Artists and Architects – Exploring Japan with Martha Blackwelder

Day 0: Pre-Tour Arrival in Tokyo

For those who arrive a day or two early, Martha will lead an informal tour to fascinating places near our hotel such as the Hie Shrine, the Imperial Palace walls and gardens, and Sogetsu Hall, an Ikebana museum in a building designed by renowned architect Kenzo Tange.

Early arriving guests may also want to use this time to see a performance of kabuki (we can assist with tickets, subject to availability) or visit museums that are not part of our itinerary.

Days 1-5: Tokyo (4 nights)

Upon arrival in Tokyo, transfer to the centrally located Capitol Tokyu Hotel, overlooking the majestic Hie Shrine.

Our Tokyo touring will include:

A Welcome Dinner featuring Japanese cuisine.

Eastern Tokyo: we will begin at the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park for an expert-led highlights tour of Japanese art (ceramics, textiles, masks, paintings, prints and sculpture), noting the National Treasures on view, followed by free time in the Museum. We will have lunch at Tohaku Chakan inside a historic building on the grounds of the museum. Later we will walk past the Hōryū-ji Treasures Building, one of the newer additions to the Museum campus, designed by Yoshio Taniguchi, best known in the West for his renovation of the MoMA in New York. (Martha worked with Taniguchi on a building while she was CEO of Asia Society in Houston). After lunch we will tour the freshly renovated Edo-Tokyo Museum. If time permits, we will visit the Hokusai Museum in Ryōgoku.

Central Tokyo: visiting Ginza to see the Maison Hermes Le Forum Gallery (by Renzo Piano), a unique venue with a dynamic exhibition schedule, take in views of the Imperial Palace (former Edo Castle with its impressive moats and gates) and visit nearby Hie Shrine.

Western Tokyo with stops such as the National Art Center, Tadao Ando’s 21_21 Design Sight or the Mori Art Museum based on what is being exhibited during our stay. We plan to visit Nuno, a world-renowned textiles and clothing shop in Roppongi to examine fabrics and learn more about their innovative designs.

We will travel to the Nezu Museum for lunch in the garden café followed by a walk along Omotesando street to the Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo, a unique gallery space with changing exhibitions. We will conclude the day at the Meiji Shrine with its magnificent forest – entirely planted by hand starting in 1920.

Days 5-9: Kyoto (4 nights)

Check out of our Tokyo hotel, then transfer to Tokyo Station.

Relax in the Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto in Green Car (First Class).

Transfer to the Kyoto Hotel Okura, Kyoto’s original luxury hotel. After arrival, you’ll have time to walk along historic Teramachi Street that starts two blocks from our hotel: a quiet section with temples, shrines and traditional shops including some rare boutiques and antique stores.

Our Kyoto tour will include:

Special meals, such as at Tsudaro in Gion – dating to the mid-1800s.

Higashiyama (Eastern Kyoto): We’ll visit the Nichi Nichi Gallery located in a 1920s era home one block from the Imperial Palace for a conversation with gallerist and owner Elmar Weinmayr who will discuss Japanese craft art today. He will talk about artists and their training, how crafts are promoted and sold, relationships between artists and gallerist and so on while we handle objects and enjoy tea from TOKA tea house.

Later, we’ll follow the Philosopher’s Path, visiting temples such as Nanzenji and Eikando. From here, we will walk to the nearby the Robert Yellin Yakimono Gallery of Japanese ceramics. (Robert will also join us for our visit to Shigaraki.

Gion District, which is just across the Kamo River from our hotel; we will visit important historic sites such as Kodaiji temple, Nene Doori and Yasaka Pagoda, with options to visit antique stores on Shinmonzen street, including Hiroshi Yanagi and Art Yoshikiri for wood block prints. Optional free time for shopping.

A free morning to follow up on personal interests, such as visiting antiques galleries, the Kyoto National Museum, or other Kyoto highlights.

Miho Museum & Shigaraki Ceramics, starting with a drive into the mountains northeast of Kyoto to the I.M. Pei-designed Miho Museum. This magnificent building was constructed into the top of a mountain and accessed through a tunnel and a bridge over a ravine. The mountainous setting is stunning, with one of the world’s most exclusive private collections.

The nearby village of Shigaraki is known as one of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns, and we will visit a private artist’s studio on the outskirts of town. For this exclusive visit we will be joined by Kyoto-based ceramics expert Robert Yellin.

