Each Gomineko Tour is 10 days of seeing the sights, meeting the legends, and thoroughly embracing the seedy underbelly of this amazing country and all you have to do is get here. No need to struggle with the language, or local currency, or deal with confusing maps and train systemscwefll take care of all that.

Through the bookstore I have had the privilege of being involved in the Japanese tattoo community for the last 10 years and have arranged for you to meet some of the top tier artists here as well as see the relevant cultural sights to further you tattoo career. 10 days in Japan will help you understand the hidden world of Japanese tattooing. Moreover, it will provide a more thorough understanding of Japanese culture and aesthetics. The Japanese tattoo world is often inaccessible and hard to navigatecwefll take the footwork out of your networking. If you want to get an authentic Japanese tattoo while you are here we can arrange that as well.

The tours includes accommodations, bilingual guides, seminars, all travel and entrance feesc....basically everything except for your airfare and food. Each tour is $2700USD per person and we required a $300 non refundable deposit to hold your spot. Feel free to book with us, then take care of your airfare now while it is still inexpensive, and pay the tour balance upon arrival. If you would like to participate in back to back tours the total cost is $5000 and you will need to make arrangements to get from Tokyo to Kyoto and back (we can help with that).

Tours are limited to 15 people so book early to reserve your spot.

Tokyo Tour October 6, 2010 - October 16, 2010

The idea is to take a bunch of like minded, fun (please, please donft sign on if you have no sense of humor) people to our favorite haunts and hangs. We will visit all the nearby temples and shrines, wefve arranged a tebori seminar so you can witness traditional hand poke tattooing up close, and ask questions. We will go to the Horiyoshi III museum and Kyosai museum, experience a traditional Japanese hot springcheaven! Wefll take you to see the Rockabilly kids dance in Yoyogi park, visit the downtown Blade Runner-esque areas, and go see the Harajuku goth and lolita kids and do day trips to the Daibutsu (Big Buddha) and Temples in Kamakura as well as Nikko, tattoo icon Mecca. Wefve arranged budget accommodations right in the heart of the city - rife with neon and always buzzing this area is overflowing with cafes, great restaurants, bars, clubs and fantastic shopping. We will also arrange tattoo appointments for you, just let us know what you want and by who and wefll do our best to get you sorted out.

You will need to book into Narita International Airport on the 6th of October, most likely departing on the 5th from your departure point.

If you have never been to Japan we recommend you start out with the Tokyo tour......

Osaka/Kyoto/Nara Tour -October 17, 2010-October 27, 2010

Osaka is the definitive centre of youth culture, the Arts, and music in Japan. Being the hotbed of Japanese tattooing talent, there is a cavalcade of top tier talent, concentrated in this fun, crazy and visually stimulating city. Japanese pop culture is heavily represented here, street fashion is to the nines and the top level tattoo shops are in major abundance. This is the best place to check out Japan's stellar modern tattooing scene. We will take you around this city, to meet some of the top artists, do studio visits, (both shops and tebori artisans), go cruising on the river, and enjoy the outrageous nightlife.

Kyoto is the former imperial city of Japan. There are over 2000 Buddhist and Shinto shrines and it retains a traditional atmosphere, that is seemingly unaffected by time. Enjoy the temples such as the Golden pavilion, Ginkakuji, Kiyomizudera and Fushimi Inari Shrine. There are over ten World Heritage sites here, and the classical architecture of the buildings gives the entire city a charming, classic bygone feel. Enjoy the temples, the beautiful riverside bars, the geisha district and the best traditional food in Japan. Kyoto also has fantastic nightlife, and a great tattooing scene.

The ancient city of Nara is similarly abundant with World Heritage Sites, and monuments- rich with references, it is a dream for lovers of classic Japanese art. Nara has some of the most important Buddhist effigies, such as the majestic 15 metre "big Buddha of Nara" at Todai-ji temple. It is also the home of several hundred deer that are quick to attach themselves to anyone with snacks....


This tour will run October 17-27 and you will need to book a flight into Kansai International Airport on the 17th of October, which means you will most likely fly out on the 16th from your departure city.

Those of you planning to do both tours back to back should look into flights that arrive in Narita and depart from Kansai. We will take the bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka together and it will cost approximately $140.

The 2011 Cherry Blossom Tour will be held in Osaka/Kyoto/Nara April 8-18th

You will need to book a flight into Kansai International Airport arriving on April 8th...which means you will need to depart on the 7th from most countries.

