Each Gomineko Tour is 10 days of seeing the sights, meeting the legends, and thoroughly embracing the seedy underbelly of this amazing country and all you have to do is get here. No need to struggle with the language, or local currency, or deal with confusing maps and train systemscwefll take care of all that.

Through the bookstore I have had the privilege of being involved in the Japanese tattoo community for the last 10 years and have arranged for you to meet some of the top tier artists here as well as see the relevant cultural sights to further you tattoo career. 10 days in Japan will help you understand the hidden world of Japanese tattooing. Moreover, it will provide a more thorough understanding of Japanese culture and aesthetics. The Japanese tattoo world is often inaccessible and hard to navigatecwefll take the footwork out of your networking. If you want to get an authentic Japanese tattoo while you are here we can arrange that as well.

The tours includes accommodations, bilingual guides, seminars, all travel and entrance feesc....basically everything except for your airfare and food. Each tour is $2700USD per person and we required a $300 non refundable deposit to hold your spot. Feel free to book with us, then take care of your airfare now while it is still inexpensive, and pay the tour balance upon arrival. If you would like to participate in back to back tours the total cost is $5000 and you will need to make arrangements to get from Tokyo to Kyoto and back (we can help with that).

Tours are limited to 15 people so book early to reserve your spot.

Tokyo Tour October 6, 2010 - October 16, 2010

The idea is to take a bunch of like minded, fun (please, please donft sign on if you have no sense of humor) people to our favorite haunts and hangs. We will visit all the nearby temples and shrines, wefve arranged a tebori seminar so you can witness traditional hand poke tattooing up close, and ask questions. We will go to the Horiyoshi III museum and Kyosai museum, experience a traditional Japanese hot springcheaven! Wefll take you to see the Rockabilly kids dance in Yoyogi park, visit the downtown Blade Runner-esque areas, and go see the Harajuku goth and lolita kids and do day trips to the Daibutsu (Big Buddha) and Temples in Kamakura as well as Nikko, tattoo icon Mecca. Wefve arranged budget accommodations right in the heart of the city - rife with neon and always buzzing this area is overflowing with cafes, great restaurants, bars, clubs and fantastic shopping. We will also arrange tattoo appointments for you, just let us know what you want and by who and wefll do our best to get you sorted out.

You will need to book into Narita International Airport on the 6th of October, most likely departing on the 5th from your departure point.

If you have never been to Japan we recommend you start out with the Tokyo tour......

Osaka/Kyoto/Nara Tour -October 17, 2010-October 27, 2010

Osaka is the definitive centre of youth culture, the Arts, and music in Japan. Being the hotbed of Japanese tattooing talent, there is a cavalcade of top tier talent, concentrated in this fun, crazy and visually stimulating city. Japanese pop culture is heavily represented here, street fashion is to the nines and the top level tattoo shops are in major abundance. This is the best place to check out Japan's stellar modern tattooing scene. We will take you around this city, to meet some of the top artists, do studio visits, (both shops and tebori artisans), go cruising on the river, and enjoy the outrageous nightlife.

Kyoto is the former imperial city of Japan. There are over 2000 Buddhist and Shinto shrines and it retains a traditional atmosphere, that is seemingly unaffected by time. Enjoy the temples such as the Golden pavilion, Ginkakuji, Kiyomizudera and Fushimi Inari Shrine. There are over ten World Heritage sites here, and the classical architecture of the buildings gives the entire city a charming, classic bygone feel. Enjoy the temples, the beautiful riverside bars, the geisha district and the best traditional food in Japan. Kyoto also has fantastic nightlife, and a great tattooing scene.

The ancient city of Nara is similarly abundant with World Heritage Sites, and monuments- rich with references, it is a dream for lovers of classic Japanese art. Nara has some of the most important Buddhist effigies, such as the majestic 15 metre "big Buddha of Nara" at Todai-ji temple. It is also the home of several hundred deer that are quick to attach themselves to anyone with snacks....


This tour will run October 17-27 and you will need to book a flight into Kansai International Airport on the 17th of October, which means you will most likely fly out on the 16th from your departure city.

Those of you planning to do both tours back to back should look into flights that arrive in Narita and depart from Kansai. We will take the bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka together and it will cost approximately $140.

Message me to reserve, or with any questions at info@gominekobooks.com or gominekobooks@yahoo.com

All the Best,

Crystal