Japan
Only Anne Alene specializes in designing and leading Japan travel itineraries that are customized for art institution's trustee and benefactor parties and its directorial, executive development, and curatorial teams. These itineraries are successful, engaging tours that the party will remember and benefit the institution for years to come, designed and curated specifically for any institution that actively supports the visual arts, architecture, textiles and fashion, gardens, performing arts and special collections. Many travel programs are also timed to coincide with a particular exhibition, concert series or art fair. A curated travel program of Japan can be equated to an exhibition or a delegation, in the form of an experiential and educational tour absolutely unique to your institution.
With Anne and her team, you will have one of the foremost Japan art and culture travel experts in the U.S. Given 20 years of travel to Japan and fluency in the language, she maintains extensive personal relationships with artists, benefactors, museum officials, galleries, critics, academics, and collectors. The result is a uniquely crafted custom tour that will give your group an insider’s experience of Japanese art, culture, and its people, along with personal connections to its art world.
Testimonials from arts organizations:
“I had for a long time wanted to visit Japan and had been so looking forward to our trip with the patrons. Even so, it was better than I had imagined. Anne’s tour was so thorough and thoughtfully put together. We were impressed by her knowledge and enthusiasm for all aspects of Japanese culture, and her ability and willingness to convey difficult concepts to us (not an easy audience) was remarkable. Had we been there on our own for a substantial amount of time we wouldn't have gained half the insight that she gave us in just a week. We are very grateful to Anne and her staff for being such erudite, attentive and charming companions.”
– London, UK
“I absolutely couldn’t have done this trip without Anne – and she exceeded everyone’s expectations. Her knowledge, thoughtfulness, insight, and generosity was the perfect match for our group.”
– Vancouver, B.C. Canada
"Unanimously, the group praised Anne's leadership and cited her contributions as key to the success of the trip. She was informative, gracious, knowledgeable, patient, kind, open - curator, mother, friend, specialist, and facilitator - in short, indispensable. Through Anne's contacts, the group met unforgettable people, saw awe inspiring art and architecture, viewed places of great beauty, and learned more about the culture of Japan than generally possible in such a short period of time....we felt connected in ways not readily available to ordinary visitors."
- Charlotte, NC
“Anne was our guide throughout all of the Japan trip who specializes in art & architecture, which was one of the major attractions for us when planning this trip. Not only were we interested in seeing our museum’s collection on special exhibition in Tokyo, but in seeing the art centers and installations throughout Japan. The trip was marvelous...we all loved it. Anne is fabulous to travel with, speaks Japanese fluently, lived in Japan for a number of years and is very connected to serious art collectors. A different side of Japan than we expected!!!!”
- Pittsburgh, PA
"We enjoyed Japan and really appreciated all of Anne’s efforts to make the trip meaningful and memorable. She went the extra mile every day to enrich our experience and we are so grateful."
- Santa Fe, New Mexico
“This tour was an unforgettable introduction into the Japanese history and culture. We are so very grateful for Anne’s engagement and support.”
- Los Angeles, CA
“We still cannot quite get over the things we have seen, experienced and the people we have met here thanks to Anne. Truly unforgettable.”
– Somerset, UK
“What an enormous amount of new sights, sounds smells and foods to take in, looking back how did we manage to pack so much in – traveling from one side of the country to the other, planes, boats, trains, cars and coaches were all used with clock work precision to make sure we saw and experiences the best of Japan. Anne’s hard work was incredible and she brought Japan alive and explained a great deal that I probably would have just walked past.“
– London, UK
“Hearing about the history and her sharing her vast knowledge of Japan brought so many things to life. We couldn’t imagine being here with out Anne, and she made the trip very special.”
– Pittsburgh, PA
"Anne has such expertise, enthusiasm and joyful appreciation of all things Japanese. Japan through Anne’s eyes made it even more memorable.”
– New York, NY
“Anne did a fabulous job – the breadth of her knowledge is so great and so good for us who know something but not sure what century it appeared in or was it a scroll or a drawing and was it in old Tokyo or new Tokyo!”
– Ketchum, ID
“I know we all asked a multitude of questions, over 99% of which Anne had the answer at her fingertips and delivered with patience and grace. We were almost over-templed and over-shrined, but never to the point of frustration or rebellion, and the non-religious destinations were fascinating, illuminating and instructive. Anne made allowance for some of our feeble ways with no show of frustration or impatience and we made special notice of this in our respect for her.”
– Kailua, HI
“I cannot thank Anne enough for the past few days in Japan. Aside from the majesty, beauty and serenity of our visitations and the delight in our meals, Anne gave me insight and examples of the human connection which is the true miracle of Japan.”
– San Diego, CA
“One of the best parts of the trip was getting to know Anne and her passion for Japan. She was given an impossible assignment of shepherding such a diverse and needy group, and congratulations on a job well done!”
- Portland, OR