New Reasons to Visit Japan

Product Executive Lauren tells us about Audley's latest discoveries in Japan

By Audley Travel

February 22^nd, 2018

I’ve been working at Audley for four years now, originally as a Southeast Asia specialist covering Thailand and Vietnam. Over the years I traveled more and began creating custom trips to Laos, Cambodia, and Indonesia as well. Southeast Asia has captivated me since I was young and sending others there was incredibly rewarding. Continuing my development I moved into the role of product executive, covering primarily Japan, which was an exciting opportunity to add to my firsthand knowledge of countries across Asia.

What does it mean to be a product executive?

Product really is at the heart of what Audley does. The product team works to source unique experiences, new hotels, and foster the local relationships that are the backbone of our trips. We support our specialists and travelers by keeping our documentation up to date and accurate, and also travel to our areas of expertise frequently in order to make sure we are always offering fresh and exciting opportunities for our clients. Off of the back of my recent trip to Japan here are some of my favorite new finds and exciting new experiences that Audley is offering.

making mochi

This was a highlight of my time in Japan and is one of the new excursions we’re offering in Kyoto. Lake Biwa is actually outside Kyoto, and while the lake is massive, the village we visited was quite small and traditional. My local hosts were in their 70’s and were excited to welcome me into their home. They grow the rice for their mochi, a traditional rice cake, right on their own farm and had everything ready for our activity. The rice is pounded repeatedly using a heavy mallet until it becomes soft and sticky, at which point we rolled it in a soy sauce sugar and ate it right on the porch!

Tea ceremony with a maiko

Maikos are women who are currently training to be geisha, a period which lasts 5 years. We were lucky enough to meet two maiko who spoke English which is quite rare as they primarily entertain Japanese guests. There are lots of misconceptions about geisha, and it can be very difficult as a foreigner to interact with them, so this was an amazing opportunity. I was completely entranced by Memoirs of a Geisha when I was a teenager, so it was fulfilling a dream of mine to even see them! The tea ceremony is a very elaborate ritual that few people master, so sharing a cup of tea prepared in this way by a maiko was a once in a lifetime experience.

sumo stable visit

Sumo is extremely popular in Japan and the most highly ranked rikishi, the Japanese name for sumo wrestlers, are celebrities just like sports stars of the west. You have to be silent during training, so my guide explained what to expect before we entered the training area. I was lucky enough to watch training the day of a tournament, so there was lots of energy amongst the wrestlers as they went through dozens of practice rounds. For anyone with an interest in sumo, it was well worth the early morning wakeup.

Craft tour of Kanazawa

Kanazawa is known for producing the vast majority of gold leaf in Japan, so you can get all sorts of fun souvenirs covered in gold leaf here or even gold leaf covered ice cream. I did a tour where I got to visit a local gold leaf studio and make my own lacquerware box decorated with the tissue paper thin sheets of gold leaf. It’s incredibly delicate, so seeing the experts making things like necklaces, mirrors, cosmetics, tea cups, chopsticks, and almost anything else you can imagine covered in gold leaf was incredibly impressive. After I finished my creation we had cups of tea with gold leaf sprinkled inside which was a real treat.

Traditional craftsman handling the gold leaf

mandarin oriental

The Mandarin Oriental is a perfect place to unwind after exploring busy Tokyo. Every member of staff I met was warm and attentive, and the dining is arguably the best on offer at any hotel in Tokyo. They have 3 restaurants within the hotel that earned a Michelin Star in 2018, including the Tapas Molecular Bar which only has 8 seats and offers modern fusion cuisine. This would be my first recommendation for any foodie who wants a luxurious stay in Tokyo.

Hoshoukaku Ryokan

Hoshoukaku is a charming ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn) in Takayama and was the first ryokan stay of my trip. I was intimidated at the traditional kaiseki cuisine served in ryokans, as they have multiple courses and I was new to Japanese cuisine, but it was absolutely delicious and our server at dinner was wonderful. Our room had a private onsen (similar to an outdoor hot tub) in addition to the public footbath and onsen on our floor.