Overview

Nagai Sake Brewery was founded in 1886 in Gunma Prefecture’s Kawaba Village, a locale brimming with natural beauty. In this experience, tour the brewery’s terroir – the natural environment whose distinctive features all factor into the flavor of its sake. Enjoy a toast at the source of the natural waters which are crucial to the sake’s brewing process, and a tour of the fields of rice from the town’s special brand of Yukinhotaka rice is grown. Finally, enjoy a tasting of three signature brands of Nagai sake at their special “SHINKA” tasting room. You can also visit the Koshinkan sake direct sales shop, and the Denen Plaza Roadside Station to delight in a variety of local produce. This short trip will be packed with the delightful nature, food, and drink of Kawaba Village.

Key Features

• Exclusive to Wabunka, explore the environment of Nagai Sake Brewery in Gunma’s Kawaba Village, approximately an hour and a half to two hours from Tokyo
• Enjoy use of the exclusive tasting room with optional food pairing (additional fees apply)
• A fulfilling half-day spent learning the history of this sake and enjoying an observation of its brewing – traditional and innovative alike – with all five senses

Overview

Experience the traditional Japanese Zen practices of seated meditation (zazen) and shakuhachi flute meditation (suizen). Lenzan Kudo is your guide, a shakuhachi player whose work transcends borders between nations and musical genres. The venue for the experience is the historic retreat of Tokoan, ensconced in the secluded nature-rich Ashinoyu, Hakone, where scholars of ages past are said to have held gatherings between dips in the local hot spring. Here you can take in the sound of the shakuhachi bamboo flute as played by Lenzan, as well as try suizen, a form of ascetic Zen training performed with this instrument. CDs featuring Lenzan’s shakuhachi performances are also available for purchase on site (including a Hi-Res download code), for a chance to take a little of the experience home with you.

Key Features

• Luxuriate in the music of shakuhachi master Lenzan Kudo at Tokoan, not far from Hakone’s Ashinoyu hot spring
• Zazen seated meditation and suizen flute meditation immerse you in the worldview of Zen, release you from distraction, and allow you to better hear your own inner voice
• In the end, enjoy spending some time with Lenzan over tea and wagashi confections

Overview

At  Kura and Tea Room AWAI in Kamakura, calm your senses as you paint a water-themed Buddhist mandala in a serene, thoughtfully designed space. Then, take photos of your finished mandala, enjoy relaxed chat, and take home your finished creation. As this experience requires focusing your attention on your mandala, it can feel quite similar to meditation, allowing you to gain insight into Japanese spirituality.

Key Features

• Experience e-shakyo — hand-copying Buddhist imagery — in a tranquil private space within a restored kura (storehouse) 
• Paint a water-themed mandala designed by artist Mami Otaki, and take your finished work home
• A calming meditative experience for those interested in art, Buddhism, and Japanese spirituality

Overview

Create a “Keshikifu” (“Windswept Landscape”) work of landscape-style flower art inspired by ikebana traditions at a quiet atelier in Kita-Kamakura. Under the attentive guidance of flower artist Norihiko Kamei, immerse yourself completely in calm meditative work with colorful flowers and experience uniquely Japanese aesthetics.

Key Features

• Private instruction in creative flower arrangement reflecting the aesthetics of traditional flower arrangement and tea ceremony at the atelier of a professional artist.
• Render a scenic and fragrant windswept landscape vista that fits into the palm of your hand by fitting flowers into a floatstone base.
• Your work of art can also freshen the air of any room by applying custom aroma oil created by a perfumer blending the unique natural scents of Japan.

Overview

Deeply-rooted traditional Japanese culture is alive and well at Kamakura Hanko, a specialty producer and purveyor of hanko stamps and seals. In this experience, you will work directly with one of Japan’s leading artisans to create a personal seal of your own. Learn the fascinating history of this craft and its traditions from third-generation Kamakura Hanko owner Mitsuhiro Tsukino before designing your own personal seal by choosing its material and lettering. These seals, full of craft soul, can legally be registered as certified personal seals in Japan (used in a way akin to signatures in official documents), but they feature such beautiful craftsmanship that you may just want to use them as display pieces instead. You can choose to pick up your completed seal, certificate, and case later on the day of the experience or have it shipped to you.

