Kaji Aso Studio ”Tea and Culture”

Japan 2008 Kaji Aso Studio continues to offer

popular art tours to Japan. This year’s tour will be primarily focused on Japanese Tea Ceremony. During this years tour participants will have a chance to visit several Tea houses and gardens, some are distinguished by being classified as World Heritage sites.. They will have a chance to see a tea farm also pastry shops where confections are made for the Tea Ceremony. Everyone will have a chance to make a Tea bowl and of course experience Tea Ceremony. We call our tour an art tour because we include a ceramics workshop in Izu, we visit temples which house some of the most important Japanese art works, and we include sketching and painting sessions in during our tours. Daily activities will include; visiting temples, gardens, and museums, painting and sketching sessions, shopping and dinning out, as well as visiting little known places of beauty that we have discovered over the years.

Art Tour of Japan from July 30 th through August 12 th 2008.

Total cost of this tour is $4500

This price includes everything: air fare (from Boston), dinner and breakfast, lodgings, passes to museums and temples, ground travel and more. Extra expenses would include lunch and cocktails.

Hotel accommodations are for double occupancy rooms. Private rooms are available at an additional fee of $550.00. Please see the itinerary inside.

From

: Kaji A

so Studio

40 Saint Stephen Street

Boston, M

A 02115

USA

Kaji Aso Studio Art Tours Japan 2008 – “Tea and Culture”

July 30 th Wednesday Leave Boston for Japan.

July 31 st Thursday We arrive in Tokyo Japan. After our long travel we will enjoy a light dinner and evening stroll through Ginza.

August 1 st Friday The day will be spent in Tokyo touring Museums, gardens and shops. After breakfast we will take the train to view a top class collection of Uki­yo­e

(woodblock) prints at a distinctive gallery. Then we will walk and shop in the historic Ueno district

August 2 nd Saturday We begin with an early departure from Tokyo station. The train takes about 2.5 hours to Izu Peninsula and Gandenji ceramics studio.

After a light lunch we meet with the teachers at Gandenji and start to make our own Tea Bowls.

August 3 rd Sunday During our travel in Izu we will have the fortune to stay at a traditional Japanese Inn Famous for it’s hospitality, good food and hot spring

bath.

August 4 th Monday We leave early to travel to Nara . On the way we will spend some hours at a small Tea farm in Shizuoka and learn about the process of

growing tea and preparing it for “Mancha” the grade of tea used Tea Ceremony.

August 5 th Tuesday Today we will visit three important temples and shrines near our inn in Nara. First we will tour the grounds at Kofukuji. Then we will walk towards the Kasuga Shrine, one of the most important Shinto shrines in Japan. After

lunch we will walk to Todai­ji temple home of the largest Buddha statue in the world.

August6 th Wednesday We will leave the city Nara and travel to Horyu­ji, one of the earliest temples built by Shotoku Taishi. Many famous gardens and examples of Buddha

statues are here for us to see. We will eat lunch here before heading back to Nara.

August 7 th Thursday After breakfast we board the train and leave for Kyoto. On the Southern end of Kyoto is the Uji river and the city of Uji Uji is recognized for

producing the best Green Tea of Japan . We will stop here and visit the famous Byo­do­in and Tofku­ji as well.

August 8 th Friday Kyoto is a city of Gardens and Temples. Today we will visit the Famous Moss Garden just outside Kyoto. Over 120 varieties of mosses are growing here as well as two small Tea houses. We lunch then return to Kyoto and from our Inn we can visit pastry shops which produce confections used in

Tea Ceremony.

August 9 th Saturday We will visit the Imperial gardens Kasudera where some of the most beautiful examples of gardens in Japan On the grounds we can view several

distinctive Tea Houses.

August 10 th Sunday Will visit the Ginkakuji Temple in the morning and take the Philosophers path from there to our Inn. After some refreshment we take the Bullet Train to Tokyo.

August 11 th Monday Some surprises awaits us this last day in Tokyo Visiting the Ginza, A formal Tea Ceremony after which we celebrate with our farewell dinner.

August 12 th Tuesday depart Tokyo for Boston (Itinerary may be subject to change)

Registration deadline April 14 th

Visit the website www.kajiasostudio.com to learn more about this years tour and future tours

Kaji Aso Studio c/o Gary Tucker 40 St Stephen Street Boston, Mass 02115 617 247 1719 administrator@kajiasostudio.com