The Future of Innovation

Touch down in Osaka and transfer to Kyoto, once an imperial capital and now a center of innovation. We are joined here by Wall Street Journal Asia Digital Editor Yumiko Ono, and National Geographic Emerging Explorer Arthur Huang, an engineer and architect whose company Miniwiz has become a global leader in post-consumer recycling technology.

On our first morning, visit the cutting-edge laboratory of Shimadzu, pioneers in x-ray and medical technology for more than a century; learn about 3D weaving and innovative design with the president of HOSOO, a textile company founded in 1688; and hear how traditional artisans at the GO ON consortium use the principles of Japanese craft in the manufacture of everything from electronics to tableware. Later, delve into the aromatic alleys of Nishiki Market or take a walk through the historic geisha district of Gion. The following day, choose from a variety of excursions: experience Zen meditation and cuisine at Tenryuji Temple before a walk in the bamboo grove of Arashiyama; visit Ryoanji temple and its famous Zen garden; or see iconic Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion. Alternatively, explore traditional wooden townhouses called machiya, learn about a large-scale effort to restore them, and enjoy a cooking class in one of these historic dwellings. Then gather at the acclaimed ULTRA FACTORY at Kyoto University of Art and Design to hear from prominent artists about the Open Innovation Project, which fuses technology and art to create prosthetics, interactive media, and much more.