Dear Lifetime Member,

Japan was closed to the outside world for much of its history, and, like China, it’s a closed book to those who weren’t born there. That’s intentional. With franchise restaurants and western entertainment homogenizing the world it’s refreshing to swim in a monoculture where English is not the default language, etiquette is.

If you’ve never been, get ready to fall in love.

The Japan of Your Dreams—a NextTribe journey through Tokyo, Ise, Kyoto and the art island of Naoshima, where ryokans, sacred shrines, and the women keeping the country’s oldest traditions alive are waiting for you.

Join us next year for 12 days from September 14-25.

Check out the itinerary

You’ve seen the photos. Japan is beautiful. Clean. Comfortable, yet, so unfamiliar. Eye candy everywhere you turn. It’s a feast for the eyes, and ears—the quiet (even in crowds) will surprise you. It’s impolite to talk above a whisper on trains, and there are signs reminding you of that in English.

When you enter this country, you’re immersed in a culture where locals are taught from childhood that everyone’s well-being matters as much as yours. Where sustainability is not a buzzword, but a lifestyle.

How refreshing.

Japan has an abundance of shrines and temples. We take you to the one that matters most— Ise Jingu, the holiest site in Shintoism — dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu Omakami and the grain goddess Toyouke-hime. We give you free time in Tokyo and a free day in Kyoto to explore others, if that’s your thing.

This trip is built around working with your hands and meeting the women behind Japan's oldest crafts: a kintsugi artisan who mends broken pottery with gold, a Noh mask carver, a female sushi chef, and the legendary Ama pearl divers, who've been free-diving for shellfish since the 10th century.

Layer in a full day of contemporary art on Naoshima — an island given over almost entirely to underground museums and a Yayoi Kusama pumpkin on the shore — and you start to see why this trip goes so far past the postcard version of Japan.

And then there's the food: omakase sushi from a female chef; fresh, seafood grilled by the women who dove for it that morning; tempura; shabu shabu; and the best matcha and desserts you’ve ever tasted. Even the sweet treats, wagashi, change with the seasons and are prepared by family-owned confectioners like Toraya, family-owned and operated since 1336!

🎏 An origami workshop in Tokyo — slow, meditative, and harder than it looks, followed by an afternoon free to wander Ginza's gorgeous stores and food halls.

⛩️ Ise Jingu, the holiest site in Shintoism — with a Kagura dance performed by young priestesses and priests.

🥇 Kintsugi with a female artisan — the centuries-old art of mending broken ceramics with gold, followed by a private omakase dinner from a female sushi chef.

🦪 The Ama sea women of Osatsu — free-diving "sea women" who've fished without modern equipment since 927 AD, plus a morning of pearl accessory-making on a working oyster farm.

♨️ A ryokan stay on the Kii Peninsula — hot spring soaks, a coastline walk, and a BBQ lunch with a view of the sea that makes it hard to leave.

🎭 A Noh mask artisan in Kyoto — a rare afternoon with a female mask carver, walking us through the craft behind Japan's most enigmatic theater form.

🏝️ A full day on Naoshima, Japan's art island — underground galleries at the Chichu Art Museum, Benesse House, and the island's iconic yellow pumpkin.

🍲 Shabu shabu, izakaya, and everything in between — a hot pot lunch on the road to Kyoto and a lively farewell dinner in Tokyo to close out the trip.

We built this itinerary around women shaping Japan's oldest traditions — female artisans, a female sushi chef, a female Noh mask carver, the Ama divers — rather than around a checklist of famous names.

We're working with local partners who know NextTribe travelers: curious, adventurous, always up for the unscripted version of a place over the polished one.

You'll land in Tokyo for a welcome dinner at a traditional tempura bar in Ebisu, then ease in with an origami workshop and a wander through Ginza. From there, the Nezu Museum's garden, the shops of Kappabashi-dori, a session with a kintsugi artisan, and a private omakase dinner from a female sushi chef.

The Shinkasen (bullet train) whisks you to Ise Jingu, Shintoism's holiest shrine, before you check into a luxurious ryokan on the Kii Peninsula. Expect hot spring soaks and a grilled lunch by the water, plus time to soak in the scenery and relax. From there it's on to Kyoto — a shabu shabu lunch en route, an afternoon with a Noh mask artisan (a very popular experience last year), and a free day to explore at your own pace (or take on an easy hike from Kurama to Kifune).

Midweek, a bullet train to Okayama brings you to Korakuen Garden and the canal town of Kurashiki, followed by a ferry to Naoshima for a full day of contemporary art on Japan's art island. The bullet train returns you to Tokyo for one last afternoon to shop or simply watch the city hum, before a farewell dinner at a lively izakaya closes out the trip.

Dates: September 14–25, 2027

🔥 Here is your early bird pricing.

$6,999 for doubles

$8,299 for singles

PRICE GOES UP AUG. 21st: Tick Tock

$500

DEPOSIT

+

11 PAYMENTS (Interest Free)

Starting August 24

As Lifetime Members, you’re the first to know about this new trip. Next week, we’ll notify other members that the trip is available. Then we’ll open bookings to the public.

Remember price increases on August 21st.

So if you’re interested, don’t hesitate! Save your spot for $500!

Jeannie Ralston, Co-founder and CEO