Modern Japan | Docomomo Travel Tour

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Modern Japan | Docomomo Travel Tour

Kyoto International Conference Center

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Highland663/Wikimedia Commons

Since 2000, Docomomo Japan has actively listed a great range of masterworks spanning the modern movement in Japan including those of the Bunriha Japanese Secessionist works from the 1920s, post WWII reconstruction led by Kenzo Tange and subsequent Metabolist works from the 1960s and beyond.

 
This tour begins in Hiroshima, examining the post WWII works in parallel with traditional precedents including the Itsukushima Shrine among others. An extended tour includes Kunio Maekawa’s splendid Kyoto Kaikan (1960) evoking the tradition of heavy timber in reinforced concrete, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Yamamura House (Ashiya, 1924) and Tadao Ando’s Hyogo Prefectural Museum (2003), featuring the exhibition LIVING MODERNITY: Experiments in the Exceptional and Everyday (curated by Ken Tadashi Oshima – our tour guide). The tour concludes in Tokyo, staying at one of the first high-rise hotels, the Keio Plaza Hotel (1969), in front of Kenzo Tange’s City Hall (1991) and a joint reception with Docomomo Japan at the International House of Japan (1955, Yoshimura, Maekawa, Sakakura). 

 

Modern Japan is co-organized with Docomomo Japan.

SCHEDULE

Note: Modern Japan begins in Hiroshima at 7pm on Sunday, December 7. Please use Saturday, December 6, and Thursday, December 17, as travel days, to enjoy every aspect of the tour. 

 

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7

Guests meet for welcome reception at the Hotel Granvia Hiroshima at 7pm.


MONDAY, DECEMBER 8

Guests enjoy breakfast at the hotel restaurant, then meet at 8am, to board the bus for a full day of architectural tours. First stop: the Peace Bridge/West Peace Bridge, with railings designed by Isamu Noguchi (1951–1952), followed by Peace Memorial Park (Kenzo Tange, 1954) and the Memorial Cathedral for World Peace (Togo Murano, 1950–1954). After lunch, we head to Orizuru Tower (Sanbuichi Hiroshi, 2016) and Municipal Motomachi High-Rise Apartment (Masata Otaka, 1978). Make your way back to the hotel on your own that evening.


TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9

Meet as a group bright and early to board the bus at 8am, and spend a second day in Hiroshima Prefecture. Visit Itsukushima Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After lunch, stop at SIMOSE – an art museum and garden villa designed by Shigeru Ban Architects in 2023 – before returning to the hotel for dinner at your leisure. Pack your bags tonight, we head to Kyoto in the morning.


WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10

Grab breakfast at the hotel restaurant before hopping on the 8:22am Bullet Train at Hiroshima Station. Arrive in Kyoto at 9:59am, then travel around the city by bus as a group stopping at Kyoto Kaikan (Kunio Maekawa, 1960), Kyoto Museum of Modern Art (Fumihiko Maki, 1986), and the Kyocera Museum, renovated in 2020 by Jun Aoki and Nishizawa Tezzo. After lunch visit the Heian Jingu Shrine and Kansai Electic Power Company Kyoto Branch (Goichi Takeda, 1937), before checking-in at the Doubletree Hotel Higashiyama for three nights.


THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11

After breakfast at the hotel, head out as a group and walk to Kiyomizu Temple to enjoy a day of sight-seeing around Kyoto. Stops include Sanjusanjendo Hall and Nijyo Castle. After lunch, visit the Kyoto International Conference Center (Sachio Otani, 1964-66) and Prince Hotel Takaragaike (Murano, 1986). Return to the hotel to freshen up and dine out as a group.


FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12

Eat breakfast at the hotel before boarding the bus at 9:45am to spend the day in Hyogo Prefecture and Osaka. First stop: Frank Lloyd’s Wright’s Yodoko Guest House (1924), followed by Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art (Tadao Ando, 2002). Travel to Osaka for lunch, then visit the Shinsaibashi Daimaru department store before heading back to the hotel to spend the evening as you wish. Pack your bags before bed – tomorrow we head to Tokyo bright and early.


SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13

Meet to board the bus for the 8:13am Bullet Train to Tokyo; bento breakfast on board. Arrive at 10:24am and tour Tokyo Station by foot. Visit KITTE, a shopping gallery located in the former Tokyo Central Post Office, then board the bus to Nissay Theatre (Murano, 1961). After lunch, stop at the Palace Side Building (Shoji Hayashi, 1966), Museum of Western Art (Le Corbusier, 1959), the Gallery of Horyu-ji Treasures (Yoshio Taniguchi, 1999), and Tokyo Bunka Kaikan (Kunio Maekawa, 1961). Then head to Keio Plaza Hotel to check in and relax for the evening.


SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel, then meet to the board the bus for a day in Gunma Prefecture. Morning stops include: Gunma Music Center (Antonin Raymond, 1955-61) and Takasaki Museum of Art/Former Inoue Residence (Raymond, 1952). After lunch, we visit the Museum of Modern Art Takasaki (Arata Isozaki, 1974), Tomioka Silk Mill and Tomioka City Hall (Kengo Kuma & Associates, 2017), before heading back to the hotel for an evening at your leisure.

