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Autumn & the Art of the Japanese Garden 2026

Status: open

4 Nov – 18 Nov 2026

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Overview

Autumn & the Art of the Japanese Garden 2026
Tour Highlights

Travel with Jim Fogarty, award-winning landscape architect and author, and one of Australia’s most knowledgeable experts on Japanese gardens. He won the award for Best Design at the 2009 World Garden Competition in Shizuoka Prefecture, and Gold and Best in Show at the 2011 Gardening World Cup Nagasaki. Over many years Jim has carried out his own research into Japan’s most iconic gardens uncovering layers of fascinating history not widely known, and has a passionate interest in contemporary influences of Japanese garden design.

  • Visit Japan in autumn, when the countryside explodes into symphonies of glorious colour.
  • Visit a diverse range of Japan’s traditional gardens including: Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion) & Ryoan-ji (Dragon Peace Temple) in Kyoto, Kenroku-en in Kanazawa and Koraku-en in Okayama. We also visit a number of small gardens by special appointment. Each garden follows a spiritual and artistic tradition and demonstrates the incredible diverse artistry of the Japanese garden.
  • Explore some of Japan’s splendid art collections, including Tokyo’s National Museum, the magnificent collection of kimonos at Itchiku Kubota Art Museum and Hakone’s Open-Air Museum containing sculptures by Rodin, Miro and Henry Moore, and over 300 works by Pablo Picasso.
  • Stroll along Kyoto’s charming Philosopher’s Walk and visit historic homes in Tokyo and Kanazawa.
  • Visit the Jiyu Gakuen School in Tokyo, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright when he lived in Japan.
  • Walk the Kiso Valley’s historic Nakasendo Highway, passing through wooden groves and villages with the distinctive wooden architecture of the Edo era. Enjoy a reviving green tea in a wayside teahouse and enjoy the glorious views over the countryside.
  • Experience Japan’s unique culture at a tea ceremony in Kanazawa, sample Japanese sake and an array of traditional cuisine including the delicious small dishes presented as a kaiseki feast.
  • Conclude with a visit to the Adachi Museum of Art, where a collection of contemporary Japanese art is harmoniously set within one of the most beautiful and admired contemplative gardens in the country.

Overnight Tokyo (3 nights) • Hakone (1 night) • Matsumoto (2 nights) • Kanazawa (1 night) • Kyoto (6 nights) • Matsue (1 night)

Testimonial

This was a wonderful tour which fulfilled our hopes and expectations. Perfectly timed and with very good tour leaders and Japanese guides.  Jenny, NSW.

Overview

The tour has been timed to visit Japan when its countryside explodes into symphonies of glorious autumnal colour. In Tokyo and in historic centres like Kyoto we’ll discover how Japan’s gardens can be experienced on many levels and are renowned for subtly combining artifice and nature, blurring the boundaries between garden and landscape. Some gardens are tiny and minimalist, conveying subtle meanings through ingenious combinations of moss, stones, rock and water. Others are grand, framing rich palaces and temples. We combine garden visits with expressions of traditional Japanese culture like tea ceremonies, historic crafts and cuisine. Kyoto gardens include extensive, ancient temple and garden complexes such as Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion), Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) and Ryoan-ji – the famed Dragon Peace Temple. Throughout, garden visits are also combined with an appreciation of Japan’s traditional architecture and great museums to enrich your understanding of Japanese aesthetics. At Kanazawa we explore traditional construction techniques at Kanazawa Castle, Nagamachi Samurai Residence and Higashichaya District’s many old Samurai houses. Kanazawa’s Kenrokuen Garden is the ‘garden of the six sublimities’. We make a very special day tour to villages in Kiso Valley, walking a section of the Nakasendo Highway to encounter carefully preserved monuments to Japan’s feudal past. In Tokyo highlights include Koishikawa Koraku-en, a rare surviving 17th-century strolling garden, and the beautifully restored residence and garden that belonged to Kusuo Yasuda. Our tour finishes with a visit to the Adachi Museum of Art. In addition to its stunning collection of contemporary Japanese art, the museum is renowned for its beautiful contemplation garden which visitors enjoy through large picture windows.

Itinerary

Itinerary

The following itinerary describes a range of gardens, museums and other sites which we plan to visit. Many are accessible to the public, but others require special permission which may only be confirmed closer to the tour’s departure. The daily activities described in this itinerary may change or be rotated and/or modified in order to accommodate alterations in opening hours, flight and train schedules and confirmation of private visits. Participants will receive a final itinerary together with their tour documents prior to departure. The tour includes meals indicated in the detailed itinerary where: B=breakfast, L=lunch and D=dinner.

Tokyo - 3 nights

Day 1: Wednesday 4 November, Arrive Tokyo
  • Tour commences at 10.00am in the foyer of the Keio Plaza Hotel
  • Welcome Meeting
  • Japanese Imperial Palace Plaza
  • Koishikawa Koraku-en Garden
  • Welcome Dinner

Meeting Point: The tour commences at 10.00am in the foyer of the Keio Plaza Hotel located in the Shinjuku district. Check-in time is not until 3.00pm, however your luggage may be securely stored until we return from our day’s program late this afternoon.

