As a little girl, I loved playing with the black silk and embroidered oriental skirts that my grandparents had brought home from their travels to Japan between 1900-1915. You see, my grandfather was a mining engineer and a college classmate of Herbert Hoover, so I had these visions of exotic travels to far-away places.
About a year ago, I decided to travel to Japan with my go-to travel company – oattravel.com – to see first-hand what this storied country was like. It was February 2025 and I was excited to fly to Tokyo. Of course the flight was long, but Delta got me there rested and ready to explore.
The trip was called “Japan’s Cultural Treasures” and indeed treasures I saw, plus more than I expected.
Nearly half a million people cross Shibuya Crossing every day.
Today Tokyo is a modern city with glass and steel skyscrapers that shone in the sun, busy streets, an amazing subway system and many signature red and gold buildings and temples.
Oat Travel is immersive. We who book with them know we’re not tourists; we’re adventurers who will see behind the curtains of tourism into the lives of the people and culture.
Our first encounter put us face-to-face with former sumo wrestlers. We listened as they demonstrated their art, the history of sumo and its connection to Shinto religion. They must be at least 5-feet, 8-inches to compete, and they can weigh as much as 400 pounds of pure solid muscle.
A typical meal for a Sumo wrestler – eat healthy food in large portions.
I thought they’d eat non-stop, but quickly learned differently. Their meals are a chicken-broth base, a large amount of protein and vegetables. We joined them for lunch and I was pleasantly surprised at how great it tasted.
Several days later we drove to the town of Hakone to learn about the life of geishas. Contrary to Western opinion, geishas are not prostitutes. They are highly trained in the art of music, dance and entertainment. They learn to be engaged and attentive.
As we traveled Japan’s most famous icon – Mount Fuji – beckoned out the window of the bus. Her trademark snow-capped peak towered elegantly from the horizon. Of course we had the requisite photo stop from an overlook that includes several memorials and sculptures.
Back in Tokyo, we headed to the bullet-train station to Kanazawa on the west coast of the island. It took about 2.5 hours to travel by the bullet train for what would have taken nearly 6 and a quarter hours to drive the 275 miles.
Geisha are the epitome of elegance and grace.
In Kanazawa we visited a centuries-old castle and learned about silk-dying and lacquerware. The day included touring the Kenrokuen Garden, one of the most respected in Japan. Because we were there in winter, the gardens were covered in snow and a bit of sleet. Not much was blooming, but I spotted many native-Japanese camellias peeking out from the tall evergreen plants.
A stop in Nara, an early capital of Japan before Kyoto and Tokyo, introduced us to Todaiji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A 52-foot Buddha statue towered inside.
But it was what we saw outside that was the most fascinating. Nearly 100 tame free-roaming deer wandered the grounds. Traditionally thought of as messengers of the Shinto god Kasuga, they are protected and visitors are encouraged to feed them. The deer know how to work the crowd, too. Once you’ve given them a deer biscuit, they nod their heads and give a gentle bow.
Our destination of Kyoto held more “wow” experience, including an afternoon at a Samurai Kenbu Theater, where we were treated to an up-close demonstration of the martial art of Samurai swordplay, combined with dance.
In February, the crabapple trees are the first to break color. Cherry tree blossoms peak in March.
The breathtaking Fushimi Inari Shrine – with more than 10,000 red Japanese gates – meanders through up a forested mountain. Two parallel sets of paths, created by the gates, form the shrine that’s simply overwhelming.
You can’t go to Japan without experiencing Saki and Sushi. Oh, wait! Yes you can. Throughout our journeys I had successfully avoided eating any kind of fish or seafood – except tempura.
When the rest of our group were taken to a restaurant for a sushi-making experience, I ducked out and made my way to Nishiki Market, an incredibly modern shopping mall that offered everything from cooked and raw food, pharmacies, shoe-repair stores, household goods, purses, souvenirs and art.
On an early walk-through of the 400-meter-long market I spotted what I’d been thinking about since before I arrived in Japan: an antique shop that offered nothing but Japanese paintings and wood-block art.
Light shows entertain crowds as they wash over buildings and stairways.
If you’ve never experienced wood-block prints, you will be blown away by that first time. Wood-block printing, popular for centuries, was in vogue in the late 1800s and into the early 1900s. It just so happened that while my grandparents were in Japan, they purchased several pieces.
The art is made by cutting the reverse of a design into a wooden block, then inking that block and pressing it into paper. The process is repeated to create other components of the finished picture, each block separately cut and inked in a different color. It requires great skill to line up each block for each color’s printing. It’s hard to describe, but once you’ve seen a completed piece, you’ll understand.
One of the most famous wood-block artists – Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) – created a series of works called “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji,” completed between 1830 and 1832. His most famous from the series is called “Under the Wave” and it’s stunning.
I could never afford an original of any of his work, much less “Under the Wave,” so I decided to do the next best thing. The image has been put on fans, pressed into various sized commercial prints, mounted on tabletop screens and framed wood inlays. It was my dream come true.
Origami is becoming a lost art preserved by the elderly.
When I first landed in Japan, I began searching for images in various media of “Under the Wave.” I was pretty picky, leaning toward pieces with richer, more distinct wood-block prints, and I wasn’t disappointed.
Just so you know, I didn’t purchase an image of “Under the Wave” on a calendar or a T-shirt. That would have been too “cheesy.”
My trip to Japan was memorable. Even though we didn’t witness the cherry blossoms, some dark pink and white crabapples shared their beauty. Several days of snow, a trip on the bullet train and a chance to make fun and memorable photographs were worth the long flights.
By the way, the hotel rooms were inordinately small. In my single room with a single bed, I could barely open my suitcase. I learned to adjust. And the wonderful auto-flush heated Toto-brand toilet seats – everywhere: in the room, public restrooms and even in the monastery we visited on the top of a mountain more than made up for the few inconveniences!
Photos: by Pamela A. Keene
