Textiles of KYOTO

March 14-25, 2027

Kyoto

Escorted Group Tour

We invite you to join us for this immersion into the vibrant world of Japanese textiles: kimono to sashiko, shibori and beyond, based in enchanting Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital.

This custom-designed tour was originally created by Conde Nast Japan Travel Expert Nancy Craft, whose love of Japanese textiles began with six years living and studying in Kyoto.

Led by Andrew Bender, Esprit's manager of group tours, we will visit master artisans in traditional and contemporary textile arts, offering a variety of talks, demonstrations and hands-on workshops. Along the way, we'll take in quiet, off-the-beaten-track temples and gardens, museums, a massive monthly flea market, and hidden corners of this endlessly fascinating city. Day trips to the mountainous countryside show yet another side of Japan.

And the tour includes plenty of free time, whether for shopping, sightseeing or making your own discoveries, from our conveniently located hotel.

March is one of the best months to be in Kyoto, ahead of the busy tourist season and abloom with seasonal flowers; Mother Nature may even grace us with cherry blossoms!

Testimonials

Day 1

Depart Home

Depart for Japan on your individually arranged flight. The closest airports to Kyoto are in Osaka (Kansai Airport, KIX, or Itami Airport, ITM); detailed flight planning tips will be provided upon registration. Many of our guests opt to arrive in Japan up to a few days early to acclimate to jet lag and enjoy sightseeing and shopping on their own; as a tour guest, you will have access to Esprit’s exclusive online Client Information Portal, offering detailed sightseeing and cultural tips for use during your free time. Pre-tour nights at our tour hotel may be available upon request.

Day 2

Arrive Kyoto

Arrive Kyoto. You will receive advice about options for your transfer from the airport to the tour hotel, located in the heart of Kyoto’s lively downtown. This evening, we will have a brief orientation and get-together with your tour leader and traveling companions. This will be followed by a neighborhood walk to introduce nearby landmarks, shops and restaurants, using Esprit's Kyoto Shopping Guide map booklet, provided exclusively to tour guests.

Accommodations for all nights: Cross Hotel Kyoto

Meals included today: None

Day 3

Kyoto

Our morning visit is to the traditional machiya-style merchant house of a 5^th-generation gold leaf artisan; his traditional work is applying gold leaf to washi paper, which is then cut into threads woven into silk to create luxurious kimono obi. After lunch at a restaurant specializing in Zen-style vegetarian cuisine, we will immerse ourselves in history and spirituality at Daitoku-ji Zen Monastery, one of Japan’s most significant Buddhist temples since the early 14^th Century. Our visit includes an audience with the abbot of one monastery’s many subtemples and a lesson in the Way of Tea, a practice central to Japanese traditional arts. We will also take in a serene 20^th-century rock, sand and moss garden, before a late afternoon and evening at leisure.

Meals included today: Breakfast, lunch

Day 4

Kyoto

This morning, we will visit the studio of a teacher of sashiko, Japanese folk embroidery using the basic running stitch to create geometric repeat patterns. Sashiko has also been used for centuries to repair or add strength to worn areas of clothing, a technique called boro which transcends the simple act of mending to create a family history, in the tradition of mottainai, wasting nothing. Lunch is at a restaurant serving homestyle, o-banzai cuisine in a traditional machiya town house. This afternoon we will visit a company that since 1902 has created karakami, decorative, woodblock-printed washi paper for fusuma sliding doors, wallpaper and contemporary art pieces, followed by a guided introduction to some of our favorite downtown shops for traditional and contemporary clothing, crafts and more. This evening we will have a welcome dinner at a downtown restaurant.

Meals included today: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 5

Ohara Day Trip

We travel about 45 minutes north of the city to the picturesque farm village of Ohara. Amid small family farms, steep hillsides and shops featuring locally grown produce, we will visit a rustic dye studio to try our hand at dyeing using kakishibu, in which persimmon tannins are fermented to create rich, brown dyes. We’ll follow up with a leisurely lunch at a farm-to-table restaurant and a visit to another dye and weaving studio to learn how they use natural plant dyes. After returning to Kyoto, the evening is free.