Meaning ‘beautiful from any angle’, the Happo-en garden lives up to its name. Following lunch at the garden’s delightful restaurant, a stroll through the gardens will reveal 200-year-old bonsai trees, a stone lantern said to have been carved 800 years ago, and a central pond.

We then visit the former Kusuo Yasuda Residence (1919), a stunning early modern  interpretation of a traditional Japanese house. This elegant wooden house looks out through large windows upon on a lovely garden.

Tonight we enjoy a welcome dinner together at our hotel. (Overnight Tokyo) D

Day 2: Thursday 5 November, Tokyo
  • Meguro Gajoen: Private Art Collection and Garden
  • Lunch at Meguro Gajoen Restaurant
  • Rikui-en Garden
  • Ekouin Nenbutsudo Temple by Yutaka Kawahara Design Studio

We begin today with a visit to Meguro Gajoen, an exclusive hotel that is home to a private art collection. Usually only seen by the hotel residents, we will be given a tour of the collection, followed by a visit to the hotel’s lovely garden, before we enjoy lunch in one of the private dining rooms.

We visit a charming stroll garden, Rikui-en. Created in 1702, the garden’s name means ‘Garden of the Six Principals’, referring to the six elements in Japanese Waka poetry. Paths lead visitors to tea houses and across stone bridges, winding around a pond with islands.

During our travels we’ll encounter many traditional and historic temples and explore a variety of gardens that play such an important role in these complexes. This afternoon we visit a contemporary temple – the Ekouin Nenbutsudo Temple by Yutaka Kawahara Design Studio. Completed in 2013, in the lively heart of Tokyo, this Buddhist complex is intended to represent the ‘Gokuraku’ or ‘Paradise in the Sky’ and is comprised of the three traditional structures associated with Buddhist architecture – the vihara (monastery), the stupa (pagoda), and the shrine – stacked one atop the other in response to its compact site. In place of a small stroll garden using moss, stone or sand, here bamboo is used to create a green space for contemplation in this busy metropolis. (Overnight Tokyo) BL

Day 3: Friday 6 November, Tokyo
  • Jiyu Gakuen School
  • Tokyo National Museum
  • Nezu Museum

We begin our day with a visit to the Jiyu Gakuen School. This is a beautifully preserved building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1921, one of 12 buildings the American designed during the two years he lived in Japan. Only three of Wright’s buildings survived the 20th century, and we shall be taken on a tour of this very special building.

Established in 1872, the Tokyo National Museum is the oldest and largest museum in Japan. The museum, which holds over 110,000 objects, focuses on ancient Japanese art and Asian art along the Silk Road. There is also a large collection of Greco-Buddhist art.

The day concludes with a visit to the Nezu Museum, showcasing traditional Japanese and Asian works of art once owned by Kaichiro Nezu, a railroad magnate and politician. Architect Kengo Kuma designed an arched roof that rises two floors and extends roughly half a block through the Minami Aoyama neighbourhood. At any one time the vast space houses some of the collection’s 7000 works of calligraphy, paintings, sculptures, bronzes, and lacquer ware. (Overnight Tokyo) B

Hakone - 1 night

Day 4: Saturday 7 November, Tokyo – Yokohama – Hakone
  • Sankei-en (Sankei’s Garden)
  • Hakone Open-Air Museum
  • Hakone Jinja Shrine

This morning we depart Tokyo and drive to southern Yokohama. Here we visit the beautiful Sankei-en, a spacious garden in which are set a number of historic buildings from across Japan. There are a pond, small rivers, a profusion of flowers and wonderful scrolling trails. The garden, built by Hara Sankei, was opened to the public in 1904. Among the historic buildings in the park are the elegant residence of a daimyo (feudal lord), several teahouses, and the main hall and three storied pagoda of Tomyo-ji, the abandoned temple of Kyoto.

We then continue to Hakone, located on the shore of Lake Ashi with views across to the iconic Mt Fuji, arguably Japan’s most important landmark, which stands as the symbol of the nation’s identity. It has been pictured countless times, not least in Katsushika Hokusai’s Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (1826-1833).

We visit the Hakone open-Air Museum, where sculptures by Rodin, Miro and Bourdellemare are exhibited within the garden. The museum has one of the largest collections of work by Henry Moore and over 300 works by Pablo Picasso.

The beautiful Shinto Hakone Shrine sits on the shore of Lake Ashi. Its buildings are hidden within the forest but its presence is announced by huge torii gates at the lake’s edge, and a path leads visitors up lantern-flanked stone steps to the shrine.

