Miyazaki Seaside Calligraphy Performance Lesson w/ Dinner

Given its modern popularity as a tourist destination, one would never guess that until 1737, Miyazaki Prefecture’s Aoshima Shrine was considered so sacred that only priests were allowed to set foot on the island. An object of worship since Japan’s age of mythology, the island is ironically surrounded by bizarrely uniform rock formations known as the Devil’s Washboard, but this only adds to its sense of mystique.

In this experience, you’ll visit the mystical Devil’s Washboard to learn the mesmerizing art of shodo performance. Where regular calligraphy involves a normal-sized paintbrush, shodo performance has practitioners use huge brushes even taller than themselves to spell out Japanese characters on massive canvases. Under the guidance of a local shodo performance master, you’ll venture out from Aoshima Beach Park onto the Devil’s Washboard’s craggy expanse to learn how to wield these titanic tools. Don’t worry about getting splattered with ink: this time, you’ll just be using water to paint directly on the sun-dried rock of the Washboard itself. No fuss, no cleanup, and no environmental footprint.

After working up an appetite leaving your temporary mark on the Miyazaki coast, return to the mainland to find dinner waiting for you, prepared by two titans of Japan’s gourmet scene. Dinner is the brainchild of Chef Kashiwada Kojiro, owner-chef of the former Michelin-starred Kasane in Akasaka. For just two months, he returns briefly to his native Miyazaki to showcase his Tokyo-honed mastery of traditional Japanese technique, marrying it to the unparalleled freshness of Miyazaki produce, meat and seafood — a collaboration unlike any other.

And that’s not even accounting for the complementary cocktail made by the skilled hands of Nagumo Shuzo, one of Japan’s leading mixologists and the founder of Memento Mori, one of the World’s 50 Best Bars. Fresh Miyazaki fruit goes into his shaker, and out comes a drink that’s sure to redefine your conceptions of mixology.