Days 9-11: Naoshima (2 nights)

Our last three touring days will be centered around the Benesse Art Site on the art islands of Naoshima and Teshima.

Travel from Kyoto to Okayama, then board our bus that will take us to the ferry to cross to Naoshima, then take us around the island.

Check into the Benesse Park building for a 2-night stay with breakfast in the Terrace Restaurant

These are some of our highlights on Naoshima:

Benesse House Museum, the original contemporary art museum on the island, that includes six hotel rooms and a striking collection of contemporary art including works by Frank Stella, Richard Prince, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, and others. There are also stunning outdoor sculptures on a peninsula overlooking the Inland Sea.

The Valley Gallery by Yayoi Kusuma and the Lee Ufan Museum (Martha commissioned Lee Ufan to create a site-specific work for the Asia Society in Houston)

The Art Houses of Honmura Village, several local houses turned into art installations by visiting artists such as Hiroshi Senju, Shinro Ohtake and Hiroshi Sugimoto

Naoshima New Museum of Art (opened in 2025) with exhibitions by Cai Guo Qiang, Do Ho Suh, and Takashi Murakami

Chichu Museum (built into a bluff by Tadao Ando), featuring Monet Water Lily paintings under natural light and spatial exhibits by James Terrell and Walter de Maria.

Among the artists featured on Naoshima are Kusama Yayoi (famous for her “pumpkin” sculptures) and Hiroshi Sugimoto, as well as the architecture and landscape itself.

On the nearby island of Teshima, we will visit the Teshima Art Museum by Nishizawa Ryue with installation by Rei Naito. Then we will see other exhibitions throughout the island by artists such as Christian Boltanski and Chiharu Shiota.

We will conclude our journey back on the mainland in Okayama for one night.

Days 11-12: Okayama (1 night)

Our tour ends at our hotel next to Okayama’s Shinkansen bullet train station. We will advise about transportation from our hotel to Okayama Airport in a later newsletter.

To connect through Tokyo Haneda, we recommend reserving the Japan Airlines flight departing Okayama (OKJ) around 10:00 am, arriving at Haneda about 90 minutes later. This will allow plenty of time to connect to flights to the US, most of which depart between 4 pm and 8 pm.

Japan Airlines has baggage agreements with Delta, United, and their partner American, so travelers can usually check their bags in Okayama, then not pick them up until they clear Customs in their own country.

An Exclusive Journey with Martha Blackwelder

Step into the heart of Japan’s art, architecture, and culture for an unforgettable 12-day journey designed for art lovers, collectors and people interested in Japan. This unique tour is guided by Japanese art curator and founder of Unexpected Adventures, Martha Blackwelder.

You will explore the traditions and innovations that define one of the world’s most dynamic contemporary art scenes. Along the way, you’ll meet artists, dealers, and collectors, gaining insider access to Japan’s vibrant cultural landscape.

Martha’s lifelong career in Japanese art—spanning curatorship, leadership, and collaboration with major artists and architects—provides a rare lens for this experience. As former CEO of Asia Society in Texas, she worked directly with luminary architect Yoshio Taniguchi to construct the $50 million Asia Society building in Houston’s Museum District. Taniguchi is best known in the US for the MoMA renovation he completed in 2003. On our trip you will encounter his landmark buildings in Tokyo and Kyoto. On Naoshima, you’ll visit the museum of Lee Ufan, an artist Martha commissioned for a site-specific work at Asia Society.

Martha’s interest in Japan began in college with an Asian art history class taught by renowned scholar and museum director Sherman E. Lee. She promptly began studying Japanese and was selected for the JET Program (Japan Exchange and Teaching sponsored by the Japanese government). After graduating college, she moved to Fukui prefecture on the Sea of Japan where she lived for two years in the early 1990s. Today, in addition to her consulting work, Martha leads public and private art tours in New York City where she is a certified Japanese art appraiser (through Appraisers Association of America), an adjunct professor at NYU, and has been a guest expert featured on the Antiques Road Show.

Martha’s knowledge and deep curiosity make this more than a tour—it’s an inspiring immersion into Japan’s creative soul. These sentiments are best summarized in the testimonial below:

“Martha is a fantastic person to spend time with in learning about Japan. She is so knowledgeable and so enthusiastic that it is tremendously inspiring.”

-Henry Cutter, Story Editor, Barron’s