THE SEA OF JAPAN: NIIGATA TO HAGI

OVERVIEW

Japan is a perennially popular destination, offering travellers a vibrant and diverse experience. But relatively few people have experienced the unique insights into Japan’s history and the development of its arts found on its western shores.

Limelight Arts Travel’s tour to the Sea of Japan weaves together the diverse highlights and insights that this less-visited region has to offer. The west coast served as a maritime artery in the Edo period, with trade routes connecting the resources of Hokkaido to Osaka, the Shogunate’s counting house. The wealth and status of the daimyo or feudal lords – who controlled the merchant ‘treasure ships’ on these routes, calling in at each port to exchange goods from across Japan – influenced the creation of the unique Edo culture. This lavish tradition was expressed in extraordinary gardens, such as Kanazawa’s Kenroku-en, in the regional arts and crafts that flourish to this day, and in a concentration of well-preserved samurai towns, such as Fukui, Hagi and Matsue. The region also captures two other special aspects of Japan’s history: Izumo Taisha, one of Japan’s oldest Shinto sites that enshrines the nation’s creation story, and the Echigo-Tsumari Art Field, where works by James Turrell and others were the direct inspiration for other revitalising art movements, such as the Setouchi Triennale.

The tour begins in Niigata and moves on to explore the Echigo-Tsumari Art Field. Travelling to Kanazawa, we admire the cradle of Japan’s artisanal culture and then continue along the coast to samurai-era Fukui. In Matsue, we enjoy its exceptional springtime gardens and feudal castle, before the tour’s conclusion in Hagi, affectionately known in Japan as “Hidden Kyoto.” The experience is rounded out with select regional dining and the pleasure of traveling in a small, like-minded group, under the expert guidance of tour leader Dr Kathleen Olive.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Understand the influence of the daimyo feudal lords on trade, through the development of castle towns and the sponsorship of local crafts

• Encounter traditional and contemporary art in Japan’s excellent regional galleries, and roam amongst the open-air sculptures of the Echigo-Tsumari Art Field

• Admire some of Japan’s most celebrated gardens, including Kanazawa’s Kenroku-en, the Adachi Art Museum and the spectacular peonies of Yushien

• Experience peace and joy at Izumo Taisha, one of Shinto’s most sacred shrines and oldest sites

• Appreciate distinguished arts and crafts, from pottery and lacquerware to woodworking, gold leaf and inlaid metals