Day 1: Kurokawa Noh dance lesson

The tour begins when you are met by your guide at Shonai Airport. The first stop is lunch at farmhouse restaurant Chikeiken.

Enjoy a meal prepared by the owner using seasonal local ingredients. Next, visit Ogikaikan for a briefing on Kurokawa Noh theater by noh performer Yoshibu Ueno. On the stage, you will have a noh dance lesson wearing the same authentic mask, robes, and fan as those used in actual performances. Next, check in at the stylish and modern Suiden Terrasse, your hotel for the next two nights. The hotel gets its name from the fact that it appears to be floating upon the rice paddies. For dinner, enjoy Italian cuisine at Al ché-cciano, owned by Chef Okuda whose cooking makes use of the fresh vegetables, seafood, and meat of Dewa Shonai.

Day 2: Climb the pilgrimage path of Mt. Haguro of the Dewa Sanzan holy mountains, shojin ryori cooking class, and tour and dinner at the Matsugaoka Winery

Leave the hotel for Mt. Haguro, where you will don white pilgrim’s garb and join a yamabushi mountain monk to climb the 2,446 stone steps to the top. The grove of 400-year-old cedars, which lines the pilgrimage path, received three stars from the Michelin Green Guide. At Saikan, the dining and lodging facility near the summit, you will receive a lesson in shojin ryori cooking under the guidance of the head chef. At the summit, a reverent prayer will be offered at the Sanjin-Gousaiden prayer hall, which enshrines the three deities of the Dewa Sanzan holy mountains. Later, head to Matsugaoka Craft Park, home to Silk Miraikan. Here you will be greeted by President Yamato of Tsuruoka Silk who will explain about the history of silk textiles in Tsuruoka, which began 150 years ago when samurai cleared the land and turned to silk raising after downing their swords. Silk textile items are available for purchase here. Walk to the nearby Pino Collina winery for a tour of the vineyards offering a superb view of Mt. Gassan, and a wine tasting. Dinner will be served on the restaurant terrace, featuring the finest local ingredients. The head chef will describe the wine selections accompanying the meal.

Day 3: Early morning prayers at Zenpo-ji Temple, followed by a visit to the Homma Museum of Art

Leave the hotel at 5 a.m. to attend an impressive prayer ceremony at Zenpo-ji Temple. After a meditation session, tour the Ryuo Hall, the Hall of the Five Hundred Arhats and the temple’s Five-Storied Stūpa to admire the splendid temple architecture and the Buddhist images on the site, followed by a traditional breakfast of congee rice porridge. Return to the hotel to ready for checkout. Leave for the port town of Sakata and the Sankyo Rice Warehouses repurposed into shops where you can buy souvenirs. Next, on to the Homma Museum of Art, the former residence of a wealthy Sakata merchant and one of Japan’s top gardens, designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty, with a guided tour by the head of the museum. Lunch at sushi restaurant Koise, where the house specialty is sushi served with salt. Enjoy the privilege of counter seating, where you can converse with the head sushi chef as you enjoy his blissfully delicious sushi. On to Shonai Airport, where the tour disbands.