Kansai, Japan

Travel from food-obsessed Osaka to shrine-filled Nara to jewel-like Kyoto. Fermented foods are at the heart of traditional Japanese food culture and there’s no better place to experience this than within Japan’s Kansai region. We’ll eat a classic izakaya meal, tempura with a Michelin-starred chef, casual bowls of somen noodles, a multi-course miso feast and meals we make ourselves. In the country, we’ll hike to a sake shrine, tour a small tea plantation, visit rice fields and cook with local ingredients we harvest. In the cities, we’ll shop at busy produce and fish markets, learn to use knives made for single ingredients and tour a bento box museum. We’ll also sip on sakes and sample an astonishing array of pickles made by a centenarian producer. All the while, our throughline will be fermentation, from miso to sake to tea to koji to soy sauce to those pickles. We’ll learn from masters, try our hand at fermenting ourselves and eat meals both delicate and outrageous in their flavors. This trip is hand-crafted, just like the food, and very special. Each departure can hold only eight guests to ensure the quality of the experience.

Trip highlights: Sip sake at a shrine where the beverage was originally produced; practice using single-purpose knives; forage for seasonal ingredients; explore city markets and rural hillsides; learn how fermentation touches all aspects of Japanese life, from food to craft to culture; relax at a rural retreat; travel with just seven companions and two expert guides.

Who you'll travel with: Yoko Inagaki and Maeda Chisato

A sample of what you’ll eat: A classic izakaya meal; a multi-course miso feast; single harvest teas; traditional matcha; sake at a shrine and in a flight; koji-fermented pickles; family-style hot-pot; Michelin-starred tempura; bowls of somen; Nara-style barbecue; miso blended by you.

Per person cost: $8,500
Nonrefundable deposit due at booking: $500