17-28 April 2027
Brief Itinerary Overview:
17 April 2027: Our journey begins with an evening stop-over in Tokyo at the Villa Fontaine Grande Airport Hotel
18 April: AM, our private coach will transport us to the Shinkansen bound for Aomori, 800km north of Tokyo. Here, we begin our Springtime journey through Regional Japan. Our big luggage will travel separately and arrive the following day.
First stop is the Relabo Medical Spa & Stay for 4 nights. I can hear the gasps already! This is a luxury 4* hotel right at Aomori Station, close to everywhere we want to be, and the treatments are entirely optional! Our guide, Chiaki, will meet us in Aomori.
Close by us in Aomori there are restaurants, cafes, beer bars, a jazz bar, shops, local shrines and craft places to explore in our spare time. This is a slower paced itinerary designed to indulge our senses in the seasonal beauty and culinary delights of northern Honshu.
18-22 April: In and around Aomori, we visit the Nebuta Museum, the Sannai-Maruyama Site and the Aomori Museum of Art. On Wednesday 21 April we will take a leisurely day trip, by coach, to the pinkwashed city of Hirosaki, famous for its castle, shrines, and thousands of blooming cherry trees.
Hirosaki Castle, Aomori Prefecture, Japan
22 -24 April: Thursday 22 we board the Shinkansen for our 2 night stay in Kakonudate at the Machiya Hotel. Our big luggage with travel ahead of us to our hotel in Tokyo.
Originally a castle town in the Edo period, Kakunodate now has a population of around 14,000 people and no castle. Instead, it has a well-preserved samurai district, charming shops selling unique local craft, and boasts 400 graceful weeping cherry trees. Chiaki will travel with us to Kakonudate.
24-27 April: Saturday 24 we return to Tokyo by Shinkansen to the Mitsui Garden Premier Ginza for 3 nights.
Our itinerary in Tokyo is flexible and includes teamlab Borderless, a tea ceremony and a Pigment painting workshop. I will float a list of Museum and shopping options next month. It is too early yet for us to make Museum and Gallery bookings.
Please feel welcome to make suggestions for our itinerary options in Tokyo: artytravel2@gmail.com
