Griffin Travel | Japan April 2025

Nobechi Creative is proud to work in partnership with the Griffin Museum of Photography on a specially curated trip featuring four UNESCO World Heritage locations and events in one journey, and one of the most respected and decorated photographers of our lifetimes, the incomparable, legendaryJane Evelyn Atwood.

The trip has been meticulously laid out by George Nobechi, featuring some of the very best locations, crafts and events that the Hokuriku Region of Japan has to offer. The journey is a glimpse into “true” Japan and features some of the most amazing sights, sounds, smells and tastes from this fascinating country.

OVERVIEW

Arrival at Tokyo

On the first day in Tokyo, we will explore some of the famed drinking alleys under the railroad tracks in the heart of the Metropolis, while checking out contemporary architecture and high fashion in nearby Ginza. Dinner will be at a classic restaurant under the tracks – one of the highlights of every tour we create. We will stay one night in a conveniently located hotel right next to Tokyo Station for our morning departure.

Sea of Japan Coast | Kanazawa

The next morning we will travel to the Sea of Japan Coast via bullet train, arriving at Kanazawa – often described as a “second Kyoto” and former capital of the Kaga Domain – one of the most prosperous domains of the feudal period. That prosperity led to the creation of a vibrant teahouse district (aka geisha district), an impressive castle, samurai houses and one of Japan’s most magnificent gardens, Kenroku-en. In the present day it also features an impressive selection of modern museums and culinary delights, as well as one of Japan’s most vibrant fish markets, especially in light of the closure of the famed Tokyo Tsukiji Fish Market several years ago. Here we will be staying at a Japanese hotel featuring artwork from various local artisans and artists. The hotel boasts spacious rooms with great showers, comfortable beds, while featuring Japanese design. The breakfast has consistently been voted a Top 10 hotel breakfast in Japan.

Gokayama Valley

After three nights in Kanazawa, a private bus will drive us into the Gokayama Valley, site of several World Heritage site villages featuring thatched roof houses with steep A-Frames. On the way to Gokayama, we will stop for the more famous Shirakawa-go these days is inundated with tourists, but these villages remain quiet by comparison, and their settings nestled into a narrow river valley surrounded by mountains is nothing short of breathtaking. Best of all, to have access to the village when day trippers are not allowed (early mornings and after sunset), we will be staying in several of these farmhouses – experiencing traditional Japanese rural life. Nobechi Creative has long partnered with Gokayama, allowing for these special experiences where groups of foreigners are usually not able to go. We will spend two nights in the village.

Our next stop takes us another 90 minutes south into the mountains to visit one of our favorite small cities – Takayama – known for its historic old town and folk crafts. Thanks to our decade-long connection to the city and the support of local town officials and guides, we will have access to traditional crafts people such as nationally recognized ceramicists who supply to the Imperial Family, wood carvers and lacquerists, as well as soy sauce and miso makers, and sake makers – sake-making is also now recognized as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage process. Three days in the city will give us plenty of time to explore, and we will also have the opportunity to enjoy a fabulous Hida Beef dinner (the beef is often said to be better than even Kobe beef; there is a seafood option for those that are not red meat eaters).

On the final morning before we depart, another UNESCO World Heritage event will take place – the Spring Festival of Takayama, where a dozen marionette-carrying floats made of elaborate wood, lacquer and gold leaf and featuring musicians and processions of citizens dressed in traditional festival costumes will take place. This is a truly spectacular event and draws thousands of people from all over the world each year.

Mino

To escape from the crowds, next, we will travel further down the valley toward the south, arriving at Mino – a merchant town that was a feeder community to nearby Gifu Castle, one of Central Japan’s key domains. There we will stay in the former guesthouse of the richest merchant of the town, with gorgeous rooms that have been reappointed, each in its own unique style. This will be the most luxurious and unique inn in which we stay. The next day, we will learn more about washi, the final UNESCO World Heritage experience of the journey. After our two nights in Mino, we will return to Tokyo via local and bullet trains, keeping our eye out for Mt. Fuji along the way.

Our final night will be celebrated with a farewell dinner and a night spent in an art hotel in Tokyo.

