Join us for an 11- or 16-day tour through Japan's iconic Kansai region and beyond during the beautiful autumn season! This tour celebrates Japan's modern-day knitting scene while still taking in all of the natural beauty, historic sites, and workshops in traditional textile and handcraft.

On the main, tour we'll dye with indigo, learn sashiko embroidery and shibori dyeing techniques, and - for a modern spin - take a knitted amigurumi workshop at Amirisu's Walnut Store! We'll travel by train and ferry, spend a few days in a private coach, and certainly get our steps in as we explore gardens and temple complexes between our workshops. We'll be spending lots of time with a local textile tour guide, Izumi Shigamori, who will guide and translate for us along the way! All workshops will have either english speaking instructors or translators there to help guide us.

With options to begin on November 30 in Hiroshima or December 5 in Osaka, you can choose between a longer, more active journey or a slower paced, intensive experience focused in the beautiful cities of Kyoto and Nara.

Contact us for a quote once you book the trip if you wish to book an early arrival - private transfers are very expensive in Japan, but we can walk you through using the train to get to our starting hotel.

A non-refundable $1000 deposit secures your spot on the tour. Registration and payment are completed together online -once your checkout is processed, you are officially part of the adventure! Review our Terms & Conditions HERE.

Have questions? Contact us at info@rowantreetravel.com

Both the main trip and pre-tour extension need at least 7 participants in order to proceed (i.e. the trip is "guaranteed"). We strongly advise you to wait to purchase your flights until the trip is guaranteed by us to go forward. Unless otherwise stated, our regular Terms and Conditions apply to this trip and any cancellations (click here to see our Terms and Conditions).

While our Tour Activity Level describes what to expect on a tour, our Mobility Comfort Level is personal to each traveler. Different destinations offer different accessibility when it comes to accommodations, terrain, and activities, to name a few.

We would describe this trip as a Woolly Wander with a mobility comfort level of 3+.

Although we'll have a relaxed pace of travel and some flexibility for independent travelers, this tour will involve walks of up to a mile or two at a go, and we could walk 4-5 miles over the course of a day. We'll allow plenty of time, but we will be taking trains to get between some cities and to get around Kyoto. Experiencing the temple and shrine complexes in full can involve a lot of stairs and uphill climbs.

Review our Tour Activity and Mobility Comfort Levels here.

Rowan Tree Travel highly recommends purchasing travel insurance. You may purchase through our preferred partner, Arch RoamRight, here or through your own provider.  

*Arch RoamRight is an affiliate of RTTF, and we will receive a small commission for policies bought through the provided link.

In order to gather easily for the tour, we provide an arrival and departure "window" at a major transportation hub - typically an international airport at your destination country. Flights scheduled outside the provided windows may result in additional transportation costs and/or missed tour activities. For this reason, we greatly appreciate your cooperation in booking travel that accommodates our specifications. Please do not purchase airfare until the tour is guaranteed by RTTF to go forward.

Arrival

1. 5-Day Pre-Tour Extension: Arrive in Hiroshima by plane or train by 2 pm on November 30. We will provide a group airport transfer at two set times or directions to our hotel via train once individual travel arrangements are made.

2. Official Tour Start: Arrive in Osaka by plane or train by 3 pm on December 5. We will provide a group airport transfer at two set times or directions to our hotel via train once individual travel arrangements are made.

Departure

Depart any time on December 15 from Osaka Kansai Airport or Osaka Station. We will assist with semi-private group transfer options or directions via train once individual travel arrangements are made.

Please Note

Rowan Tree Travel reserves the right to alter any part of this itinerary in order to address weather conditions, unforeseen circumstances, or to improve the participant experience.

HIROSHIMA & KAGAWA

Want to see more of Japan? Join us for a 5-night extension to Hiroshima and the islands of Miyajima, Kagawa, and Shodoshima as we explore the ancient and modern history of Japan, as well as visiting a soy sauce factory and indulging in a few cultural activities such as origami, furoshiki, and... onsen! We'll also dye a piece of our own clothing and learn how to create a string temari ball! For ancient history, we'll visit the Shinto shrine on the island of Miyajima and Himeji Castle, and for modern history, we will visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Park, as well as learn the interesting story of an American who assisted in the post-war rebuilding of the city.

OSAKA

Welcome to Japan! If you're just arriving today, we'll assist you with arrangements or instructions to get to our hotel in Osaka. We'll meet up with you there for an early dinner and regroup in the morning for our journey to Kyoto.

If you arrive early, you may want to take the subway to Osaka Castle Park - in addition to the castle itself, there's a fun museum of collectible figurines, from Godzilla to Hello Kitty and just about anything else you can imagine! But beware... you may develop an addiction for Gacha Capsule Toys... and they will then tempt you on every street corner for the rest of the trip!

KYOTO

We will take the train to Kyoto, where the fun begins! Our days will include visits to museum, gardens, temples, and shrines, in addition to textile studios and craft shops, and some amazing food! Our accommodations will be in a traditional ryokan where we'll enjoy a couple of wonderful Kaiseki dinners in the cotton kimonos provided. From there, we'll be a short walk to Walnut Kyoto, where we'll take a Knitted Amigurumi class and shop to our heart's content in their wonderfully curated shop. Several other wool, craft and fabric shops are nearby, as well as a few fascinating museums. At the Kyoto Shibori Museum, we'll take a dyeing workshop, and at the Netsuke Museum, we'll examine with wonder the intricacies of the delicate sculptures that were used to hang the coin purse from a kimono belt!

KYOTO

From our ryokan in central Kyoto, we'll board a private bus with our luggage today and head over the river to visit Kazue Yoshikawa at SashikoLab. This image shows what you can achieve if you keep at our project, but we will be focusing on creating the beautiful tasseled corner of a furoshiki cloth which you can take shopping with you in bag form, or use as a special gift wrap, table covering, or kerchief when you get home! SashikoLab is located near the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine, so there will be a chance to visit there as well and walk through the seemingly endless red torii gates! We'll have a day with some simple workshops making bows and brooches, visit a Bento Box Museum before having one for lunch, and visit some truly spectacular temples and gardens, which will hopefully be in their autumnal glory.

NARA

After having a morning to explore some more temples from our base in Gion District, we'll board our private bus to make the journey to Nara, home of Amirisu Magazine. While in Nara, we'll visit Amirisu's new fabric and yarn store, Sail & Thread, as well as another little local gem. We'll also experience a Tea Ceremony, bow to the deer at Nara Park, enjoy more gardens, and have a full-day intensive indigo dyeing experience!

OSAKA

Before heading to Osaka, we'll have a little meander into the bamboo covered hills above Nara to visit a bamboo knitting needle factory and a matcha whisk studio. When we arrive in Osaka at last, we'll have time for a final dinner together before we stroll through the amazing Team Lab light installation at the Osaka Botanic Garden.

HOMEWARD BOUND

Whether you're flying home or taking the Shinkansen for the next leg of your journey, don't forget to look for Mt Fuji! Safe travels home, and we'll see you on your next adventure.

Heather loves designing and leading knitting and fiber tours. She’s fascinated with local traditions, unique yarns, and the modern twist added to both by current designers. Her ever-widening exposure to both has led to a long queue of patterns and a dramatic accumulation of stash! She’s also been trying her hand at new wooly endeavors like felting and spinning. When not knitting, traveling or planning your next trip, Heather tends her small flock of chickens and ducks, volunteers in her local thrift shop, and spends time with her diva dog, her family, and friends in Dunbarton, NH.

Heather has a long association with Japan, having traveled there for a month as an exchange student in high school. She is delighted to be finally sharing her experiences in Japan with you!