Cherry Blossoms are held in high regard here in Japan...emblematic of life's fleeting nature they represent mortality, love...magnificent beauty and sudden death. It is a flower mean to invoke loyalty in Japanese people, esp. in the military and is regarded by all as a good omen. Sakura viewing, or hanami, is a national event. people of all walks of life gather under the trees in bloom to picnic, drink sake, karaoke and welcome spring.

Texas Lone Star Round Up Tour March 28 - April 4th

Anyone with a good sense of adventure and a passion for Kustom Kulture should look into this week long trip to Austin, Texas....hotrod hotbed and home to some of the sexiest pin-up models on earth! Texas is known for it's wild west spirit...and we want you to experience it first hand! We'll take you horseback riding, we'll go to the range and shoot guns, and listen to some of the best live music around! Austin is the live music capital of the world....and houses some of the best honky tonk/blues/rockabilly and punk rock venues on earth. We will also explore chop shops, kick-ass outlet stores for brands like Converse and Dickies and pop into a couple of Austin's primo tattoo shops. We'll hit the taco shacks and diners that make Austin famous and end the trip at the Lone Star Rod & Custom Round Up - one of the biggest and best car shows in the south! The organizers know we are coming and are rolling out the red carpet for us, so plan for an experience you'll never forget!!

This tour leaves from Narita on the 28th of March and we will arrive back on April 4th. The tour includes airfare, hotel, van transport, bilingual guides and activity fees - you just need to bring money to shop and to feed yourself with!? No need to struggle with the language, or local currency, or deal with confusing maps and trying to get aroundcwefll get you there and make sure you are taken care of.

This 6 night/7 day tour is Y280,000. We need a minimum of 8 people confirmed before Dec. 15th to make the trip possible.. A refundable Y30,000 deposit will hold your spot, and the balance will be due Jan. 5th. Please address all questions and comments to gominekotours@gmail.com and please allow 48 hours for a reply - we are a little slow sometimes.

We are stoked about this flagship tour to the states and hope you are able to join us on what we know will be a once in a life time adventure you'll be telling your grandkids about!

2011 Tokyo Tour - May 13th -23rd


The second Tour this Spring will be based in Tokyo and run May 13 - 23 in Tokyo. We have timed this one to coincide with the legendary Sanja Matsuri in Asakusa. The three shrine festival has long been a draw for people interested in irezumi as for years, mad clad only in fundoshi, have born the Mikoshi thru the Asakusa promenade. Policy was passed a couple years ago banning visible tattoos around the Mikoshi, but the spirited festival still draws thousands of people to old town Asakusa and the event is not to be missed.

The tour includes accommodations, bilingual guides, seminars, all travel and entrance feesc....basically everything except for your airfare and food. Each tour is $2700USD per person and we required a $300 non refundable deposit to hold your spot. Feel free to book with us, then take care of your airfare now while it is still inexpensive, and pay the tour balance upon arrival.

During this 10 day tour of Tokyo we will visit the nearby temples and shrines, wefve organized a tebori seminar with world renowned tattooist Horiren, so you can witness traditional hand poke tattooing up close, and ask questions. We will go to the Horiyoshi III museum as well as the Kyosai museum....one of my personal favorites, reference galore!!! Wefll take you to see the Rockabilly kids dance in Yoyogi park, visit the downtown Blade Runner-esque areas, and go see the Harajuku goth and lolita kids and hit some of the cool record and toy shops.

We will spend a day near the beach in Kamakura, home of the legendary Daibutsu, (The Big Buddha) and spend a day as well in Nikko - which is one of my favorite places in Japan. It is a Buddhist pilgrimage area, and a world Heritage site. It is rife with temples in a serene mountain location. There are a mind boggling amount of temples, each lavishly decorated with mythological animals, gods and goddesses. It is one of the most picturesque areas in Japan and tattoo reference mecca!!!

Wefve arranged budget accommodations right in the heart of the city - rife with neon and always buzzing this area is overflowing with cafes, great restaurants, bars, clubs and fantastic shopping.

We are happy to arrange tattoo appointments for you, just let us know what you want and by who and wefll do our best to get you sorted out.

The tour will run 5/13 - 5/21 and you will need to book a flight into Narita Airport arriving on the 13th of May, which means you will most likely fly out on the 12th.

If this is your first visit to Japan we recommend this tour.....