I have been saving up my United miles all year so I could get a free ticket to Tokyo, and I am so tickled that I got a seat on a direct Dreamliner flight from Denver to Narita. I am leaving midday Sunday, and will arrive Monday night in Tokyo. I’ll be at the show Thursday and Friday, and will post photos over the following week.
If you would like to travel along with me over the next week, you might want to snap up a copy of QuiltMania’s “My Little Japan” which has gorgeous detailed photos of quilts from last year’s Tokyo Quilt Festival.
You can also look over my photos from previous trips to Japan, to get an idea of why I am always so excited to take this trip! If you’ve followed my travel to Tokyo in the past, you may also be aware that I hand carry several copies of the two show books, to share with collectors here. I return on Jan 23 so those will be available the following week.
My first few trips to Japan were in the early 80’s when I was living in Hong Kong and working as a fashion designer. In those days I traveled mostly to textile manufacturers in Osaka. Later, when I traveled to Japan as a quilter, I ran into a trio of National Geographic photographers while in Kyoto, and after fighting them for the same shots in Nara, I decided to join them in the back of the tour bus. We swapped travel stories and compared camera gear as we bounced from temple to temple, giddy with the joy of photographing beautiful Japan.
Watch for my photos later this week, so you can join in the Joys of Japan with me!
My Cuban Arts Tour is fast approaching, and I know many of you want to see Cuba before it opens up to the US and everything starts to change. This beautiful island nation has been frozen in time for 50 years, but NOW is the time to visit, so I hope you can come along to share the art, colors, music and food …to remember Cuba in its purest expression.
We are so lucky to stay in the famous historic Hotel Nacional which sits on a hill overlooking the seawall and the ocean…where one can walk in the footsteps of Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich and Winston Churchill. Join me on the patio and we’ll have a mojito toast together!
Travel Calendar:
Jan 17-23 – Tokyo Quilt Festival
Feb 5 – Rocky Mtn Quilt Museum, Golden CO – “No Girls Allowed” Opening, 5-8 pm
Feb 18-19 – QuiltCon in Pasadena CA
March 5 – Lecture at BERNINA Presser Foot – Longmont CO
May 8-15 – Luana’s CUBA ARTS TOUR! – Join us!
Nov 15-20 – Luana’s Polar Bear Tour – Details soon
See my Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, too!
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