Experience Traditional Culture in the Historic City of Himeji

Witness Japanese history and traditional culture in your own private space!

On this traditional culture tour, spend meaningful time in Himeji, a city where history abounds, and meet the people who keep Japanese traditions alive. Your travels in Himeji will transform normal sightseeing to meaningful encounters.

The tour includes an exclusive nighttime visit to Himeji Castle accompanied by one of Japan's leading researchers on Himeji Castle, who will also provide commentary. The tour also includes a seminar on Japanese swords directly from the Myochin family, who have carried on the swordsmithing tradition in Himeji for 53 generations.

The Japanese sword seminar takes place at the Myochin family's own workshop, where you will learn about the process of making swords from special tamahagane steel using ancient Japanese methods. After learning about the process, visitors can handle a genuine Japanese sword and experience forming the hot steel with a mallet.

Next, receive instruction in Zen meditation at the prestigious Shoshazan Engyoji Temple, founded over 1,000 years ago, directly from the temple's 141st abbot. The secluded mountaintop location and sacred atmosphere, far from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, is a great spot for a moment to relax. The temple also offers a chance to experience traditional monastic vegetarian cooking and to work with artisans who produce shosha-nuri lacquerware which is unique to the region.

If you want to learn more about art and other aspects of Japanese culture, tours of the Himeji City Museum of Art with commentary by curators are also available.

This is a private tour, so you are able to choose the experiences that interest you and combine them to make your ideal trip.