Tours of Historic Japan

[Katayama Hiromoto]

Konnichi-wa minna-san.

Greetings from sunny Caid. Long time. No see Gang. How is everyone?!?

So... My wife, Jane, and I are considering a "once in a lifetime" trip to Japan. Naturally, we would like to see more of historic Japan than modern Japan. Places of historic importance...

For those of you on the Board who have travelled to Japan, are there any reputable tour companies that offer tours of historic areas?!? Recommendations?!?

We are looking to travel places like historic Kagoshima, Hakata Bay, Kamakura, Kyoto... That kind of thing...

Any and all assistance is greatly appreciated.

Katayama Hiromoto
68th Squire to Kyr Baron Yaroslav The Persistent
Funkyuu-ke

[Saionji Shonagon]

This might be a place to start: www.jnto.go.jp/eng/

I may have more info for you in a week or so as friends of mine and I are starting to look at what we'd need to do and how many koku we'd have to amass to go in the next year or so.

[Hayashi Yuki]

I know that if I ever got a chance at historical places in Japan I would definitely see Kyoto, and or Osaka. I'd love to see the castle there.

[Ishida Kentarou Mitsumasa]

The only thing in Tokyo that I found to be an essential stop was the Tokyo National Museum. Everything else historical there was pretty medium for me. (If you play Magic, though, Hareruya card shop in Shinjuku is worth a stop.)

I used Kyoto as my home base and had a fantastic time. That let me get to Himeji, Inuyama, and Nara as day trips, and Kyoto is deep enough in sights that it lasted me six days with no problems.

In my opinion, Himeji is the biggest must-see. The castle there is by far my favorite thing I saw while I was in Japan.

If you go to Kyoto, you might consider doing the dress-up option at Nishijin textile center. For a mere 10000Y, they'll dress you up in Heian period court clothing. That's where I got to try on a bukan sokutai. Go in there with your own camera, hand it to someone, and let them take tons of pictures of you being dressed by tiny Japanese women. It's awesome.

[erink]

Himeji is wicked awesome. It takes forever to get through, especially when you're taking pictures of all the gates and all the walls and thinking about whether or not you could swing a spear in this particular entrance.... I also loved the garden, a separate attraction next door, it is hands down the most beautiful 12 gardens I've ever been in. (12 because there are a lot of separate gardens.)

I also really like Nijo castle, which is in Kyoto. It has uguisu-bari - the nightingale floor - and it's a palace I could really see myself living in!

[erink]

Oh, and in Osaka there's a museum of farm houses. They're mostly post-period but they give a really good feel for traditional housing and how people lived in them. Like, in really cold areas the houses had dirt floors because it was warmer. The stables were part of the house. There are wood-fed stoves and baths. There's an awesome central hearth in one room. It's just cool.

Can I come?

[solveig]

Noble Cousin!

Greetings from Solveig!

Oct 4, 2012 12:23:30 GMT -5 erink said:

Like, in really cold areas the houses had dirt floors because it was warmer.

The "doma" (room with a "dirt" floor) is a fairly common feature in period Japanese architecture. It does not preclude having rooms with wooden floors. Incidentally, dirt is not all that warm.

[erink]

True, and a lot of the houses did have dirt floor rooms, but there was one house that basically had no wooden floors. The explanation at the museum was that houses in that particular northern region were built without wooden floors in the living and sleeping areas. They used thick straw mats for flooring. Apparently they believed that the earth was warmer than the air.

[erink]

Speaking of tourism, I found this neat site: www.denjirou.com/e_welcome.htm
(Actually those of you who read the Ichiroya newsletter probably saw it too.) It's an Edo-era country/suburban house turned into a guesthouse. Not sure what there is to do around there but it's going on my to do list!