Key Features

• Learn all about the personal seal culture of Japan in the ancient capital of Kamakura, and witness the craft skills of those who carry on this tradition
• Receive personalized guidance from Tsukino on selecting materials, typefaces, and lettering to create a seal tailored to you
• Take home your hand-finished seal in a beautiful carrying case, with optional paid upgrades such as Nishijin kimono weave or Imari-yaki porcelain

*For those interested in creating a top quality Mikkoku seal, check out the
Create a Top Quality Mikkoku Seal at a Longstanding Specialty Shop in Kamakura [ Premium Plan ]

Overview

Explore the world of Japanese calligraphy in this Wabunka-exclusive experience. The setting is the Former Murakami Residence, a century-old traditional villa and tea room set in the hills of Kamakura. The lesson is led by Setsuhi Shiraishi, a master calligrapher who has developed the traditional practice into a comprehensive art form. Focusing on minute brush movements in such tranquil surroundings, guests will explore a space that refines both intellect and artistic sensitivity.

Key Features

• Learn calligraphy in the tea room of a 100-year-old villa in Kamakura
• A beginner-friendly lesson led by world-renowned calligrapher Setsuhi Shiraishi
• Finished work will be displayed in the tea room for viewing and photos
• (Optional) Enjoy a private calligraphy performance by Ms. Shiraishi

Overview

Ashigarigo Setoyashiki was built three centuries ago as the residence of the ruling Seto family. Visit this villa and indulge in a lost Japanese lifestyle as you relax on tatami mats around a traditional stove. Enjoy a delicious lunch made with local ingredients, take a tour around the nearby town of Kaisei, and try your hand at harvesting vegetables.

Key Features

• Experience a relaxed way of life in a historic rural villa
• Feel the shift of the seasons with local food
• Stay in the villa until 5pm, even after the experience is over

Overview

Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement, is an ancient cultural tradition. This plan offers the chance to experience it in the Kajiinomiya Goryu style, which got its start in the historic Sanzen-in Temple – also known as Kajii Monzeki – in the Ohara area of Kyoto. Your teacher and guide into this traditional art form is Isshosai Socho Fujiwara, the 21st iemoto (house headmaster) of the Kajiinomiya Goryu. When you have finished creating your arrangement, enjoy a photo shoot of it followed by tea and sweets and a chance to sit and chat with the iemoto of this historic school. The experience finishes with a stroll to luxuriate in the seasonal natural landscape and historic buildings of Sankei-en, a traditional garden registered as a Nationally Designated Scenic Spot.

Key Features

• Stroll the vast traditional garden grounds of Sankei-en, a must-see sightseeing spot in Yokohama, taking in its seasonal natural scenery and numerous historic buildings
• Enjoy private use of a room at the Kakushokaku, a tangible cultural property, experiencing ikebana in a space normally closed to the general public
• Receive special direct instruction from the highest authority of the historic ikebana school of Kajiinomiya Goryu, which originated from Sanzen-in Temple in Ohara, Kyoto

Overview

Yabusame is the ancient traditional art of mounted archery, in which a rider on horseback shoots at consecutive targets during a gallop. In this plan, guests can experience yabusame or the related traditional art of kyudo, archery performed on foot – along with a guided tour of Nikko Toshogu Shrine, a World Heritage site. The Yabusame instructors here are practitioners of the Ogasawara style, a traditional school of samurai arts since the Kamakura period that practices not only archery, but samurai etiquette as well. This is a poignant opportunity for a deep dive into the samurai spirit, rooted in a depth and breadth of rich cultural and historical heritage ensconced in the gorgeous natural environs of Nikko.

Key Features

• Practice kyudo or yabusame (non-mounted and mounted archery, respectively) in Nikko, a historic town with deep ties to Japan’s historical samurai government.
• Experience the samurai spirit through heritage instruction from a disciple of the Ogasawara school in the basic etiquette of the martial arts, yabusame and kyudo.
• Offer prayers and take a guided tour at the Nikko Toshogu Shrine World Heritage site, where Tokugawa Ieyasu – first shogun of the Edo shogunate – is interred.

*In the event of rain, yabusame cannot be performed, and the experience will focus on kyudo instead.

Overview

A mere 15-minute train ride from Nagoya station sits the Tamesaburo Memorial Hall, a former manor residence and registered tangible cultural property. Ensconced in the hall’s traditional garden is the beautiful Chisoku-an tearoom, which guests in this experience can enjoy private use of for a journey of learning and discovery with a world-class master of incense. Monko is the traditional art of appreciating the aromas of incense and deriving deeper spiritual and mental benefits from them. Dive even further into the depths of Japanese spirit and culture in a tour of the contemporary manor itself, and its adjacent art museum.

