2020 GeoEx Catalog

SEAN PAVONE / ALAMY

Japan  TIP TO TOE TOURING | 15 DAYS · GROUP

own private, luxurious onsen (hot spring). Continuing southwest, we follow the UNESCO World Heritage–designated Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route to the sacred

W  hen you get outside Japan’s well-traveled tourist centers, a whole new country reveals itself,” says our trip leader Don George (to whom we devote some deserved prose on the previous page). Don has been fall- ing in love with off-the-beaten-path Japan since he first ventured there in 1977, and he handcrafted this trip to illuminate a spectrum of Japanese landscape and culture that Western visitors rarely see. We start in the wide-open spaces of Hokkaido, the northernmost island, where volcanic plateaus collide with coastal plains and the seafood is fresh and extraordinarily flavorful. After exploring Sapporo, overnighting in a tra- ditional Japanese ryokan , and appreciating the geothermal waters at a mountain spa, we wing our way to Matsumoto for a look at the country’s oldest wooden castle and for insightful (and tasty) forays into a miso brewery and wasabi farm. In the Japan Alps, we absorb the atmosphere of the historic post towns on the Nakasendo Road, an Edo- period trade route that connects present-day Tokyo with Kyoto. We continue to Ise Grand Shrine, the holiest Shinto site in Japan. We then have a couple days to savor the breathtaking coastal inlets, scattered islands, and rolling hills of Ise-Shima National Park, ending with a soak in our

complex of Mount Koya, where we are welcomed at temples and take in the magic and majesty of the vast, cedar-shaded Okunoin cemetery. The following day we fly to the cosmopolitan hub of Nagasaki, on the lush, subtropical southern island of Kyushu. Here we visit the poignant Oura Cathedral and Peace Park before voyaging by ferry (perhaps with a dolphin escort) through Unzen-Amakusa National Park. Our explorations conclude with visits to Kumamoto’s Suizenji Park, Mount Aso ( Japan’s largest active vol- cano), a sake distillery, and a special bunraku (puppetry) theater before flying to Osaka. Day 1  arrive in Sapporo ✦  2  Sapporo museums and gardens ✦ 3  drive to Noboribetsu via Lake Toya ✦  4  fly to Matsumoto ✦  5  castle visit, Kamikochi Valley hiking ✦  6  drive to Inuyama via post towns ✦  7  drive to Ise-Shima ✦  8  leisurely walks, hot springs ✦  9  on to Shirahama, Nachi no Taki Falls ✦  10  drive to Mount Koya ✦  11  fly to Nagasaki via Osaka ✦  12  visit Nagasaki ✦  13  cross Nitta Pass, ferry through Unzen-Amakusa National Park to Kumamoto ✦  14  excursion to Mount Aso and Seiwa ✦  15  fly to Osaka, depart. nov. 5–19 from $23,595

ABOVE  Set in front of Nachi no Taki, one of Japan’s tallest and most striking waterfalls, Seiganto-ji (Temple of the Blue Waves) is the first stop on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage.

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JAPAN

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