Your trip will be supported and led by Fernanda De Icaza, our most experienced workshop coordinator, Hisa – our special local contact in Takayama and Kanazawa, and certified bilingual guide, who has also been part of numerous Nobechi Creative workshops, and managed and supported by George Nobechi, who will be with you for the beginning portion of the journey.

And then there is the star of the tour herself : Jane Evelyn Atwood. Alfred Eisenstadt award winner, Leica Oskar Barnack award winner, W. Eugene Smith award winner – a legendary photographer exhibited all over the world. We are proud to be her exclusive partner for workshops and tours in this part of the world. Here is a short video about Jane:

Jane will be giving lectures about her work at various junctures throughout the trip, and will be giving you feedback on your images as you travel.

Jane Evelyn Atwood was born in New York and has been living in France since 1971. Her work reflects a deep involvement with her subjects over long periods of time. Fascinated by people and by the idea of exclusion, she has managed to penetrate worlds that most of us do not know, or choose to ignore.

In 1976, Atwood bought her first camera and began taking pictures of a group of street prostitutes in Paris. It was partly on the strength of these photographs that she received the first W . Eugene Smith Award, in 1980, for another story she had just started: blind children. Prior to this, she had never published a photo.

Atwood limits her stories to those which truly compel her, devoting to each subject the time necessary (in some cases, years) to explore it in depth. In 1989 she started to photograph incarcerated women, eventually managing to gain access to some of the world’s worst penitentiaries and jails, including death row. This monumental ten-year undertaking (encompassing forty prisons in nine countries of Europe and Eastern Europe, and the United States) remains the definitive photographic work on women in prison to date. It was published as a book in both English and French in 2000 and continues to be exhibited internationally.

Jane Evelyn Atwood describes her method of work as “obsessive”. She does not move on to a new subject until she feels she has completely understood the one at hand and her own relation to it, and until she believes that her pictures reflect this understanding.

TUITION

$8,995 per person double occupancy. Single supplement: $1250

Valentine’s Special: Register by February 14, 2025 and save $400 on your single supplement – first come first served up to a maximum of 4 people ($850 instead of $1250)

Please do not purchase airfare until the trip is confirmed a go.

The trip requires 7 participants to proceed and has a maximum of 8~10 participants. (Depending on duos and singles)

ONE SPOT IS AVAILABLE! Join us for this amazing immersive opportunity

Class size:

minimum of 6 participants, limited to 8 participants

Class level:

Intermediate-to-advanced amateurs and professional photographers

Itinerary

• April 5: Meet in Tokyo, stay in Tokyo
• April 6, 7 and 8: Kanazawa
• April 9, 10: Gokayama World Heritage
• April 11, 12 and 13: Takayama
• April 14, 15: Mino
• April 16: Tokyo
• an optional bonus day in Tokyo can be arranged. Let us know if you are interested in an extension and Tokyo excursion.
• *Subject to final arrangements.

Included on the trip

The trip includes 12 nights in well appointed unique accommodations, 10 dinners, with 2 dinners free for people in towns that have lots of great options. 2 lunches will be provided when we are on the move.

• Two nights at a hotel in Tokyo, the first and last day
• Three nights at a contemporary Japanese-design hotel in Kanazawa
• Two nights in a traditional thatched roof farmhouse converted into guest houses in Gokayama
• Three nights in Takayama
• Two nights in Mino. We will say in a converted merchant mansion and warehouse
• All domestic travel in the itinerary: bullet train, local train, rental cars, and taxis.
• All admissions to sites and museums
• Personalized instruction from our photographer instructor
• Logistical support from Nobechi Creative
• Detailed itinerary and information package on Japan and the destinations

Not Included on the Trip –

•  International airfare
• Travel insurance
• Alcohol
• Meals not in the itinerary, snacks and sundries, etc.

Let us know if you have any questions about the trip. Contact Crista Dix at the museum by phone at 781.729.1158 or by email here.

The Griffin Museum will send confirmation of deposit upon receipt. After registration, more information about the trip will be sent from Nobechi Creative in early 2025.