[Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture] Tsuyama, a city built by warlords of the Sengoku period "Samurai x Tsuyama Culture Premium Experience Tour"

This premium package tour allows you to fully experience Tsuyama's samurai and traditional culture, and is available only on this day. It offers a realistic and authentic experience based on the theme of "hare (extraordinary) and ke (ordinary)" in Tsuyama. At Hongenji Temple, the family temple of Mori Tadamasa, the first lord of Tsuyama Domain and Tsuyama Castle in Mimasaka Province, the tour includes a lecture on samurai culture by Oriental culture researcher Alex Kerr and a discussion with the head of the Mori family. The tour also includes a chance to experience pulling a danjiri float at the Tsuyama Festival Tokumori Grand Festival, a Yoimatsuri festival the day before the festival, Japanese dance by Japanese dancer Shiratori Yuka, vegetarian vegetarian cuisine at Hongenji Temple, and a tour of a sake brewery in Tsuyama City. This luxurious tour is unique to Tsuyama City.

Professor of Oriental Culture and Kyoto University of Advanced Science. Born in the United States in 1952. First came to Japan in 1964. Studied Japanese Studies at Yale University and Chinese Studies at Oxford University. Has lived in Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture since 1977. Since purchasing the 300-year-old thatched-roof house "Chiiori" in Iya, Tokushima Prefecture in 1973, he has been involved in the restoration of old houses, renovating approximately 50 of them. In 2024, he was awarded the Architectural Institute of Japan Cultural Award. He is committed to promoting inbound tourism and cultural events. He was appointed a "Visit Japan Ambassador" in 2008 and received the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs' Award from the Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2019. His publications include "Beautiful Afterimages of Japan" (1993), "Dogs and Demons" (2002), "The Japanese Landscape Theory" (2014), "Another Kyoto" (2016), and "Pilgrimage to Japan."

A lecture on samurai culture was held by Oriental culture researcher Alex Kerr at the Mori family temple, Hongenji. The event was realistic and authentic, featuring a conversation with the head of the Mori family and a display of Mori Ranmaru armor, produced by Tsuyama City, worn by the head of the Mori family.

Boasting a tradition spanning roughly 400 years, the Tsuyama Festival is a festival that continues to this day in this area, which once flourished as the castle town of Tsuyama Castle. One of the festival's spectacular highlights is the magnificent "Danjiri" (floor float) parade. This special event, usually only open to local residents, offers you the rare opportunity to take part in the festival and pull a Danjiri. Wearing a happi coat alongside local parishioners, you will be surrounded by the sounds of drums and shouts as you pull the Danjiri, allowing you to experience the essence of community ties and festival culture. It's an unforgettable and special experience where you can experience the spirit of good old Japan and the thrill of a passionate festival.