Miyajima, Hiroshima Prefecture

Dear Friend,

For many of our guests, Art Travel means Japan.

For more than two decades, Anne Alene and the Art Travel team have been introducing travelers to Japan through its art, architecture, museums, artists, craft, gardens, food, landscapes, history, and people.

Our private journeys are created for couples, families, friends, and small groups who want to experience Japan more deeply—without joining a conventional group tour.

We don't begin with a pre-packaged itinerary.

We begin with you.

Your interests. Your dates. Your preferred pace. The places you've always wanted to experience—and the places you may not yet know exist.

Much of our private travel practice has grown organically this way. Many of the patrons who first experience Japan on our high-level museum delegation trips find themselves returning home wishing to share these remarkable encounters with the people closest to them. They return to us to design custom journeys for their spouses, children, or a small circle of friends—or they pass our name along to friends planning their own milestones.

Because of this, having an art background is absolutely not a prerequisite to travel with us. While we always weave in extraordinary visual and cultural touchpoints, we tailor every aspect of our private trips to the specific dynamics, unique interests, and comfort of families and close circles of friends.

Looking ahead, 2027 and 2028 offer some particularly compelling cultural milestones around which to anchor a private journey—whether you are returning to Japan or discovering it with us for the first time.

EXPERIENCE JAPAN IN A VERY SPECIAL WAY

Japan can be extraordinarily rewarding, but some of its most memorable experiences are not necessarily the easiest to discover or arrange independently.

That's where Art Travel comes in.

Depending upon your interests, your private journey might combine:

Contemporary Art & Architecture

Museums, galleries, artist studios, architecture, and Japan's extraordinary art islands.

Gardens, Craft & Design

Historic and contemporary gardens, ceramics, textiles, traditional craftsmanship, and cutting-edge design.

Food & Culture

Regional cuisine, markets, cultural traditions, and authentic encounters that provide a deeper understanding of Japan.

Exceptional Places

From the energy of Tokyo and Kyoto to remote islands, mountain communities, and landscapes far beyond the conventional visitor experience.

Our team coordinates the accommodations, private transportation, guides, specialists, reservations, and cultural experiences—allowing you to concentrate on experiencing Japan.

Your dates. Your interests. Your pace. Your Japan.

Sanja Matsuri Festival, Asakusa, Tokyo

JAPAN 2027

National Expositions & Seasonal Festivals

Japan’s 2027 calendar features major national expositions, winter traditions, and recurring seasonal festivals that offer a spectacular backdrop for custom private travel. We can weave these cultural highlights seamlessly into your personal itinerary:

GREEN×EXPO 2027

A major international horticultural exposition coming to Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, highlighting world-class landscape design and sustainability.

Winter & Spring Traditions

In January, experience the breathtaking Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival (one of Japan's top three fire festivals) or the historic January Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo. In February, marvel at the world-famous Sapporo Snow Festival followed by the delicate Yushima Shrine Plum Blossom Festival running from February 8 through March 8.

Spring & Summer Milestones

Take part in the spirited Hakata Dontaku Festival in early May or Tokyo's energetic Sanja Matsuri in mid-May. Traditional fireworks (hanabi) and regional matsuri peak throughout July and August, leading directly into the vivid autumn foliage transitions.

Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale, Japan

JAPAN 2027

Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale

July 17–November 7, 2027 | 10th Edition

Travel beyond Tokyo into the mountains and rice-growing communities of Niigata, where contemporary art appears in forests, villages, rice fields, abandoned houses, and former schools.

Since its beginnings in 2000, Echigo-Tsumari has become internationally recognized for its distinctive relationship between contemporary art, place, community, rural life, and regional revitalization.

Here, the landscape itself becomes part of the art experience.

An Art Travel journey might begin in Tokyo before continuing into Niigata for several days exploring Echigo-Tsumari with knowledgeable specialists and private transportation.

We can balance contemporary art with regional cuisine, architecture, landscape, traditional culture, and encounters with the communities that make this part of Japan so distinctive.

Echigo-Tsumari is particularly close to Anne's work. Her doctoral research examines Japan's contemporary art festivals and biennials and their relationships to place, community, and regional revitalization.

Minato Mirai, Yokohama, Japan

JAPAN 2027

Tokyo & Yokohama

Yokohama Triennale | April 23–September 12, 2027

For travelers who prefer an urban art journey, the Yokohama Triennale offers a wonderful reason to explore Tokyo and Yokohama in greater depth.

Art Travel has been creating journeys around the Yokohama Triennale since 2014, when we designed a program for the Getty Research Institute.

But the Triennale might represent only a few days of your journey. We can build the rest around Tokyo's world-class museums, private galleries, design studios, and distinguished Annual Art Fair:

• Tokyo Gendai: Anchor a late-summer journey around this premier international contemporary art fair, which falls between 9-13 September and draws elite collectors and galleries to Yokohama.

And from July 17 through September 12, 2027, the Yokohama and Echigo-Tsumari triennials overlap. One journey could take you from the energy of Tokyo and

Yokohama into the mountains and rural communities of Niigata—two remarkably different perspectives on contemporary Japan.

