Jessica Deutsch, the founder of plugged-in travel company Arts to Life is planning her first trip to Japan for next fall. Groups are limited to sixteen travelers and sell out fast. Deutsch shared some of the highlights of the trip.

“The premise of the journey is to allow Westerners a better cultural understanding of two distinctly different Japans: the one that existed before 1945 and the one that came into being after 1945. My trips are designed to show real life; to show, for example, that in Kyoto there was and still remains an ancient noble class, which is hard to penetrate. Or that in Tokyo, which was so heavily bombed, a new class came into being that turned its back on everything and looked straight into the future. We will visit skilled artisans, including a textile dyer and a lacquerware master, as well as the studios of contemporary artists. We will take a class at a ceramics studio and treasure hunt at the huge antiques market at the Toji Temple in Kyoto. There are different speakers who will accompany the journey, including Judith Clancy, an expert on Kyoto, art historian Paul Berry and experts on contemporary art, architecture and fashion in Tokyo.”

The dates for the trip are October 16-27, 2008. For a complete itinerary, visit: www.artstolife.com.