Meals included today: Breakfast, lunch

Day 6

Kyoto

This morning we head to far western Kyoto for an introduction and workshop of katazome, a dye technique using paste and hand-cut stencils. After lunch, our afternoon visits begin with the flagship store of a kimono design house founded in the mid-1500s, for a presentation about the painstaking, multi-step yuzen process that takes up to 6 months for a single kimono roll, combining the talents of dozens of highly skilled specialists, and continuing our exploration of downtown shopping.



Meals included today: Breakfast, lunch

Day 7

Shigaraki Day Trip

A charter bus takes us to neighboring Shiga Prefecture, a mountainous region northeast of Kyoto. Our first stop is the home and studio of a 5^th-generation family of indigo dyers to learn about the unique Japanese fermentation process and see dyeing demonstrations on cloth and paper dipped in centuries-old vats. Continuing through the countryside we arrive at the Miho Museum, a spectacular structure designed by I.M. Pei and built into a mountain. Our last stop is Shigaraki, one of Japan’s ancient pottery towns (dating back to the 1200s), to visit the workshop of an artist who makes functional stoneware with the local, light-colored, gritty clay, fired without glaze for six days in a huge wood-burning kiln. After returning to Kyoto in the late afternoon, the evening is free.

Meals included today: Breakfast, lunch

Day 8

Kyoto

This morning is for browsing the massive Toji Temple flea market, Japan’s largest. There will be ample time to peruse the hundreds of booths selling kimono, fabric scraps, antiques, artisan-made clothing, tools, scrolls, pottery, plants, pickles and snacks. This afternoon, we will have a hands-on workshop with one of Kyoto’s top producers of shirushizome, a paste resist process used to dye noren (cotton shop curtains), festival coats and other functional, commercial items. The remainder of the day is free for individual exploration.

Meal included today: Breakfast, lunch

Day 9

Kyoto

Our morning visit is to the studio of one of Japan’s most successful shibori dye artists; shibori techniques include tying, clamping and stitching to create a resist, then a pattern is revealed after the fabric is dyed. After lunch, you may wish to join your tour leader to visit shops specializing in textile and sewing supplies, including embroidery thread, brushes, yardage for dyeing, stencils and dye.

Meals included: Breakfast, lunch

Meals included today: Breakfast, lunch

Day 10

Kyoto

We begin the day with a visit to the studio of an internationally known artist who has used the skills and techniques he learned as a traditional yuzen kimono painter to create original, jazz-inspired works for both wearables and wall pieces. Our afternoon program focuses on the work of the visionary fabric artist Akihiko Izukura (1942-2023) whose work in dyeing, weaving, twining and braiding transformed thinking about fabric. We will meet with two of Izukura’s close collaborators, a documentarian and the founder of a company with the mission of creatively reusing Izukura’s pieces into new art.

Meals included today: Breakfast, lunch

Day 11

Kyoto

Our last tour day is at leisure until dinnertime. There is never enough free time in Kyoto! Some possibilities include stocking up on textile tools and supplies, yarns for weaving and thread for sashiko stitching, seeing a museum show, contemplation in a serene and beautiful garden, or downtown exploring. We round out our time together with a farewell dinner, sharing stories and reminiscences. 

Meal included today: Breakfast, dinner

Day 12

Depart for home

End of tour. Esprit will provide detailed information and options for transferring to your departure airport, or advice for reaching a different, onward destination in Japan. Guests wishing to extend their stay in Kyoto may opt to visit the city’s other major monthly flea market, today at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine. Rooms at our tour hotel may be available upon request.

Meal included today: Breakfast

Notes

Fitness: The best way to discover Kyoto is on foot. Please be prepared to walk about 1 mile every day. Although we will set a leisurely pace, you should be prepared for stairs without bannisters, stone steps and uneven terrain. Floor sitting on cushions is the norm in Japan; although we will try to get a chair for you, it may not always be possible. And please note that shoes must be removed at the entrance of all homes and many workshops, religious sites and restaurants.

Dietary: Most restaurants are not used to accommodating special requests such as vegan, gluten-free and fish/shellfish allergies. If this applies to you, please contact us before registering.

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