Ebisu Shrine Torii Gate, Naoshima, Japan

JAPAN 2028

The Art Islands of Setouchi

Setouchi Triennale — 2028

Setouchi and the Naoshima islands have been at the heart of Art Travel's Japan programs for over two decades. Anne has been traveling to the region personally since 2002, designing highly specialized, in-depth travel experiences across the islands and surrounding communities. Furthermore, Art Travel has regularly centered bespoke itineraries to seamlessly coincide with the Setouchi Triennale since its inaugural year in 2010.

Imagine waking beside the Seto Inland Sea and traveling by boat between islands where contemporary art, architecture, landscape, and everyday life become almost inseparable.

Naoshima. Teshima. Inujima.

And smaller islands and communities that many visitors to Japan never encounter.

Over successive editions of the Setouchi Triennale, Art Travel has created journeys here for museums, arts organizations, collectors, couples, families, and private travelers. Along the way, you may encounter works by internationally significant artists and architects including James Turrell, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Tadao Ando, SANAA, and Christian Boltanski, while experiencing extraordinary museums, installations, villages, and landscapes throughout the Inland Sea.

We can easily connect the islands with Tokyo, Kyoto, or Kanazawa, timing your journey to coincide with prestigious autumn art milestones:

• GO FOR KOGEI: An exceptional regional exhibition program in the first two weeks of September in the Hokuriku region (centered around Kanazawa and Toyama) that showcases the fascinating intersection of contemporary art and traditional Japanese craft.

• Art Collaboration Kyoto (ACK): A brilliant contemporary fair in Kyoto in early November focusing on global and local gallery partnerships and curated institutional projects.

WE DON'T BEGIN WITH A TOUR.

WE BEGIN WITH YOU.

There is no single Art Travel itinerary for Japan.

Some travelers come primarily for contemporary art. Others want art balanced with architecture, gardens, ceramics and craft, food, design, traditional culture, history, or nature.

And two people traveling together don't necessarily want the same things.

That's precisely why we listen first.

We learn who is traveling, what you've already experienced, what fascinates you, how you like to travel, and what would make the journey meaningful to you.

Then we design from there.

THE EXPERTISE BEHIND YOUR JOURNEY

Anne began leading cultural immersion programs in Japan in 1997, creating connections between travelers, cultural institutions, and Japan's art world and culture.

With more than two decades of travel planning experience, fluency in Japanese, a background in art history and museum studies, and extensive relationships throughout Japan, Anne shapes the cultural and curatorial vision behind Art Travel's private journeys.

Today, that vision is brought to life by the Art Travel team together with our exceptional team of local Japanese guides—expert specialists who share our commitment to creating thoughtful, highly personalized journeys and who care for you with extraordinary warmth and attention to detail. Working closely together, our team manages every aspect of your experience, while our guides provide local knowledge, cultural insight, and personal connections that bring Japan's art, heritage, and contemporary culture to life. Anne has stepped back from day-to-day guiding to focus on doctoral research and overarching curatorial advising, reserving her on-site presence for select institutional delegations and exceptional occasions, such as private experiences on the art islands of Naoshima and curated programs around Japan's art events and biennials.

This deep network of relationships and local expertise is complemented by a dedicated operations team coordinating every logistical detail behind each journey—from fine accommodations and private transport to tailored reservations and rare cultural entry points.

We have never approached private travel as a volume business. Each journey remains personal.

WHAT OUR TRAVELERS SAY

The high standard of deep cultural knowledge, care, and insight that Anne established remains the exact benchmark of excellence that our permanent planning and on-ground team delivers to every private client today:

"We experienced Japan in a very special way thanks to Anne's company. She is an amazing guide and has been an inspiration to us. Anne's knowledge of the culture and patience with such a large family made everything more interesting and enjoyable."


— San Salvador, El Salvador

"Anne is a highly experienced guide and profoundly connected to all the overlapping, cross currents of Japanese art and history. You could not do better and she is the soul of kindness."

— San Diego, California

AND YES, WE TRAVEL BEYOND JAPAN

Although many travelers know Art Travel first and foremost for Japan, our private journeys extend well beyond it.

The 2028 Venice Biennale can become the starting point for a journey through Italy.

South Korea offers extraordinary possibilities in Seoul, Gwangju, Gyeongju, and Busan—and pairs beautifully with Japan.

And major international art events throughout Europe can similarly provide the catalyst for a larger private cultural journey. The event gives you a reason to go. We create the journey around it.

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE ART TRAVEL TO TAKE YOU?

Perhaps you're thinking about returning to Japan.

Perhaps you've always wanted to experience Naoshima and the art islands of Setouchi.

Or perhaps 2027 is the perfect window to experience the local national festivals, Echigo-Tsumari, or the Yokohama Triennale.

Because our private planning process is highly detailed and we limit the number of bespoke itineraries we accept each season, we invite you to begin the conversation early.

To discuss your upcoming travel goals, ideal dates, and custom preferences, please reach out directly to our director of institutional travel and partnerships, Mick Alene, to schedule a private planning session.

Warm regards,

The Art Travel LLC Team

mick@arttravelltd.com | arttravelltd.com

Curatorial Architecture by Anne Geismann Alene, M.A.

CST# 2118742-40