If you love Japanese food and would like to engage with the culture, this trip is for you; seize the opportunity and sign up soon! Sobremesa Culinary Tours have spent lots of time researching, to construct an off-the-beaten-path trip for you that would be impossible to access on your own.
Sample daily itinerary
Day 1: Arrival
After arriving in Kyoto individually, the group will meet up on the first evening at your hotel, a combination between a traditional Japanese guesthouse with tatami mats and futons, but with private bathrooms. You will celebrate your first gathering over a Kyoto obanzai style dinner prepared with fresh, seasonal ingredients in a very old machiya.
Day 2 - 3: Explore Kyoto
The next two days will be spent exploring Kyoto and experiencing the rich, enticing beauty its culture has to offer. In addition to delicious meals, in restaurants and even in local homes, you will take part actively in the culture by means of tea ceremony and a Japanese craft lesson in a machiya. There will also be some free time, to either visit more temples and gardens (Kyoto has so many!) or peruse some of Camila's favorite local shops. Spring is also the time of year for outside promenading by the Kamo river.
Day 4: Kyoto - Kanazawa
On the morning of the fourth day, you depart on the train towards Kanazawa, where you will visit Kenroku-en garden, known as one of the three great gardens of Japan. Its name means "garden which combines six characteristics" - the six aspects considered important for an ideal garden: spaciousness, serenity, venerability, scenic views, subtle design, and coolness.
Day 5: Explore Kanazawa
The next day has something very special in store: a visit, workshop, and lunch at a 150 year-old, family-run pickle shop. You never imagined pickles could be this good, or this varied. And don't get started about their gelato! Sobremesa Culinary Tours' personal favorites are the miso or the umeboshi flavors. In the afternoon, you will visit the geisha district; Kanazawa is one of the few cities in Japan to have a still functioning geisha district or chayagai.
Day 6 - 7: Arrive and explore the mountain village
The following morning, you will head towards your third destination tucked away in the mountains north of Kyoto. After enjoying a special local dinner prepared by your hostess, you will spend the night at your peaceful riverside accommodation preparing for the exciting things the next two days in the village have in store, which all explore themes of cooking and craft, and include some fun workshops as well as visits to local craftspeople in their element.
Day 8 - 9: Kyoto - Departure
Today, you head back to Kyoto, where you will have some free time for that last-minute whatever-I-want. A kaiseki style dinner will mark your last evening together, and in case you're still hungry, you will share a last traditional Japanese breakfast before saying goodbye on day nine, your hearts and bellies full and happy.