Tonight we dine together at the hotel and enjoy a glass of sake with a keiseki dinner of many small and beautifully presented dishes. (Overnight Hakone) BLD

Matsumoto - 2 nights

Day 5: Sunday 8 November, Hakone – Kawaguchiko – Matsumoto
  • Itchiku Kubota Art Museum, Kawaguchiko
  • Nakamachi Street and Kurassic-kan, Matsumoto
  • Matsumoto Rising Castle (exterior only)

In Kawaguchiko we will visit the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum. When the artist Itchiku Kubota was young, he encountered an example of ‘Tsujigahana’ at the Tokyo National Museum. ‘Tsujigahana’ was a technique used in dying kimonos during the 15th and 16th century, an art that was later lost. Kubota-san revived the art and created a series of kimonos decorated with mountain landscapes in all four seasons and Mount Fuji. These kimonos are displayed in a breathtaking setting. The main building is a pyramid-shaped structure supported by sixteen hiba (cypress) beams more than 1000 years old. Other parts of the museum are constructed of Ryukyu limestone. The museum’s unique architecture is set against a lovely garden and red pine forest.

We then focus upon Matsumoto and its surrounds for the next two days. On arrival in the town, we walk through the historic Nakamachi-dori, a street lined with white-walled traditional inns, restaurants and antique shops. We cross the river to walk to Matsumoto-jo, the imposing castle approached across a moat. Matsumoto-jo was founded by the Ogasawara clan in 1504 but it was another lord, Ishikawa, who remodelled the fortress in 1593 and built the imposing black five-tier donjon that is now the oldest keep in Japan. (Overnight Matsumoto) B

Day 6: Monday 9 November, Matsumoto – Kiso Valley – Matsumoto
  • Nakasendo Highway Walk
  • Magome Village
  • Tsumago Village

Today we drive out of Matsumoto and head to the Kiso Valley for a taste of how Japan looked prior to urbanisation. Developed by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu as one of the five main highways linking his capital Edo (Tokyo) with the rest of Japan, the valley contains eleven post towns and several have been preserved as a virtual museum of the feudal past.

As we follow the valley we’ll enjoy features of the Nakasendo route, including Kiso Fukushima, the gateway to the sacred mountain of Ontake.

We first visit Magome, which means ‘horse-basket’, because this is where travellers were forced to leave their horses before tackling the mountainous roads ahead. The highway route continues to Tsumago and we will walk part of the way, along the cobbled path that winds through the forested hills, over streams and past charming hamlets.

Tsumago was a ghost town 30 years ago, with its traditional Edo-era houses on the point of collapse. Its restoration sparked the idea of cultural preservation in Japan. The pedestrian-only street is similar to that once encountered by lords and their samurai centuries ago. Preserved are the Okuya Kyodokan, a designated post inn, where the daimyo’s (feudal lord) retinue rested. On the opposite side of the street the Kyu-honjin is where the daimyo used to stay.

Our final visit for the day is to the Nagiso Town Museum. Opened in 1995, the museum has three divisions: Tsumago Post Town Honjin, a sub-honjin, and a history museum. (A honjin is a temporary residence for a lord or dignitary to stay in when travelling to and from the shogunate capital of Edo.) The present building of the subhonjin was built in 1878 utilising Japanese cypress throughout, a type of wood proscribed for ordinary construction during the Edo period (1600-1868). The History Museum contains historical materials of Nagiso Town and history of the trust organisation dedicated to the preservation of historic towns, villages, and neighbourhoods. (Overnight Matsumoto) B

Kanazawa - 1 night

Day 7: Tuesday 10 November, Matsumoto – Kanazawa
  • Shinkansen train Nagano to Kanazawa
  • Oumi-cho Ichiba Market
  • Nomura-ke (restored samurai residence & house garden)
  • Ishikawa-ken History Museum
  • Higashi-Chayagai District

This morning we travel by coach to Nagano, where we board the Shinkansen Superexpress train to Kanazawa, considered one Japan’s best-preserved Edo-period cities. Kanazawa is a popular place for the Japanese to visit but perhaps because of its remote location and very cold winters few foreigners make the journey to experience its rich cultural legacies.

The feudal atmosphere of Kanazawa still lingers in the Nagamachi district, where old houses of the Nagamachi Samurai line the streets that once belonged to Kaga Clan. The T-shaped and L-shaped alleys are distinct characteristics of the feudal town, and the mud doors and gates of the houses remain as they were 400 years ago. The houses with their samurai windows (bushimado) and mud walls under the yellow Kobaita wooden roofs, which were protected from snow by straw mats (komo), evoke a bygone era.

During the Edo Period (1603-1867), the scale and dispensation of land to samurai families who lived in this district, and others in the city, was a fairly accurate indicator of rank. One of the larger Nagamachi estates was assigned to Nomura Denbei Nobusada, a senior official in the service of the first feudal lord of the Kaga domain. The reforms that accompanied the Meiji Restoration in 1868 decimated the lifestyles of the socially privileged. The samurai, whose social class was nulified, not only had their stipends terminated, but their estates were also appropriated by the state. Consequently, the Nomura family, whose considerable land holdings dated back 12 generations, lost their home and were reduced to turning a section of the remaining part of their property over to the cultivation of fruit and vegetables. Though they were discouraged from public displays of ostentation, merchant families and those of former samurai were not prohibited from commissioning the construction of exquisite gardens.