 

MONDAY, DECEMBER 15

After breakfast, board the bus for a full day of Modernism.Morning stops include Kenzo Tange’s Tokyo City Hall Observation Deck (1988–1990) and Inter-University Seminar House, designed by Takamasa Yoshizaka (1965). After lunch, travel to Junya Ishigami + Associates KAIT Workshop (2008), then onto the International House of Japan (Maekawa Kunio, Sakakura Junzo, Yoshimura Junzo; 1955) for a reception with Docomomo Japan. Return to the hotel at 8:30pm.


TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16

Meet at 8am, to board the bus for the final day in Japan. First stop: Yoyogi National Gymnasium (Tange, 1964). Then it’s on to Meiji Jingu – a Shinto shrine located in an expansive forest within Tokyo – and Spiral (Fumihiko Maki, 1985). After lunch, the afternoon is yours, but make sure to be back at the hotel by 5:45pm to board the bus for a farewell dinner at Jiyu Gakuen.

SITES

Modern Japan starts in Hiroshima, then we travel to Kyoto, Hyogo Prefecture, and Osaka, ending in Tokyo. 

Hiroshima Peace Museum 

Credit:

© Wiiii/Wikimedia

Municipal Motomachi High-Rise Apartments 

Credit:

Peace Tourism Hiroshima

Simose Art Garden Villa

Credit:

Simose

Kyocera Museum of Art

Credit:

© Daici Ano

Prince Hotel Takaragaike 

Credit:

Courtesy Prince Hotels

Yodoko Guest House (1924) designed by Frank Lloyd Wright 

Credit:

Courtesy Yodoko Guest House

Kyoto International Conference Center 

Credit:

 © 663 Highland/Wikimedia

Palace Side Building 

Credit:

© Kakidai/Wikimedia

 Museum of Western Art 

Credit:

 © 663 Highland/Wikimedia

Inter-University Seminar House 

Credit:

 © Kakidai/Wikimedia

Yoyogi National Gymnasium

Credit:

© Arne Museler/Wikimedia

TOUR DOCENT

 

 

Ken Tadashi Oshima

Ken Oshima is a Professor of Architecture at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he teaches in the areas of cross-national architectural history, theory and design. He served as Chair of Japan Studies UW (2015-21) and has been a visiting professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and UCLA. Dr. Oshima is a Fellow of the Society of Architectural Historians and served as President from 2016-18. He has curated the exhibitions LIVING Modernity: Experiments in the Exceptional and Everyday (2025), The Wright Imperial Hotel at 100: Frank Lloyd Wright and the World (2023) and is author of Kiyonori Kikutake Between Land and Sea (2015), Global Ends – Towards the Beginning (2012), International Architecture in Interwar Japan: Constructing Kokusai Kenchiku (2009), and Arata Isozaki (2009).

REGISTRATION

PROGRAM RATE*

Modern Japan (Sun., Dec. 7–Wed., Dec. 16)

 

Double Occupancy: $6595 per person | Single Occupancy: $7655 per person

Registration deadline: May 15, 2025

 

*Includes: $1000 non-refundable deposit; a comprehensive educational land program; entrance to all locations and sites, as detailed; hotel accommodations (incl. breakfast, guest room, tax, service charge) as detailed; transport between the preferred hotels and daily sites; Bullet train tickets from Hiroshima to Kyoto and from Kyoto to Tokyo; nine lunches and four dinners (incl: two receptions). Guests are responsible for airfare, drinks and meals unless specified, and transportation to/from airport. 


PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Guests are expected to remit payment according to the following deposit timeline:


$1000 Deposit Due: Tuesday, April 30

60% of Total Tour Cost Due: Friday, June 6

80% of Total Tour Cost Due: Wednesday, Aug. 6

Remaining Balance Due: Thursday, Nov. 6

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Modern Japan is co-organized with Docomomo Japan. Schedules and program details are provided in good faith based on available information. Changes to the itinerary, accommodations, or arrangements may occur at Docomomo US’s discretion, with or without notice. Docomomo US reserves the right to cancel this event at any time if it cannot be held safely, for any reason. Attendees may want to purchase travel insurance, which may reimburse certain costs if the event is canceled or you are unable to participate. Docomomo US does not recommend or provide guidance about specific insurers or insurance products.

 

Registrants may cancel through June 6, 2025, for a refund, less the $1000 deposit. Cancellations between June 7–Aug. 6, 2025, incur 60% charge of the total tour cost per person; between Aug. 7–Nov. 5, cancellations incur 80% charge of the total tour cost per person; cancellations on and after Nov. 6., incur 100% charge of total tour cost per person. To cancel your registration, email info@docomomo-us.org.

 

 

ABOUT DOCOMOMO TRAVEL TOURS

Docomomo Travel Tours offer a unique travel experience in a small group setting, with access to modern homes and buildings off the beaten path or not ordinarily open to the public. Email info@docomomo-us.org for more information.