The Narrow Road to the Deep North

This fascinating journey around Japan’s mysterious north follows the route taken by the haiku poet Matsuo Basho and is named after his famous travelogue of 1689. We stay in a variety of characterful local accommodation including ryokan and monastic, mountaintop shukubo. We witness horseback samurai archery at Nikko’s Toshogu festival and learn the secrets of the self-mummified monks of Tsuruoka. We cruise among Matsushima’s pine-clad islets and at Osore San we visit surely one of the eeriest travel destinations in the world!

In the Footsteps of Pilgrims

This charming tour is loosely themed on the life of Japan’s greatest monk, the remarkable Kobo Daishi and is about as off-the-beaten-track as you can get. We concentrate on exploring the sleepy island of Shikoku, one of the few places in the world that mass tourism has yet to find. We visit the mountain-top monasteries of Koya, bathe in the ancient hot springs of Dogo and explore the isolated valleys of Iya, Japan’s ‘Little Tibet’. Our old Japan hands love this trip. Join us to find out why!