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Option A - Tour Dates for tour commencing June 10th 2005
Study Component Schedule
|
Study Length
|
Arrival*
|
Commence
|
Holidays**
|
End Studies
|
|
10 weeks
|
MAR/29-30
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MAR/31
|
MAY/04-06
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JUN/09
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8 weeks
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APR/12-13
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APR/14
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MAY/04-06
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JUN/09
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6 weeks
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APR/26-27
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APR/28
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MAY/04-06
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JUN/09
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|
4 weeks
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MAY/10-11
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MAY/12
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JUN/03
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JUN/09
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|
2 weeks
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MAY/24-25
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MAY/26
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JUN/03
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JUN/09
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*Arrival - there is a Nagoya airport pickup on the days indicated.
**Public/Institute holidays affecting classes are listed here in full.
Proposed Schedule (this may change, please refer to notes below)
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Day
|
Date
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Destination(s) - Click for info
|
Depart+
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Return+
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Lunch+
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1
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JUN/10
|
Today our theme is monozukuri, the art of making things. Our first stop is the old Tokaido road post town of Arimatsu where we
will make Arimatsu Shibori. From here we will head to
Atsuta Jingu, one the top three shinto shrines in
Japan and home of the imperial sword. We can still see the wall built by Oda
Nobunaga. Returning to our "making things" theme, we head across to the superb
Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology.
This wonderful museum showcases the textile industry inventions (that almost led to the end of handcraft textiles such as
Arimatsu Shibori of course) of Japan's rapid industrial
revolution, particularly those made by the "king of inventors" Toyoda Sakichi and his nephew Toyoda Kiichiro - the founder
of Toyota Motor Corporation. From here we head to
another factory, the always enjoyable Asahi Beer,
with free beer tasting. Our last stop is historic Toganji
Temple. This 16th century temple is a quiet and peaceful place and is home to the largest sitting Buddha in Nagoya.
It has a beautiful garden, unusual (for the 16th century) Indian architecture, and a very bizarre but photogenic pet cemetery.
|
0800
|
1930
|
Yes
|
|
2
|
JUN/11
|
We begin an overnight trip into
Nagano. Our first destination is the mysterious
Toyokawa Inari shrine. We then head to the ruins of
Nagashino castle before heading up into the hills and the
beautiful Horai Senmaida. Crossing the Shinno-toge
(mountain pass) into the Ida Valley of Nagano, we will
drive to the Tenryu Gorge,
and make our way down river through the rapids in wooden flatboats, our boatmen occasionally stopping to catch us some fish.
This is a beautiful gorge, home to many hawks and other wildlife. In the evening we head to
Komagane and visit
Kozen-ji, an
old Tendai sect buddhist temple surrounded by ancient cedar trees, before enjoying a relaxing soak in a natural onsen.
By this time we should be hungry enough to eat a raw horse, which is very convenient since that is one of the options on
the menu for dinner at our hotel (24 hour onsen access). Those who are still feeling genki can then head off the the
Minami Shinshu microbrewery to enjoy some of
the local craft beers.
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0700
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N/A
|
No
|
|
3
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JUN/12
|
After breakfast (last chance for an onsen soak this weekend) we head by bus into the
national park and take the Komagane Ropeway, the
world's second longest up to 2612 meters to the glacially formed Senjojiki caldera (see video)
in a pristine alpine environment. Even though it is June you should still be able to enjoy a snowfight. We should be above
the clouds, so the chances of seeing the cone of Mount Fuji are also pretty good. After a bit of hiking or lounging about (the peak is 2956 meters
above sea level - climbing there is optional) we will head back down to the
Minami Shinshu microbrewery for a quick lunch,
before heading to Magome and
Tsumago. Magome-juku and Tsumago-juku were post towns
on the old Nakasendo highway linking Edo (the capital of the
Tokugawa Shogunate, now called
Tokyo) and the imperial capital of
Kyoto.
Magome was the home of the famous Japanese novelist
Shimazaki Toson (1872-1943) and we will visit a small
museum there as well as enjoy the village. The main attraction for us though is the chance to hike (downhill) part of the
original Nakasendo on our way to fascinating
Tsumago. This old town was bypassed when the railroad
was built in the Meiji Period and as a result is almost perfectly
preserved, with no overhead electric cables etc blighting the landscape. We will be able to enter the
Honjin and a superb
museum. The small village is also a perfect place to pick up some souvenirs.
|
N/A
|
2000
|
No
|
|
4
|
JUN/13
|
We head to the ancient capital of
Nara, visiting the "NaraKan" explaining in detail many aspects
of the World Heritage sites in the area. Our first stop is historic
Kofukuji, before walking through
Nara Koen with its sacred deer to
the ancient shrine of Kasuga Taisha.
From here we head across to Nigatsudo and
the wonderful Todaiji, the largest wooden
structure in the world and home to Nara's famous daibutsu. If the weather is wet we'll visit the
Isuien Garden & the Neiraku Museum.
If it is dry we'll drive to the top of
Wakasayama which gives us a fantastic view of the Yamato plain stretching from the outskirts of
Osaka northwards to the southern outskirts of
Kyoto, before returning via the scenic drive through the
World Heritage listed primaeval forest of Kasuga Taisha.
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0730
|
1930
|
Yes
|
|
5
|
JUN/14
|
Today we visit historic Daijuji temple, the family temple of the Tokugawa and home to many
art treasures, before heading north to the World Expo in Seto. Our schedule is fairly free today, you have the chance to
wander around the site exploring the pavilions.
|
0820
|
1900
|
Yes
|
+Departure from/Return to Okazaki times given using 24 hour clock (ie 0800 = 8am, 1830 = 6.30pm)
+Lunch - Yes/No indicates whether lunch is included or not.
Return = N/A means an overnight stay, usually in a ryokan or minshuku, where evening meal/breakfast is always included.
Discounts: As this is an off-season tour (the usual number of participants is 5 or less), it is possible to obtain
a discount of 5000 yen off the program fee (in addition to the accommodation discounts offered through the "early bird" pass) if payment is completed more than ten weeks before program commencement.
Notes:
In the week before a tour commences, a briefing will be held for the participants. If the number of students
participating is 9 students or less (which is usually the case in the off season), then the actual destinations, or the
order in which they are visited, can often be altered to reflect the specific interests of the group members.
Please also note that the schedule may need to be changed in the event of inclement weather/typhoons etc, or the unforeseen closure
of any given destination. Appropriate alternative destinations are chosen only after consultation with you.
To help ensure that students can budget for expenses accurately, Institute staff will either purchase food (usually
bento and drinks) for you to eat or find a reasonably priced restaurant (maximum cost 1000 yen - with Yamasa paying for the
remainder of your food bill) if due to traffic/weather conditions we are delayed by more than one hour on the days we
return to Okazaki accommodation.
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C O M M U N I T Y M E M B E R S
