By Max Hartshorne

In 2014, Japan’s Tourism officials were pleased to report a big surge in visitors from the US traveling to their country. While among the most insular of modern countries, especially when it comes to foreign languages, Japan remains an exotic bucket list destination to many Americans. In 2014, more than 881,000 U.S. citizens visited Japan, and overall the country had 13 million overseas visitors in 2014, a record number.

Why is Japan such an up and coming destination? We asked several women who visited Japan with Sights and Soul Travels about what they were hoping to experience on the trip and what it was like going there with Sights and Soul Travels.

Linda Pirard of Halifax, Nova Scotia, selected Sights and Soul for this trip because she had travelled with them before and found the quality of their trips perfect. “Good company, great hotels, good food, and very interesting experiences. I like to stay in only a couple of places and take day trips so that I do not feel I am living out of a suitcase. Also there is a perfect mixture of group activities and time for individual activity. In addition, the small size of the group is important to the ability to see things in a more intimate way,” she said.

Japan was a bucket list destination for her, so who better than S&S to take her there. “I had never been to Japan before, but it was on my list of places to see.” Like all of Sights and Soul’s trips, their journey to Japan in October 2015 is open to women only.

But Pirard said that the trip’s itinerary would also work as well for couples, but restricting the group size to a dozen people might be more difficult and surely the group dynamics would change.

“Traveling with a group of women is really very relaxing,” Pirard said. And a group of just twelve is a lot more pleasant for many than a 40-person delegation in a huge motorcoach.

“It is very difficult to pick one specific item from a trip that was filled with special moments, Pirard said. “I loved the intimacy of meeting artisans in their home/studio environments and the photos I have chosen reflect my interest in the people we met. However, if I had to pick a special time, it would be our visit to a traditional ryokan.
“I had such beautiful accommodations there that felt like I was living in Japan of old. A traditional hot tub bath, wonderful healthy Japanese food served beautifully, entertainment by geishas…….what more could a person ask for? I felt like I had died and gone to Japanese heaven!”

Flights to Japan are a long ordeal, and at a certain point it becomes very worth it to get an upgrade to premium economy or business class. A lie-flat bed makes the trip an overnight snooze instead of a slog.

“I was fortunate to travel business class so the trip was very manageable, however, I would advise people if you are travelling on day flights that you try not to take any more than a short nap so that if you arrive in the evening you can go to bed early and get right into the routine of the new time zone.

“This seems to help with jet lag at least for me,” Pirard said. “If I fly to Japan again. I will upgrade to business class.”It pays to be well rested, said Carolyn McLeod, who also visited Japan last year.

The advance material that was sent by Sights and Soul was very helpful in preparing for the trip and the cultural differences that should be respected, Pirard said. “I would suggest that as you are constantly removing your shoes to enter various venues, that comfortable shoes that can still be slipped on and off easily are a very good choice.”

Marilee gave this advice about the long airplane trip: “I wore comfortable workout pants. I had a neck pillow and a sweater. I watched a bunch of movies. It is important to get up and move around frequently. Try to get an aisle seat.”

“I don’t believe that there was anything extraordinary that you need on this trip that was not mentioned in the material that was sent in advance.” People would be well advised to learn the few Japanese expressions of politeness that were shared by the company, Pirard added.

Carolyn McLeod reflected on the highlights of her trip to Japan last year with Sights and Soul. She is a painter who lives in Reno, NV.

“I think the highlight of our trip was the morning and early afternoon that we spent at Shosuitei, a sukiya-style tea house located on the grounds of the Kyoto Imperial Palace.

We were given a flute and Ikebana demonstration and also shown how to wear a kimono. The setting was beautiful and our lunch was very good.”

She also especially enjoyed the visit to the Saiho-ji (Moss Temple) and garden in Kyoto. Marilee, from Georgia, said she was impressed when she called Sights and Soul after an internet search and spoke directly with owner Yolanta Barnes. “I was quite pleased with her enthusiasm and commitment to providing a unique Japan travel experience, especially for first time visitors.”

McLeod went to China in 1976 and she said she wished at the time that she had also gone to Japan. In college she studied Japanese art, history, and language. During the past year she resumed her Japanese studies. Just knowing a few words was helpful, she said. “One word I used a great deal was “sumimasen” (excuse me).”
Pirard agreed that the language can be a big barrier. “If you are on your own, English is not something you should expect people to speak and not many signs are printed in English. On the tour it is no problem as you have a translator at all times,” she said. Marilee agreed that it’s not that common for Japanese to automatically speak English. “It was not common for locals we met to speak English. Our guides did a lot of translating,” she said.

McLeod said that she picked Sights and Soul partly because she saw their ad in the National Museum of Women in the Arts Magazine. “I thought the tour would appeal to women artists or women specifically interested in Japanese art, history, and culture.”

“I’m sure there would have been some different selections on tours, etc. if this wasn’t a women-only trip. This was focused on experiences which would appeal to women. I was recently widowed, and did not want to travel with a tour of mainly couples,” she explained.

For Marilee, the trip’s highlight was meeting the artisans of Japan.

“All of the artisans were a pleasure. It’s hard to pick just one, but I have to go with the calligrapher. He actually worked with some of the abstract expressionists, and I am familiar with their work and could see the influences, especially Franz Kline,” she said.

Do you have any advice about visiting Japan that would have been helpful to know ahead of time that you can share?

“Don’t plan on unpacking your suitcase – there is no room. I would have arranged things differently.” Are there any items that people might not think to bring with them on this trip? “I wish I had brought disposable face cleaners. Washcloths weren’t provided. Otherwise I was fine,” said Marilee.

“The very small groups give a feeling of intimacy. There was real camaraderie. Many of the women had travelled with them before. I am already booked for my next two trips with Sights and Soul!”

Sights and Soul Women-only Trip to Japan:

October 23 – November 1, 2015
10 Days / 9 Nights
This tour starts in Kyoto and ends in Tokyo

Find out more at Sights and Soul’s website.