Announcing: 2013 Kyoto Autumn Garden Tour
Dates: November 17 – 25, 2013 Price: under $2,500 ! (225,000 yen)
Tour includes 8 nights, 5 fully guided days and 2 free days in Kyoto.
Price: 225,000 yen (at current exchange rates, this comes to under $2,500 in both US and Canadian dollars)
The focus of this tour will be the gardens, arts and culture of Kyoto, the former Imperial capital of Japan. Still very much Japan’s traditional cultural epicenter, the air is alive with aesthetic elegance, and no more so than within Kyoto’s superb gardens. As the fall color comes on we will explore 15 ~ 20 gardens and sites of scenic beauty in and around Kyoto, some of the finest examples of landscape and garden design in Japan. Allan Mandell, professional garden photographer and devotee of Kyoto’s gardens, has designed the itinerary in collaboration with Windows To Japan and will be leading this tour.
Accommodations will be in newly built rooms, with private baths, on the grounds of Myoshinji, one of the oldest and most atmospheric group of Zen temples in Kyoto.
Our daily travel will be primarily by public transportation (taxi, train and subway). Participants should be prepared for daily walking through scenic neighborhoods, bustling city streets, and quiet garden paths.
Our own bi-lingual Japanese guide will accompany us each day. We will begin by meeting with the recently designated ‘Tourist Ambassador to Kyoto’ to receive an orientation while having tea in a splendid garden setting. Later in the tour we will have an opportunity to dialogue with a designer from Ueyakato Landscape Company while visiting one of their gardens.
During an afternoon our group will receive a hands-on lesson in Ikebana (the art of flower arranging), which will include flower shopping in Kyoto’s colorful Nishiki Market. We will also enjoy a day trip by minibus to the famed Miho Museum designed by I.M. Pei in a stunning country setting. On the way back, we will shop for handmade crafts in a traditional Shigaraki pottery village.
Come with us and have a direct experience of the arts and the flavors of Japanese culture as the maple leaves deepen with the autumn season. Come with us into the garden and experience the quiet and pure beauty that awaits you.
This tour is being coordinated through Windows to Japan, which is based in Kyoto. For more information, including a detailed itinerary, please contact Allan Mandell: allan@allanmandell.com
Guided Tours to the gardens of Kyoto, Japan
Please contact me if you are interested in a personal or group tour to visit the gardens of this lovely city (1 day to 2 weeks, photo mentoring provided upon request).
My tours are designed for those who love gardens and feel the lure of Japan, photographers and non-photographers alike. There will be time for quiet contemplation as we make our rounds, and time for fun events, too – such as shopping at a flea market or traditional craft shop, or taking a dip in an ‘onsen’ (hot springs). Kyoto is a city that is virtually crime free - a single woman alone is completely safe. The city is easy to navigate, the people are extremely hospitable and polite, and there is a reverence for cleanliness and for the changing seasons. To experience Kyoto is to surrender to the gentleness and elevated aesthetic that permeates the atmosphere.
I invite you to share this with me.
Testimonials
“I want to thank you for arranging this incredible, once in a lifetime tour. The itinerary was stellar! Allan was the consummate guide.”
“Allan was perfect for this tour, embellishing our experience through his quiet reverence for the Japanese garden aesthetic.”
“Allan’s love of Japanese culture helped bring the group towards an understanding of the gardens we visited. I came away with a deeper appreciation for the history and the people of Kyoto.”
