Experience Japanese Culture, Gardens & Bonsai In A Small Group

Have you ever considered to visit the Japan bonsai community and to experience Japanese culture?

Here is your opportunity to experience the Taikan Bonsai Exhibition, visit private bonsai collections, and Kyoto gardens. A visit to Tokoname to purchase bonsai containers is also available too!

In November Kora Dalager and I will be leading another one of our popular value-priced trips to Japan. Only a small number of members will be accepted for this tour so we will have ample time to fully appreciate the beauty and culture of Japan. Because of the timing of the Taikan Bonsai Exhibition we will celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday in Kyoto.

Omiya Bonsai Village, the mecca of bonsai, will be experienced, where you will see the top bonsai gardens where many of the famous masterpiece bonsai have been created and are maintained. You will have the opportunity to meet the top bonsai artists and see their trees, both outdoors and in small indoor displays. The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, near the village will be on the tour where formal instructive displays, in English, can be seen as well as formal bonsai alcove displays. You can then stroll through a large outdoor garden with masterpieces displayed throughout. Directly across the street we will experience a delicious traditional Japanese luncheon.

Bonsai artist Masahiko Kimura will be visited and here you can see many of the top evergreen bonsai in his small, intimate garden. He always has time for us and answers your questions as well.

A visit to Seiji Morimai’s nearby S-Cube bonsai garden is always a highlight because of friendly hospitality while seeing thousands of bonsai and suiseki. He also accepts credit cards as well…. Bonsai containers, at great prices as well as display tables and art are always popular with our groups.

Kiunio Kobayashi’s Shunka-en Bonsai Art Museum in Tokyo is a visit you will not forget. Here ten indoor formal bonsai displays will feature some of the finest, and most expensive bonsai in Japan. Outdoors a small koi pond is surrounded with other masterpieces. Having run out of room, another area has been constructed on top of the building holding antique containers and more suiseki. Truly a breathtaking experience!

A bullet train ride will bring you nearby views of famed Mt. Fuji on our way to Kyoto. November is the peak season for enjoying the red colorful Japanese maple leaves. They are featured in all the historical and famous gardens we will tour. Additionally we will visit Mr. Morimai’s new bonsai garden display in a 800 year old temple complex.

Of course, one of the main highlights of this special tour includes visits to the Taikan Bonsai Exhibition, one of the largest in Japan with nearly 300 bonsai formally displayed with scrolls, accessories and suiseki. The sales area is one of the largest in Japan.

Following the Kyoto visit we will travel to the Nagoya area for a special visit to a temple complex in the middle of a bamboo grove. After seeing a superb private bonsai collection we will have a traditional vegetarian lunch with a bamboo theme.

Finally we will make a stop to Tokoname, an ancient pottery town. Although most famous for toilet bowls, they are now well known for high quality bonsai containers. You will meet some of the top bonsai potters and also have the opportunity to watch them hand build bonsai containers in their factories. All the containers are offered at special discounted prices for our tour.

Join Kora Dalager and me for a special tour to experience Japanese culture and bonsai. Please contact Kora at dalagerkora@gmail.com for additional information. She can arrange special visits if you like.

A tour flyer is available