After time to explore the Oumi-cho Ichiba Market, we visit the restored residence of Nomura, displaying the lifestyle and artifacts of the era, and explore its garden which features trees that are over 400 years old. Broad, irregularly shaped stepping stones provide access to the inner garden whose attractive entrance is flanked by a Chinese maple tree with leaves that turn a brilliant red in autumn. We also visit the Ishikawa-ken History Museum that is dedicated to the history of this prefecture.

Across the Asano River is the district of Higashi-Chayagai, Kanazawa’s most famous geisha district. Many of the tall wooden-latticed houses on the narrow streets are still used by geisha for high-class entertainment as they have done since 1820 when the area was established as a geisha quarter. Geishas are young girls or women extensively trained as entertainers and skilled in a number of traditional Japanese arts such as classical music and dance as well as the performance of the exacting rituals of a Japanese tea ceremony. This district has been designated as one of Japan’s cultural assets. (Overnight Kanazawa) B

Note: Our luggage will be transported directly from Matsumoto to our hotel in Kyoto. An overnight bag will be needed for use in Kanazawa.

Kyoto - 6 nights

Day 8: Wednesday 11 November, Kanazawa – Kyoto
  • Kanazawa Castle (exterior)
  • Kenroku-en, Kanazawa
  • Tea Ceremony at the Nishida Family Gardens ‘Gyokusen-en’
  • Train from Kanazawa to Kyoto

Our first destination this morning is Kanazawa Castle, the seat of power of the local Maeda clan, hereditary feudal lords (daimyo) of the Kaga province from 1583. Burnt down on a number of occasions, only the superb Ishikawa Gate and the Sanjikken Nagaya samurai dwelling survive from the original construction.

Kenroku-en is Kanazawa’s prime attraction and one of the three most famous gardens in Japan, along with Koraku-en (Okayama) and Kairaku-en (Mito). Kenroku-en was once the outer garden of Kanazawa Castle and there has been a garden on the site since the late 1600s. The original garden, begun by the fifth Maeda lord, Tsunonori Maeda, was called ‘Renchi tei’ but it was almost entirely burnt out in 1759. It was restored in the 1770s and in 1822 became known as Kenroku-en, a name that means ‘the garden of six sublimities’ or, ‘a garden combining the six aspects of a perfect garden’. These six features were what the Chinese traditionally believed were necessary for the ideal garden – spaciousness and seclusion, artifice and antiquity, water-courses and panoramas: all these characteristics are to be found in the 25 acres of this beautiful garden. Beside the garden is a former samurai residence belonging to the Nishida family with a beautiful charming garden ‘Gyokusen-en’, where we shall partake in a traditional tea ceremony.

We then transfer to the train station to take the train south to Kyoto. Kyoto was the capital of Japan from the late 8th century (c.794 AD) until 1868, when the court was moved to Tokyo. It is home to 17 World Heritage Sites, 1600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines, yet much of the city centre is modern. One of the finest of its contemporary buildings is its dramatic railway station.

In the evening you may choose to make an optional visit to the Gion district of Kyoto for a glimpse of a vanishing world – home to geisha houses and traditional teahouses. Although the number of geishas has declined over the last century the area is still famous for the preservation of forms of traditional architecture and entertainment. To experience the traditional Gion, stroll along Hanami-koji, a street lined by beautiful old buildings, including teahouses, where you may be able to glimpse a geisha apprentice. Contrary to popular belief Gion is not a red-light district, nor are geishas prostitutes. Geishas are young girls or women extensively trained as entertainers and skilled in a number of traditional Japanese arts such as classical music and dance as well as the performance of the exacting rituals of a Japanese tea ceremony. (Overnight Kyoto) B

Day 9: Thursday 12 November, Kyoto
  • Ryoan-ji (Dragon Peace Temple)
  • Kinkaku-ji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion)
  • Daitoku-ji Buddhist Complex incl. the Ryogen-in

Kyoto is notable for its extraordinary diversity of Japanese gardens, including many of the finest traditional temple gardens.

We first visit Ryoan-ji – the Dragon Peace Temple. No other garden in the world is so simple, elegant and refined. The garden comprises 15 rocks in a sea of raked gravel surrounded by a compacted mud wall coated in oil that is in itself a national treasure. The garden dates from 1500 as part of a temple of the Renzai sect of Zen Buddhism. The temple burned but was reconstructed in its original form. The garden constitutes the supreme example of a dry garden where gravel and rock symbolise plant and water elements. Indeed, apart from the moss on the rocks, no other plants grow in it. The meaning of the garden remains unknown. It might symbolise islands in a sea, mountains seen through clouds or tigers and cubs crossing a river, but this doesn’t matter since this is a garden to encourage contemplation, the enclosing wall separating the visitor from the world outside, and the verandah creating a horizontal boundary.

We then visit the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji). During the 15th century the Chinese Sung Dynasty exercised an enormous influence in Japan as artists, poets and Zen priests were gathered together by Yoshimitsu, the third Ashikaga shogun (1358-1409). Yoshimitsu began construction of the Golden Pavilion just before he retired in 1394, handing power to his nine-year-old son so that he could move to his estate. Little of his work remains but we can sense the character of the garden in its pond, rockwork and extensive plantings.

