Just back from their “Gettysburg and the Battlefields of the Civil War Tour” we thought we would talk to our friends at Geek Nation Tours about their next Signature Battlefield Tour – “Feudal Japan and the Battlefields of Sekigahara”. To this end we asked Teras at GNT to give us a basic run down on what tour participants can expect.
“Our Feudal Japan tour is a very special one for me. I get to re-explore many of my root interests in military history and warrior culture. I have been interested in Japan since I was 16 and have explored those interests by first reading Wolverine and Shogun and then studying Feudal Japan and Japanese culture and religions in University. Anyway this tour is exactly the tour I have been wanting to do since I was 16.
Of course tour participants will get a big dose of samurai and castles but the real goal of the tour is to transport one back to the days of the samurai. We will be visiting smaller towns in Japan in places most people do not think to go.
A good example of this is our hike between Magome and Tsumago were we will trod on the cobblestone path were samurai of old walked. We will end the hike in a post town where power and phone lines are banned to more express the aesthetic of those ancient times. Another example would be our time in Takayama, were they still make tofu and sake as they did in the days of the samurai and just walking the streets and temple areas transports you back in time.
We will also see two festivals when we are on tour – one in Seki and one in Sekigahara. The first one is the Seki Cutlery Festival that celebrates all things bladed. You will see everything from knives to swords as some of the world’s top producers of blades will be there…
All with the added feel of a festival and with street shops selling tonnes of sharp items. We will even see sword making demonstrations! The second festival will be the Sekigahara festival celebrating the 414th anniversary of the battle with cutting demonstrations and costumed participants. If you want to see a samurai on horseback riding down the street – here is your best chance.
To make our experience even better the tour will have at least three guides. Not only will I be along representing Geek Nation Tours but we will have one local guide traveling with us at all times to give another interpretation of the sites we see, and we will have third guide to give us an in-depth explanations as we explore the Sekigahara Battlefield.
Of course no trip to Japan would be complete without visiting a few castles and we will of course see a many. For instance, we will be privileged to be among the few that venture inland to see the Matsumoto Castle or Black Castle. It stands much as it did during 1600s. Oh and onsens! A trip to Japan also needs a trip to a local hot spring or onsen and we will be headed that way too….
What everyone has to be aware of however, is that I have limited the tour to a maximum of 20 participants and the response has been awesome. It is already half sold out – so if anyone is interested they have to hop aboard asap.”
So there you have it! If you want to grab a spot on the tour head to www.geeknationtours.com or email Teras at headgeek@geeknationtours.com or just hit their logo to be magically transported to the tour description…
