent temples, shrines and castles there will be opportunities to stroll through historical villages, observe traditional arts and crafts, luxuriate in hot springs and eat scrumptious Japanese meals. Our tour will be interspersed with lectures and discussions designed to provide a background to a fuller understanding of the culture and art. The tour will present an easy to understand background to Japanese arts and crafts in the context of a living tradition.

Our thirteen-day tour will begin in Fukuoka city in northern Kyūshū. Fukuoka airport is the international gateway to Kyūshū. Japan’s bullet train travels from Tokyo and Osaka to Fukuoka/Hakata. Highlights of the tour will include visits to the historically significant port city of Nagasaki, Fukuoka/Hakata with its gardens, temples, shrines and national museum, important ceramic producing districts of Arita and Imari and the hot spring resort of Yufuin. As we travel you will be able to enjoy the beautiful natural scenery of Kyūshū whilst staying in hot spring resorts and sampling regional cuisine.

Tour to be led by Japanese art specialist Dr. Gary Hickey and Kyūshū native, Haruyo Maeda.