The pavilion at Kinkaku-ji recalls Sung period architecture but it is a recreation, having been burned down in the 1950s. The present building is an exact replica, except that where Yoshimitsu proposed only to gild the ceiling of the third storey with gold, now the whole building is gilded. Yoshimitsu positioned his palace on the edge of a lake. The ground floor was a reception room for guests and departure point for leisure boating, the first storey was for philosophical discussions and panoramic views of the lake while the upper floor acted as a refuge for Yoshimitsu and was used for tea ceremonies. The size of the gardens is increased visually by the water’s convoluted edge, the use of rocks and clipped trees and by visually ‘borrowing’ a distant view of Mt Kinugasa that creates a sense of gradation between foreground, middle-ground and deep distance.

We conclude the day with a visit to Daitoku-ji, a large complex of Zen temples with prayer halls, religious structures and 23 sub-temples with some of the most exquisite gardens in Kyoto, some quite small, including raked gravel gardens and, in the Daisen-in, one of the most celebrated small rock gardens in Japan. The Japanese consider Daitoku-ji one of the most privileged places to study and it is associated with many of Japan’s most famous priests. Unlike many of the larger public Buddhist temples of earlier sects, the Rinzai sect monasteries were intimate, inward looking and remained isolated from the outside world.

The temple received imperial patronage and grew out from its centre in an organic way. A transition occurred as the complex expanded from a formal centre to semiformal and informal precincts. The central north-south walkway is most formal with wide paths to accommodate processions and ceremonies, while to the side are sub-temples with gates. As you walk through one of these gates you immediately come upon a less formal world with narrow paths, turns and walkways. The temple site contains a number of notable gardens including Daisen-in, Zuiho-in and  Ryogen-in. (Overnight Kyoto)

Day 10: Friday 13 November, Kyoto
  • Enko-ji
  • Shisen-do
  • Renge-ji
  • Dinner at a traditional Izakaya restaurant

Today we will visit a number of Kyoto’s great gardens. Our first visit for the day is to Enko-ji, located in northern Kyoto. A temple of the Rinzai Zen Sect, this temple was founded in 1601 and is particularly famous for the autumn colours of the maple trees in its beautiful garden. Visitors view the garden from the temple.

The intimate gardens of Shisen-do are considered masterworks of Japanese gardens. Its street walls mask the tranquillity and beauty to be found within. Raked sand, clipped azaleas and the tree covered hillsides of Higashiyama form the main components of this garden designed by Ishikawa Jozan (1583-1672).  Clipped azaleas give way to natural vegetation beyond the garden boundary but it is the close harmony between the indoor spaces of the pavilion and the garden beyond that is most striking. The verandah offers a transition between its dark interior and the light-filled garden.

Following lunch at the Grand Prince Hotel’s Itozakura restaurant, we visit Renge-ji. The temple is known for its garden, which reflects the beauty of seasonal change. Autumn when the maple leaves change colour, is the best season to visit. Capturing the essence of Japanese gardens, it includes a central pond surrounded by plantings linking to the hillside beyond. Stones, bridge and plantings are all reflected on the water-surface, giving a sense of spaciousness.

This evening we have dinner at a traditional and lively izakaya restaurant. (Overnight Kyoto) D

Day 11: Saturday 14 November, Kyoto
  • Fushimi Inari Taisha
  • Murin-an Gardens
  • Afternoon at leisure

This morning we visit one of the most famous and spectacular sites in Kyoto, the Fushimi Inari Taisha. We will set off from the hotel early to avoid the crowds who come to see the thousands of beautiful vermilion torii (gates) that line the paths to the main buildings of the complex, creating extraordinary tunnels. The shrine is the principal residence of the kami Inari, the Shinto god of rice and commerce, and throughout the complex are numerous statues of foxes, believed to be Inari’s messengers.

We then visit the beautiful Murin-an gardens, a strolling garden of the Meiji Period. The garden was created by Japanese master gardener Ogawa Jihee in 1894. The garden uses the eastern hills of Kyoto as a viewpoint, which allow it to appear as an extension of the mountain scenery. It has a small stream that is fed by the waters of Lake Biwa, Japan’s biggest lake. Large parts of the garden are lawn, probably an influence of English landscape gardens.

The afternoon is at leisure to explore Kyoto. (Overnight Kyoto)

Day 12: Sunday 15 November, Kyoto
  • Tenryu-ji
  • Nanzen-ji
  • Philosopher’s Path
  • Ginkaku-ji (Temple of the Silver Pavilion)

We first visit the Tenryu-ji, which dates from the period of shogun Ashikaga Takauji (1339). He commissioned the priest Muso Kokushi – one of Japan’s best known garden designers, who also designed the moss garden at Saiho-ji – to create this garden. Kokushi’s work modified an estate of Emperor Gosaga from 1270. He changed its form to include an Heian-style pond garden with popular, contemporary Chinese aspects. These included most notably a group of seven vertical rocks near the rear shore of its pond. These contrast markedly with Japanese rock work that takes a more horizontal form. This is one of the earliest gardens to show shakkei, the incorporation of borrowed landscape into a garden’s design.

