Autumn in Kyoto: Japan’s Most Cultured City

Join a unique experience visiting artisans in their studios, Japanese gardens at the peak of autumn color, culinary treasures in unique inns, cafes, and restaurants, all while celebrating the ways of old Japan. A respect for the handmade, a celebration of the beauty in imperfection, elegance in design, an understanding of the virtues of going slow, and a reverence for contemplation are all still honored in Japan today. A visit to Kyoto can open new doors into how you see art, enrich your aesthetics, and give you a new direction.

This is Eddie Soloway’s 14th experience in Japan, and he once again partners with his favorite tour company—Esprit Travel. Esprit is founded on the idea of quality experiences in and around Kyoto. They go off the beaten path to give you immersive experiences the tour bus companies don’t know about. They are friends with and have long-term relationships with the artists and craftspeople that are central to our visit to Japan’s most cultured city. Esprit has a small staff of local guides, and this year Matt Schultz, a Kyoto native and dear friend of Eddie’s, is our guide. Matt adds his deep insights into the traditions of old Japan, and along with Eddie are both committed to providing you with the most authentic experiences.

This nine-night adventure is about immersing ourselves in a diversity of gardens, neighborhoods, and artisans, rich with photographic possibilities. It is about having quality time, insightful knowledge, and even time to return to a location. While photography is a thread that will unite many of us and there is time set aside for two indoor sessions to look at new photographs made, this journey is foremost an immersive cultural experience and not a workshop. Eddie infuses the daily conversations with creative ideas, helping you interpret our adventure.

“Japan keeps giving me gifts far beyond making new photographs. I have learned to obsess less about making a photograph and instead focus more on the gifts that in turn help my photography,” Eddie shares about a recent trip to Kyoto. “During this trip, our group was in awe listening to a Shakuhachi flute master. He carried a deep resonant note, soulfully beautiful. With my eyes closed, I was transported to another time. After playing, he told us that his students learn the flute by blowing into a candle, mastering the skill of precise force without blowing out the flame. I love this idea of a gentle and precise use of vision.”

“On another day, meeting a gold leaf master, he revealed the centuries-old secret for creating irregular, imperfect textures in panels, from perfectly made gold leaf squares,” Eddie remembers. “My mind was spinning with thoughts of perfection and imperfection, and how I might apply this to my photography and writing. My walls of constraint continue to be blown down on my trips to Japan.”

If you have dreamed of visiting “Old Japan,” where the aesthetics for hand-made tradition is held high, a reverence for natural beauty abounds, and living a contemplative life runs deep, and you want a way to get an insider’s view, please consider joining us.

Here is the intended itinerary (PDF) which will be fine-tuned as we get closer to autumn.