People are fascinated by Japan: by its refined arts and crafts, from calligraphy to kimonos: its exotic (to us) cultural traditions, such as geishas and tea ceremonies; and by its contrasting, almost futuristic modernity, as in the Shinkasen bullet trains and anime. But did you know that Japan also has one of the world’s most interesting LGBTQ+ histories? Until Westernization took over in the 19th century, Japan had very different sexual customs from the West—including *male* geishas, to start with—and some claim this is still reflected in today’s worlds of manga and Japanese TV.

So come on Oscar Wilde Tours and Out Asia’s LGBTQ+ history and art tour of Japan. See the beautiful temples of Kyoto, relax in a traditional hot spring spa by Mount Fuji, experience a Japanese tea ceremony, ride on a bullet train—and learn about Japan’s LGBTQ+ side while doing it, from the time when (supposedly) monks brought same-sex love from China to Japan’s Buddhist monasteries and Samurai warriors to the elegant “pleasure quarters” of the 17th and 18th centuries to today’s Shinjuku Ni-chome gay town and its 300 bars.

Our tour starts this evening with a get-together in the hotel lobby , so we can all meet and discuss plans for the tour.

Our hotel for the next 3 nights: Hotel Century Southern Tower, a modern skyscraper hotel with quiet rooms and great views over Tokyo, right at the heart of the Shinjuku entertainment area.

 Tokyo is the world’s largest city, and it resumes in itself the astonishing contrasts in Japanese culture, from the traditional temples of Asakusa to the elegance of Ginza, and the world’s tallest tower, the Sky Tree. Over the next 2 days, we see it all! Today's high points are a traditional tea ceremony, where we learn to appreciate this quintessentially Japanese evanescent artform, and a visit to Japan's National Museum, with its incredible collections of the Japanese arts--swords, kimonos, wall paintings, and more! Also our multi-course Yakatabune welcome dinner on a boat on the Sumida River, with stunning views of Tokyo's skyline.

Today we continue our tour of Tokyo. Highlights: a visit to the world's tallest building, a sushi-making experience, and a performance of kabuki, Japan's tradition (and often gay-themed) performance art. This evening, for those who want, a bar hop through the Ni-chome, the world's largest collection of gay bars (quite close to our hotel).

Today we visit the area of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, with a boatride on Lake Ashi, a ride on the Hakone Ropeway (aerial lift), a visit to the Owakudani valley with its boiling sulphur springs (and famous blackened eggs cooked in the spring—supposedly eating one will add 7 years to your life!), and Hakone Open Air Museum, a beautiful garden with sculptures by artists like Picasso, Matisse etc. In the evening, we transfer to Tokyo. 

Our hotel tonight:  Pax Yoshino Hotel, a traditional Japanese ryokan, with onsen mineral baths on your private balcony plus a public onsen—and an excellent restaurant.

Today we take the famous Shinkansen Bullet Train, to Nagoya, where we dip into Japan's past to see something no other tour will show you: Japan’s principal penis shrine, the Tagata Shrine of Nagoya. There were many shrines of this kind before Westernization, but this is the main remaining one. The Honen harvest festival takes place here on March 15, when for the past 1500 years, 20 men are chosen by lottery to carry a 7 foot phallus through the streets. But don’t worry about missing the festival: everything else here (gates, bells etc) is penis-shaped as well—and many souvenirs are available!

From there we take a bus trip to Kyoto, the most traditional of Japan's major cities, where we experience one of the quintessential Japanese traditions: a dinner with service and entertainment by geishas.

Our hotel for the next 2 nights:  Cross Hotel Kyoto, an excellent, modern hotel in a very central location, right near the main shopping and gourmet districts of Kyoto.

Kyoto is one of the world’s great beauty spots, and today we will see many of its beauties, including Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion (hopefully surrounded by Japan’s famous fall foliage), the awe-inspiring Adashino Nenbutsuji Bamboo Grove, and the Honno-ji Temple, where a famous gay story from Japanese history took place: when Oda Nabunaga (one of Japan’s three great unifiers) was betrayed to his enemies at the temple, his page and lover Mori Ranmaru led the defense, holding off the enemy long enough for Nabunaga to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) to avoid capture, and then set the temple on fire, killing himself and all his troops, to avoid letting the enemy capture Nabunaga’s body!

In the evening, we will enjoy a lecture by Professor Timon Screech of the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto, on “Male-Male Love in Early Modern Japan.”  

 Today we visit the holy mountain of Koyasan, where Kobo Daishi founded Japanese Shingo Buddhism—and also, at least according to legend, the Japanese tradition of wakashudo (the way of boys), which first appeared in Japanese culture in a big way in Buddhist monasteries. We will visit the Kongo-buji temple, with its gilded sliding doors, the many temples of Danjo-Garan, including the beautiful vermilion Konpon Daito pagoda, and Okuno-in cemetery, centering on Kobo Daishi’s mausoleum, where he is buried, or, according to tradition, where he rests in eternal meditation while awaiting the Buddha of the Future. While visiting these amazing sights, we will learn about the tradition of love relationships between monks and acolytes (nenja and chigo). 

At the end of the day we drive to Osaka.

Our hotel for the next 3 nights: Citadines Osaka Namba, a beautifully renovated Art Deco Hotel right near the malls at Namba Station and Osaka's main nightlife district, Dotonbori.

Today we take an excursion by Shinkansen to one of the world's most moving sights, the series of memorials in Hiroshima: the Peace Memorial Park, the Peace Memorial Park, and the Atomic Bomb Dome (pictured). We will also visit the nearby Itsukushima temple, one of Japan's most famous beauty spots.

 Today we take a half-day tour of Nara Park, one of Japan’s most famous, known for its five story pagoda, famous temples, and Great Buddha—and especially for its herd of 1400 deer, famous for bowing politely to ask for snacks of “deer crackers.” In the afternoon, we return to tour Osaka, with its stunning Castle (which you may know from the TV series Shogun) and the grave of Saikaku Ihara, the author of The Great Mirror of Male Love, a 17th century book of gay short stories, which you will know well by this time, as we will do readings throughout the tour when we visit places mentioned in it!

Tonight, instead of a farewell dinner, we take a street food tour of Osaka--the city in Japan most famous for its food!

Our tour ends with breakfast today. Please let us know if we can help you with further travel arrangements.