Nanzen-ji is one of the most famous Rinzai Zen temples in Japan. It was founded in 1291 by Emperor Kameyama, and was rebuilt several times after devastating fires. At the entrance to the complex one passes through the huge Imperial gate, built in 1628 by Todo Takatora, and into the complex with its series of sub-temples. We will see the hojo, or abbot’s quarters, which is notable for both it’s beautiful golden screen paintings and the tranquil sand and rock garden. We will also explore the sub-temple Konchi-in which was added to the complex in 1605.

We stroll along the charming Philosophers Way – a footpath that follows a canal lined with cherry trees. It is named for Nishida Kitaro, one of Japan’s most famous philosophers, who walked this route to Kyoto University each day.

The Philosopher’s Path ends at Ginkaku-ji. Originally constructed as the retirement villa of the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1435-1490), the Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) became a Zen temple upon his death. The garden is complex, comprising two distinct sections, a pond area with a composition of rocks and plants, and a sand garden with a truncated cone, the ‘Moon-Viewing Height, suggesting Mt Fuji; and a horizontal mound, the ‘Sea of Silver Sand’ named for its appearance by moonlight. (Overnight Kyoto)

Day 13: Monday 16 November, Kyoto
  • Heian Shrine
  • Tofuku-ji
  • Afternoon at leisure

We begin the day with a visit to one of the newest religious sites in Kyoto, the Heian Shrine, which boasts the largest torii (sacred gate) in Japan and lovely gardens. The shrine was built in 1896 to commemorate the city’s 1100th anniversary and to honour its founder, Emperor Kammu, and also to celebrate the culture and architecture of the city’s Heian-past. It is constructed on the site of the original Heian Hall of State but is a smaller and somewhat imperfect recreation of this earlier building. Four gardens surround the main shrine buildings on the south, west, middle and east, covering an area of approximately 33,000 square metres. The gardens are designated as a national scenic spot representative of Meiji-era (1868-1912) garden design.

We then visit the superb Tofuku-ji Hojo, a garden designed in 1939 by Shigemori Mirei. This will be familiar to many who have read books on Japanese gardens for it combines 20th-century design with elements from Japanese tradition. Mirei implements subtle, restrained design themes such as chequer-boards of stone in moss to allow the natural form and colour of maples on the surrounding hills to make full impact.

The afternoon is at leisure to further this city’s rich culture. (Overnight Kyoto)

Matsue - 1 night

Day 14: Tuesday 17 November, Kyoto – Okayama – Matsue
  • Shinkansen train Kyoto to Okayama
  • Kouraku-en Gardens, Okayama
  • Adachi Museum of Art
  • Farewell Dinner at a Local Restaurant

Today we depart Kyoto and travel by train to Okayama where we visit another of the country’s so-called ‘Three Great Gardens of Japan’, Kouraku-en. This garden dates from the Edo period when the daimyo (feudal lord) Ikeda Tsunamasa ordered its construction in 1687. Completed in 1700, it has retained its overall appearance with only a few minor changes made over the centuries. The garden was used for entertaining guests and also as a retreat for the daimyo.

In the afternoon we travel by train to Matsue, where we shall visit the Adachi Museum of Art, located in the rural landscape of the Sinmane region. This is a contemporary art museum set within a large garden, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful gardens in Japan. The museum was founded by Adachi Zenko who felt a strong resonance between the sublime sensibility of the Japanese-style garden and the paintings of Yokoyama Taikan whose work he collected. This is a contemplation garden which visitors observe from various carefully designed points within the museum. Each season reveals itself through different aspects of the garden, and during our visit we can expect the hills that form the backdrop to the vista before us to be a blaze of autumnal colour while vivid reds enliven the foliage of the garden. After checking in to our hotel we enjoy a farewell dinner at a local restaurant. (Overnight Matsue) D

Note: As we will be travelling by train today, our luggage will be transferred directly to the Matsue hotel.

Day 15: Wednesday 18 November, Depart Matsue
  • Yuushien Garden, Daikonshima
  • Transfer to Izumo Airport

Our tour finishes with a trip to the island of Daikonshima, just outside Matsue, where we visit the beautiful Yuushien garden. Each season brings new colour to the garden, and in Autumn we can expect to see oleaceae and camellias as well as a beautiful display of autumnal foliage.

We then transfer to Izumo Airport with an estimated arrival time of 12.00pm midday. Note: we recommend allowing 4 hours for your flight check-in. B

Accommodation

Accommodation

All hotels are rated 4-star locally (3-star in Kyoto) and are comfortable and conveniently situated. All rooms have en suite bathroom.