Key Features

• Experience kodo incense ceremony in the Chisoku-an tearoom, normally off-limits to public visitors, in the historic residence of industry tycoon Tamesaburo Furukawa (which is today a registered national tangible cultural property)
• Discover the art of monko incense appreciation with three different fragrances under the guidance of a professional expert researcher on incense’s and its history stretching back to the 6th Century
• Immerse yourself in the joys of Japanese culture with all five senses

*You may also be interested in this experience in the same location:
Tea Ceremony Experience with Precious Museum Collection Utensils in a Private Nagoya Tearoom

Overview

This experience takes guests into the private Chisoku-an Tearoom within the garden annex of the Tamesaburo Memorial Museum, located a brief 15 minute train ride from Nagoya Station. In this private space normally closed even to museum visitors, use precious masterpiece tea utensils and vessels chosen specifically for you to experience a truly Japanese sense of aesthetics and hospitality through a tour of the manor, its museum, and the tearoom venue itself.

Key Features

• In a Wabunka exclusive, enjoy tea ceremony in the normally off-limits tearoom in the former residence – a nationally-registered tangible cultural property – of Tamesaburo Furukawa, a prominent Bubble-era Japanese business magnate and philanthropist
• Drink tea brewed with and served in precious museum collection utensils
• Savor the richness of Japanese culture and the lifestyle of an industry mogul through a tour of the manor and its museum facilities

*You may also be interested in this experience in the same location:
Kodo Incense Ceremony, a Nagoya Tradition and Intangible Cultural Property led by master

Overview

Dive into over 1,300 years of tradition by watching cormorant fishing, where master fishermen work with cormorants to catch sweetfish. Your journey begins on the bank of Gifu’s Nagara River, where a hokan (male geisha), maiko (apprentice geisha) and jikata (geisha specializing in music), will welcome you onto a luxury boat reserved just for you. Savor an exquisite dinner bento as they entertain you through dance and music performances and a traditional game. After a special talk and cormorant demonstration by a fishing master, see the action up close and appreciate their skilled teamwork, made possible by a lifetime of trust and commitment.

Key Features

• Observe cormorant fishing up close from a private luxury boat after a special talk and demonstration from a fishing master
• Enjoy traditional dance and music performances by Gifu’s hokan, maiko, and jikata
• Indulge in a Japanese dinner bento featuring sweetfish and seasonal ingredients

*This experience will be held for a limited time only: May 11th-Oct 15th, 2025

Overview

Enjoy a private tour of one of Japan’s oldest and most storied temples: Taima-dera in the ancient city of Katsuragi. In this exclusive plan, guests will visit the temple's most holy halls, try their hand at the practice of sutra-copying and painting, and enjoy matcha tea in the temple’s famous tea room.

Key Features

• Enjoy privileged access to Taima-dera, an ancient temple rich in myth and legend
• Practice the traditional art of sutra transcription and copy elements from the temple’s famous mandala
• Enjoy matcha tea in a tea room once designated a National Treasure

Overview

Located in Nara, which is said to be the birthplace of refined sake, is the distinguished, long-running Umenoyado Brewery. Take a private tour of this brewery, which has been in business for over 130 years, then enjoy an exclusive sake-tasting session in a VIP room. Try Umenoyado's signature sake and a range of sake-based liqueurs made with plums, yuzu, and more. Look forward to the various ways the drinks change in taste depending on the type of drinking vessel, the temperature, and the light snacks they are paired with.

Key Features

• Take a private tour of a sake brewery with over 130 years of history on this Wabunka-exclusive plan
• In a VIP room that is not accessible on the brewery's regular tours, taste five of Umenoyado's representative sake, as well as several sake-based liqueurs, as your guide provides commentary
• While pairing your drinks with snacks, enjoy the changes in the sake's taste and aroma due to factors such as the drinking vessel and temperature

Overview

The Soto sect temple of Shitennoji in Mie Prefecture’s Tsu City carries over a millennium of history. Here, approximately two hours from Kyoto by train, visitors can experience the lifestyle of a temple monk alongside the philosophy and traditions of Zen. Experience zazen meditation in a tranquility far removed from the everyday. Deepen your understanding of Zen and experience temple life with a private lesson in its ways, as well as a guided tour of the temple grounds directly from the temple’s globally-active 54th chief priest – as well as a cooking demonstration and a tasting of vegetarian temple devotional cuisine.

Key Features

• Experience the temple monk’s life and the Buddhist worldview through zazen meditation and samuzen aesthetic practice
• Self-reflect while basking in the temple’s unique quiet and tranquility, worlds away from workaday concerns
• After experiencing Zen with all five senses through shojin ryori vegetarian devotional cuisine, learn about its philosophy in a direct chat with the temple’s chief priest

Overview

With a long history dating back to over 1,100 years ago, Sumadera in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture is a temple associated with the Genpei War, a five-year-long battle that was immortalized in the epic Heike Monogatari — The Tale of the Heike. This temple is also in possession of the oldest surviving sumagoto, a single-stringed koto zither.
On this experience, discover the real-life history behind the Tale of the Heike and related legends as you tour Sumadera with a monk. See artifacts that have been designated as Important Cultural Properties, as well as prized treasures from the temple’s collection — including the aforementioned sumagoto. As you tour the premises, visit landmarks with a connection to the Genpei War, and step foot into Sumadera’s inner sanctuary — normally off-limits to the general public. Finally, you’ll watch and listen to a sumagoto performance and try playing this instrument yourself.

