This bespoke craft tour of Japan is focusing on a range of traditional crafts with the opportunity for hands on learning experiences with the masters of sashiko, temari, indigo and stencil dyeing, washi paper, and Kurume kasuri. The tour visits famous sites, cities, towns, villages and textile establishments on the main island of Honshu and the southwestern island of Kyushu.

• Tour the Yokohama Quilt Festival
• Craft a temari
• Visit Akie Ginza’s Sashiko Museum
• View the Kubota Kimono Collection at Itchiku Kubota Museum
• Enjoy a stencil dyeing workshop with textile designer Yumi Ishikita
• Learn traditional sashiko techniques from a talented teacher in Kyoto
• Visit the spectacular Kinkakuji and Ryoanji Temples in Kyoto
• Participate in a roketsu (indigo) dyeing workshop
• Learn how to paint fabric for Yuzen dyeing
• Enjoy an all-day aizome workshop and learn about Kurume kasuri
• Tour the Shimogawa weaving studio
• Learn how to make artisan paper in a washi studio
• Visit a Yame green tea plantation

Yves Al-Ghazi first became interested in Japanese textiles in 2017 while working closely with Jane MacDonald of BeBe Bold in Australia. Having worked previously as a research scientist on cotton plants, Yves has had a long-term interest in textile production, right down to how material is grown from seed. Yves was inspired to start BeBe Bold in France in 2018 catering to European interest in Japanese Textile.

Tour Inclusions: 

• Twin share accommodation for 14 nights at well-appointed hotels
• Train from Hakata to Hiroshima, Okayama to Kyoto and Kyoto to Odawara
• Private chartered coach during tour for travel detailed in the itinerary
• Workshops and entrance fees for activities included in the itinerary
• An English-speaking guide for the duration of the tour
• Meals as stated in the itinerary

Not Included: 

• International flights to Japan
• Arrival and departure airport/hotel transfers
• Gratuities to guide &/or driver
• Travel insurance
• Personal expenses
• Anything not mentioned above

FITNESS REQUIREMENTS:

In order to get the most from your travels and keep up with the group, a reasonable level of fitness is required.

• You will need to be able to walk for a few hours at a gentle pace
• Use combined shower/bath facilities (it is impossible to guarantee walk-in shower facilities)
• Undertake walking tours of 1-2 hours duration, including using stairs, walking over cobblestones and other uneven surfaces
• Stand for long periods in museums and other sites
• Embark / disembark coaches, trains and other methods of transportation without assistance
• Handle your own luggage