All 2019 tours on sale now, including something new!

All tours on sale now I have just finished putting the final touches on our 2019 line-up of tours. For those interested, my premier Classic Sakura tour for early April still has a few places remaining. Golden Alpine Trails For 2019, I am adding a new walking tour, called Golden Alpine Trails, that could see you in some of our favourite places during the brilliant Autumn season. Besides Tokyo, Kanazawa and Kyoto, we have six walks planned in the central alpine region including the Nakasendo (aka the Joanna Lumley walk), the Shinetsu Trail, Kamikochi and Shirakawago. Earth & Fire ceramics tour Following on from the happy group of ceramists and art lovers I toured with in September, I have released another Earth & Fire tour for 2019, this time in the lovely mid-spring May season. This follows the same itinerary as this year, taking you to the heart of artisan life and culture in western Japan, where the influence of Korean and Chinese ceramics is most clearly felt. Japan Film Festival The Japan Film Festival is up and running across Australia now so it is worth checking out. I recommend you see We Make Antiques, which I saw on a recent flight to Japan - it's great. Check this website for program details. Shinetsu Trail Besides the indepedent travellers that we have sent there, Jason ran our first Shinetsu Trail trekking tour in September. They were blessed with dry weather for their six day 80km trek. We have scheduled the 2019 Shinetsu Trail trek for the peak of Autumn colour in October. This tour is already selling well and is guaranteed to depart, so get in touch if you would like to experience walking in one of the best forests of Japan! Sep and Oct tours I have just returned from guiding four tours in Japan. Above is a pic from my Deep North Autumn Walks tour, at Hanada-san's apple orchard. It was a beautiful day and a delightful tour so thank you for joining me. I have just returned to Sydney for a brief stay before my last tour starts later this week among the Ginko trees of Tokyo in Autumn colour - see you there!