Key Features

• Trace the long and rich history of one of Kobe’s oldest temples, and uncover the tales and legends associated with it
• As you tour the temple grounds with a monk, visit historical landmarks associated with the Genpei War and enter the inner sanctuary, normally off-limits to the public
• See the oldest surviving sumagoto — a single-stringed koto zither — in existence, then enjoy a sumagoto performance, and learn to play this instrument on your own

Overview

Bonsai is a trend on the rise around the world in recent years. Learn this traditional Japanese planting craft directly from Bonsai Suishoen owner and accomplished bonsai artist Koji Matsusue in this exclusive Wabunka plan. After a perusal of the garden and a demonstration of Matsusue’s work, get hands on with bonsai yourself. Using a roughly 10-year-old bonsai tree, practice pruning branches with shears and wiring them to direct their growth. You’re sure to delight in the details of this craft.

Key Features

• Learn all about bonsai from an experienced professional who has taught the art extensively overseas, and watch him work up close in this Wabunka exclusive plan.
• Dig deep into the fundamentals of bonsai, from viewing to doing – ideal for the beginner hoping to start on a firm foundation.
• Experience creating a bonsai tree using an approximately 10-year-old specimen, under the attentive, personalized, and easy-to-follow guidance of a professional.

Those interested in bonsai may also be interested in this related plan:
Authentic Bonsai Experience Using Century-old Trees, Taught by a Professional at Suishoen in Hyogo

Overview

Founded in 1839 in Hyogo prefecture’s verdant Kasai city, Fukunishiki brewery produces junmai pure rice sake exclusively, and uses only locally-sourced Kasai rice. The exclusive Wabunka experience begins with a brewery tour otherwise not available to the public, followed by a sake tasting, lunch, and dessert at Fukugura, the brewery’s in-house restaurant. As a keepsake, take home a bottle of sparkling sake or junmai ginjo sake, both top-selling souvenirs. Taste the local spirit in every sip of Fukunishiki’s sake.

Key Features

• With a sake brewer as your guide, tour the brewery and enjoy a sake tasting.
• Sit down to a “Fukukura bento” lunch made with fresh local ingredients, drink, and dessert.
• Take home a souvenir bottle of the popular sparkling sake or junmai ginjo sake.

*Sake brewing activities can be observed only during the winter brewing season (late September to late April)

Overview

In Shiga Prefecture, home to Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake, a rich fermentation culture thrives. Join brewer and fermentation expert Kotaro Ikejima, also known as "Happy Taro," at his brewery near Lake Biwa to discover Japanese fermentation traditions. Under Ikejima’s guidance, you will learn to make shiro-miso (white miso), a twist on traditional fermented seasoning, and taste various fermented foods, including miso and doburoku (unfiltered sake).

Key Features

• Experience Japanese fermentation culture near Lake Biwa
• Take home your own white miso, ready to eat after 10 days of aging, along with two original miso recipes
• Taste and compare three types of miso and three types of doburoku
• Optionally, enjoy sweets made with koji for a additional fee

Overview

Northern Wakayama Prefecture’s legendary Koyasan (Mount Koya) is a major holy site and pilgrimage destination for the esoteric Shingon Buddhism founded approximately twelve centuries ago by the originator of the sect, Kukai (also known posthumously as Kobo Daishi). This plan offers a chance to visit Shojoshin-ina, Special Head Temple of the complex, a stone’s throw from popular pilgrimage site Okuno-in, for a look at its precious treasures and an experience making zuko powdered incense. After the experience, sample Koyasan’s traditional sesame tofu at the Tempu Terrace complex and enjoy a Wabunka-exclusive lunch course of locally sourced ingredients. Relax in this sacred space in the clouds, where Kobo Daishi’s prayers resound to this day.

Key Features

• A Wabunka exclusive tour and incense-making experience at the Koyasan special head temple Shojoshin-in, using the traditional fragrance of the temple complex
• Enjoy a tasting of two varieties of tofu with five different toppings, used in the Shojingu ritual food offering to Kobo Daishi
• Delight in a lunch course bursting with local and traditional ingredients
• Especially recommended as a plan for guests lodging at a Koyasan temple