1.646.560.3205
andrew@oscarwildetours.com
From the ancient world of Greece and Rome to Renaissance Italy, Baroque France, and 19th and 20th century Europe (and Japan too) there is no better guide than Professor Andrew Lear to the Gay side of history.
… our hearts were warm and gay! Rack up another triumph for Oscar Wilde Tours, with such delights as:
* cocktails at the Left Bank hotel where Oscar Wilde died;
* visit to Père Lachaise cemetery, starting (of course!) at Oscar Wilde’s monumental tomb;
* walks with local guide Edith through the Left Bank, Montmartre, and Palais Royale;
* visits to 4 Loire châteaux: Blois, Clos Lucé (where Leonardo spent his last years), Amboise (with a fabulous meal at the Lion d’Or), and Chenonceau (an incredible 16th century castle spanning the river Cher);
* a marvelous tour extension to Chartres cathedral, and to Proust’s aunt’s home in Illiers-Combray, now a Proust museum.
As always, the best part of any OWT outing was the cameraderie among the “campers”, and the convivial tone of our “councelor” extraordinaire, Professor Andrew Lear.
In short — c’était magnifique!
People are fascinated by Japan: by its refined arts and crafts, from calligraphy to kimonos: its exotic (to us) cultural traditions, such as geishas and tea ceremonies, and by its contrasting, almost futuristic modernity, as in the Shinkansen bullet trains and anime.
But did you know that Japan also has one of the world’s most interesting LGBTQ+ histories? Until Westernization took over in the 19th century, Japan had very different sexual customs from the West—including *male* geishas, to start with—and some claim this is still reflected in today’s worlds of manga and Japanese TV.
So come on Oscar Wilde Tours and Out Asia’s LGBTQ+ history and art tour of Japan. See the beautiful temples of Kyoto, relax in a traditional hot spring spa by Mount Fuji, experience a Japanese tea ceremony, ride on a bullet train—and learn about Japan’s LGBTQ+ side while doing it, from the time when (supposedly) monks brought same-sex love from China to Japan’s Buddhist monasteries and Samurai warriors to the elegant “pleasure quarters” of the 17th and 18th centuries to today’s Shinjuku Ni-chome gay town and its 300 bars.
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Professor Andrew Lear combines a love of travel with a passion for gay history, and he brings both of those attributes to Oscar Wilde Tours.
Professor Lear holds a B.A. from Harvard and a Ph.D. from UCLA. He has published a widely praised book on male-male love in ancient Greek art, as well as a number of important scholarly articles in this area… READ MORE
Our tour starts and ends at our Japanese hotel. It includes hotel accommodation; all breakfasts, 7 lunches, and 5 dinners; guide, escort, admission to all sights on the tour, and transportation to them (by minibus or train).
Singles and seniors are very welcome! Ages on our tours generally range from 40 to 80+. Our groups generally consist of a mix of couples and singles, and there is generally a nice group ethos, so no-one will ever feel left out. Single rooms are available, with a supplement; we are also happy to try to find you a room-mate if you would prefer.
All of the main sights in the tour are visited on foot, on walking or museum tours. There may be uneven ground, for instance in archaeological sites, and steps in some museums or historic houses. The amount of walking is not, however, excessive: we rarely exceed 2 miles a day. We travel from site to site by train, air conditioned bus, or private van.