  • Tokyo (3 nights): Keio Plaza Hotel – a modern hotel in the Shinjuku district close to subway stations, shopping areas and restaurants. www.keioplaza.com
  • Hakone (1 night): The Prince Hakone Lake Ashinoko – a modern resort hotel on the shores of Lake Ashinoko. The hotel has it’s own onsen (hot spring baths) and on a clear day Mount Fuji can be seen from the garden www.princehotels.com/the-prince-hakone/
  • Matsumoto (2 nights): Hotel Buena Vista – a sleek, modern hotel located a kilometer from Matsumoto Castle in the historic centre of the town. www.buena-vista.co.jp
  • Kanazawa (1 night): Kanazawa Tokyu Hotel – a modern hotel conveniently located for visiting the Kenrokuen garden and Kanazawa castle. www.tokyuhotelsjapan.com
  • Kyoto (6 nights): Mimaru Kyoto Nijo Castle – a modern apartment hotel centrally located close to supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants. Each apartment is 40 sqm and includes a small well-equipped kitchen and laundry. Breakfast is not served at the apartment-hotel, but can be purchased from the stores located 50m away.  mimaruhotels.com/en/hotel/nijo-castle/
  • Matsue (1 night): Matsue Excel Hotel Tokyu – a comfortable business hotel a short walk from Matsue station. www.tokyuhotelsjapan.com

NoteHotels are subject to change. In this instance a hotel of similar standard will be provided.

Single Supplement

Payment of this supplement will ensure accommodation in a double room for single occupancy throughout the tour. The number of rooms available for single use is extremely limited. People wishing to take this supplement are therefore advised to book well in advance.

How to book

How to Book

Making a Tentative Reservation before the tour price has been published

ASA INTENTION TO TRAVEL APPLICATION FORM

Some ASA tours fill almost immediately. Don’t miss out! You can register your ‘Intention to Travel’ by completing this application and returning this to ASA with a AUD $200.00 per person deposit. Once the tour price has been published, the itinerary and ASA Reservation Application Form will be sent to you. From the time you receive the itinerary you will have two weeks to either:

  • Send us a completed ASA Reservation Application Form together with an additional deposit of AUD $800.00 per person. On receipt of this Reservation Application and deposit, ASA will process your booking and if approved, send you a tour confirmation. At this time your deposit of AUD $1000.00 is subject to the tour’s Booking Conditions.

Or

  • CANCEL your Intention to Travel in writing. ASA will refund your AUD $200.00 per person deposit, less a $66.00 service fee (including GST).

Participation Criteria

To participate in an ASA tour, you must be reasonably fit, in good health and able to participate in all activities without assistance from Tour Leaders or other tour members. If you require assistance, a fit and able travel companion must undertake to accompany and assist you with all tasks for the duration of the whole tour. ASA’s ability to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate your specific needs, your health and safety and the health and safety of other tour members, is of paramount importance to us. For this reason the ASA Reservation Application includes a Medical Information section. As a general guideline, you must be able to accomplish each of these activities without assistance or support:-

  • walk and stand unassisted for at least 2-3 hours a day in hot, humid conditions
  • walk confidently on and over uneven surfaces
  • climb at least 3 flights of stairs
  • embark and disembark from ferries, buses and trains
  • walk up and down steep slopes
  • walk at a steady pace and no less than 1km every 15-20 minutes
  • organise, manage and carry your own luggage
  • follow and remember tour instructions
  • meet punctually at designated times and places
  • administer your own medication.
Practical Information

Practical Information

The number of flags is a guide to the degree of difficulty of ASA tours relative to each other (not to those of other tour companies). It is neither absolute nor literal. One flag is given to the least taxing tours, seven to the most. Flags are allocated, above all, according to the amount of walking and standing each tour involves. Nevertheless, all ASA tours require that participants have a good degree of fitness enabling 2-3 hours walking or 1-1.5 hours standing still on any given site visit or excursion. Many sites are accessed by climbing slopes or steps and have uneven terrain.

This 15-day Cultural Garden Tour involves:

  • Moderate walking and standing during site visits; walking tours may include steep slopes, flights of stairs, cobbled streets and uneven ground during garden visits.
  • Rail travel between Nagano and Kanazawa (Day 7), Kanazawa and Kyoto (Day 8), and Kyoto to Matsue via Okayama (Day 14).
  • No lifts at railway stations; you will be required to carry your hand luggage up and down stairs as you change platforms with a limited time to make the train connection.
  • Hotels are generally of 4-star standard (3-star apartment hotel in Kyoto), with five hotel changes.
  • Visits to a number of temples. When entering temple buildings you may be required to take off your shoes.
  • You must be able to carry your own hand luggage. Hotel porterage includes 1 piece of luggage per person.

It is important to remember that ASA programs are group tours, and slow walkers affect everyone in the group. As the group must move at the speed of the slowest member, the amount of time spent at a site may be reduced if group members cannot maintain a moderate walking pace. ASA tours should not present any problem for active people who can manage day-to-day walking and stair-climbing. However, if you have any doubts about your ability to manage on a program, please ask your ASA travel consultant whether this is a suitable tour for you.

Please note: it is a condition of travel that all participants agree to accept ASA’s directions in relation to their suitability to participate in activities undertaken on the tour, and that ASA retains the sole discretion to direct a tour participant to refrain from a particular activity on part of the tour. For further information please refer to the ASA Reservation Application Form.

