Kyoto Hike

13- 23 DECEMBER 2027

Join Asian Studies professor Livia Kohn on a wonderful study tour covering the temples, gardens, and museums of Japan. Enjoy impressive culture, beautiful scenery, amazing art, delicious food, and steaming hot tubs while learning first-hand about Japanese culture, religion, and lifestyle.

Day 1: Leave your home country to fly to Japan.

Day 2: Arrive in Osaka, either Kansai (international) or Itami (domestic) and transfer to the hotel.

Day 3: Visit Kiyomizu temple, dedicated to Kannon, then climb Mt. Inari, the sanctuary of the fox deity, and move on to enjoy Tofukuji, a major Zen institution with its spectacular rock gardens.

Day 4: Pay your respects at the imperial palace and explore the plus the textile center at Nishijin, then move on to enjoy the residence of the shogun at Nijo Castle.

Day 5: Take a cable car up to Mount Hiei, explore the temple complex there, have a picnic lunch, then hike back down to the city.

Day 6: Enjoy the Kyoto Aquarium and Railway Museum, maybe also exploring Kyoto Station with its amazing Skywalk and multiple restaurant arcades.

Day 7: Have a day completely off to explore on your own, visit more sights, get a massage, or connect with local friends.

Day 8: Hike through spectacular mountain gorges, enjoy the Bamboo Forest in scenic Arashiyama, and engage in a Zen practice session at Tenryuji Temple.

Day 9: Move to Nara and drop your bags at the hotel. From here, visit Tenri, the headquarters of the new Shinto sect of the same name, and stroll along the Heian Highway through shrines, fields, orchards, and villages.

Day 10: See Todaiji Temple with its giant buddha, relax among the tame deer, wander through scenic gardens, and explore Nara old town with its carefully preserved traditional houses.

Day 11: Onward. Take a train or limousine bus to either airport to fly home or continue further explorations of Japan.

COST

US $1350 per person, including hotel with breakfast, daily lunches, as well all transfers, bus/train fares, and entrance fees. Single supplement: $150.

For a more detailed itinerary and information, or to put on notice when further trips are scheduled, please contact liviakohn@proton.me or call/text 727-501-6915.

YOUR GUIDE

Livia Kohn, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita of Religion and East Asian Studies at Boston University, where she began teaching in 1988 after spending ten years in Kyoto, Japan. She has written thirty-six sole-authored books and over a hundred articles, translated five works from the German, French, Chinese, and Japanese, and edited twelve multi-authored volumes as well as twenty issues of the Journal of Daoist Studies. She serves as the executive editor of Three Pines Press, gives various lectures, and runs Daoist workshops as well as hiking trips to Japan.