Practical Notes

Prior to departure, tour members will receive practical notes which include information on visa requirements, health, photography, weather, clothing and what to pack, custom regulations, bank hours, currency regulations, electrical appliances and food. The Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade website has advice for travellers: www.smartraveller.gov.au

Overnight Bags & Luggage Transfer

This tour involves several journeys on Japan’s high-speed bullet trains. Larger suitcases are not permitted on these trains; the group’s luggage will therefore be transferred by truck to the hotel. There are three occasions when a small overnight bag will be required rather than a large suitcase:

  • Matsumoto-Kanazawa & Kanazawa-Kyoto: these journeys are both by bullet train. The group’s luggage will be transferred by truck from Matsumoto directly to Kyoto and will be ready for the group when they arrive in Kyoto. For the one night in Kanazawa, an overnight bag MUST be used – suitcases cannot be taken on the bullet train.
  • Kyoto-Okayama-Matsue: this journey is by bullet train. The group’s luggage will be transferred by truck from Kyoto directly to Matsue and will be ready for the group when they arrive in Matsue.
Tour Price & Inclusions

Tour Price & Inclusions

AUD $TBA Land Content Only – Early-Bird Special: Book before 31 December 2025

AUD $TBA Land Content Only

AUD $TBA Single Supplement

Tour Price (Land Content Only) includes:
  • Accommodation in twin-share rooms with private facilities in hotels generally of 4-star standard (3-star apartment-hotel in Kyoto)
  • Buffet or served breakfast, lunches & evening meals as indicated in the itinerary where: B=breakfast, L=lunch & D=dinner. Breakfast is not included in Kyoto.
  • Drinks at welcome and farewell meals. Other meals may not have drinks included.
  • Transportation by air-conditioned coach and rail as outlined in the itinerary
  • Departure airport transfer
  • Porterage of one piece of luggage per person at hotels (not at airports or train stations)
  • Lecture and site-visit program
  • Entrance fees to all sites
  • Use of audio headsets during site visits
  • Tour notes
  • Tips for the coach driver, local guides and restaurants for included meals
Tour Price (Land Content Only) does not include:
  • International Airfare: Australia-Tokyo, Matsue-Australia
  • Arrival airport transfer in Tokyo
  • Personal spending money
  • Airport-hotel transfers if not travelling on the ASA ‘designated’ flights
  • Luggage in excess of 20kg (44lbs)
  • Travel Insurance
Tour Map

Tour Map

Gallery
Terms & Conditions
Deposits

A non-refundable deposit of $1000.00 AUD per person is required to reserve a place on this ASA tour.

Cancellation Fees

If you decide to cancel your booking the following charges apply:

  • More than 75 days before departure: your initial deposit of $1000.00 is non-refundable.**
  • 75-31 days prior 50% of total amount due
  • 30-0 days prior 100% of total amount due

**$500.00 of this amount (ie 50% of your deposit) may be credited to another ASA tour departing within 12 months of the original tour you booked. We regret, in this case early-bird discounts will not apply.

We take the day on which you cancel as being that on which we receive written confirmation of cancellation.

Unused Portions of the Tour

We regret that refunds will not be given for any unused portions of the tour, such as meals, entry fees, accommodation, flights or transfers.

Will the Tour Price or Itinerary Change?

If the number of participants on a tour is significantly less than budgeted, or if there is a significant change in exchange rates ASA reserves the right to amend the advertised price. We shall, however, do all in our power to maintain the published price. If an ASA tour is forced to cancel you will get a full refund of all tour monies paid. Occasionally circumstances beyond the control of ASA make it necessary to change airline, hotel or to make amendments to daily itineraries. We will inform you of any changes in due course.

Travel Insurance

ASA requires all participants to obtain comprehensive travel insurance. A copy of your travel insurance certificate and the reverse charge emergency contact phone number must be received by ASA no later than 75 days prior to the commencement of the tour.

Final Payment

The balance of the tour price will be due 75 days prior to the tour commencement date.

Limitation of Liability

ASA is not a carrier, event or tourist attraction host, accommodation or dining service provider. All bookings made and tickets or coupons issued by ASA for transport, event, accommodation, dining and the like are issued as an agent for various service providers and are subject to the terms and conditions and limitations of liability imposed by each service provider. ASA is not responsible for their products or services. If a service provider does not deliver the product or service for which you have contracted, your remedy lies with the service provider, not ASA.

ASA will not be liable for any claim (eg. sickness, injury, death, damage or loss) arising from any change, delay, detention, breakdown, cancellation, failure, accident, act, omission or negligence of any such service provider however caused (contingencies). You must take out adequate travel insurance against such contingencies.

ASA’s liability in respect of any tour will be limited to the refund of amounts received from you less all non-refundable costs and charges and the costs of any substituted event or alternate services provided. The terms and conditions of the relevant service provider from time to time comprise the sole agreement between you and that service provider.

ASA reserves the sole discretion to cancel any tour or to modify itineraries in any way it considers appropriate. Tour costs may be revised, subject to unexpected price increases or exchange rate fluctuations.

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