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2026 edition · CompletedJapan · All editions ↗
Chef at the Tapas Molecular Bar counter, Tokyo

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE · 2026

The Japan we
keep at our table.

Some encounters continue after we return. In people, in gestures and in the pages we keep.

Tapas Molecular Bar · Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo
Institutional photography

Programme22.09 — 01.10.2026
Welcome · Departure21.09 · 02.10
CurationVictor Barros
Traveller area ↗
Victor Barros
Victor Barros · WCE collection

A perspective by Victor Barros

One country.
So many ways to connect.

“I don’t want you to visit Japan. I want you to sit at the table with it.”

This was the intention behind the 2026 edition. Gastronomy as the guiding thread; hospitality, craft and the rhythm of each place as part of the same conversation.

Read the original letter · September 2026 ↗

The 2026 journey

Five movements.
One lasting thread.

Tokyo, Yamanashi and Fuji, Osaka and Kyoto. Each territory opened a way of seeing, tasting and understanding Japan.

Itinerary based on the Booklet dated 28 September 2026. The presentation of 13 September 2026, including plans changed later, remains in the original archive.

Tokyo
Pexels · place imagery

Movement I · Tokyo

Learning to see.

Shrine and city, memory and experimentation. Tokyo opened the vocabulary of this edition — from the gesture of sushi to the freedom of discovering Ginza.

22–25 September · 2026

Explore this movement’s days +
01
The art of arriving22 September

The immersive art of teamLab Borderless opens the senses. Gonpachi brings the group together; a pause at the Mandarin precedes the opening dinner at Unkai.

Open this day in the Booklet ↗
02
From memory to precision23 September

Asakusa and Sensō-ji introduce the memory of Edo. Lunch at Mugitoro and the Tapas Molecular Bar bring continuity and experimentation into conversation.

Open this day in the Booklet ↗
03
From forest to craft24 September

Meiji Jingu, Harajuku, Omotesando and Shibuya change the scale of our gaze. At Matsunozushi, sushi is craft and transmission; Ittouya closes the day in Nihonbashi.

Open this day in the Booklet ↗
04
Food before the shop window25 September

Tsukiji begins with ingredients. Ginza leaves time for personal discoveries before the gathering at Gucci Namiki and dinner at Gucci Osteria Tokyo.

Open this day in the Booklet ↗
Yamanashi & Fuji
Harry Shum · Pexels · place imagery

Movement II · Yamanashi & Fuji

Landscape at the table.

The vineyard changed the scale of our gaze. Château Mercian and time at FUFU made room for territory, forest and a different rhythm.

26–27 September · 2026

Explore this movement’s days +
05
Landscape as an ingredient26 September

Wine guides the passage from Tokyo to Yamanashi. Château Mercian introduces the territory; at FUFU Kawaguchiko, forest, dinner and the pleasure of staying change the rhythm.

Open this day in the Booklet ↗
06
The art of transition27 September

The last morning belongs to FUFU. The road journey passes through Gotemba and Lake Hamana before arrival at Four Seasons Hotel Osaka.

Open this day in the Booklet ↗
Osaka & Kansai
Suntory · Yamazaki · place imagery

Movement III · Osaka & Kansai

Water, time and appetite.

Whisky, sake, markets and counters: Yamazaki, Daimon and Osaka’s tables connected the time of production with the pleasure of being together.

28–29 September · 2026

Explore this movement’s days +
07
Water, time and maturation28 September

Yamazaki and Kinsuitei connect whisky, season and landscape. In the evening, the counters at Isaribi return the group to the warmth of the table.

Open this day in the Booklet ↗
08
Eat the City29 September

Daimon Brewery opens the day with sake and fermentation. The city leaves room for personal discovery; Kitan Hibiki brings everyone together for dinner.

Open this day in the Booklet ↗
Kyoto
OchaKase Kyoto · place imagery

Movement IV · Kyoto

Another measure of time.

Tea, kimono, streets and hospitality. OchaKase, Higashiyama and the table at KURO shaped the Kyoto chapter in the edition’s programme.

30 September · 2026

Explore this movement’s days +
09
The beauty of transmission30 September

Fushimi Inari, OchaKase and the kimono experience at Okamoto reveal another measure of time. Higashiyama and KURO, at SODOH, complete the Kyoto chapter.

Open this day in the Booklet ↗
Osaka
Osaka Geihinkan · VMG · place imagery

Movement V · Osaka

A place for memory.

Osaka Geihinkan was the house chosen for the final table. Then, the journey home: the experience changes place, but continues within these pages.

1–2 October · 2026

Explore this movement’s days +
10
The last table1 October

Personal time in Osaka and a pause before the closing evening. Osaka Geihinkan, beside the castle, is the setting for the final table. Departure follows on 2 October.

Open this day in the Booklet ↗
Departure · 2 October ↗

The languages of the table

Who welcomes us
becomes part of the story.

Behind each choice, a person, an ingredient, a way of working. Four perspectives through which to revisit the edition.

Yoshi Tezuka · Matsunozushi

Institutional photography · Yoshi Tezuka · Matsunozushi

Yoshi Tezuka · Matsunozushi

Craft passed from hand to hand.

Rice, blade and gesture. The counter brings maker and guest together.

Revisit in the Booklet ↗
Château Mercian

Institutional photography · Château Mercian

Château Mercian

A landscape in the glass.

Vineyard and cellar deepen our understanding of Yamanashi.

Revisit in the Booklet ↗
Yamazaki Distillery

Institutional photography · Yamazaki Distillery

Yamazaki Distillery

Water, material and time.

Maturation connects flavour with the place where it begins.

Revisit in the Booklet ↗
OchaKase · Kyoto

Institutional photography · OchaKase · Kyoto

OchaKase · Kyoto

Attention as a language.

Tea, cuisine and hospitality invite presence in every gesture.

Revisit in the Booklet ↗

The houses of the journey

Three houses.
Three ways of staying.

The places we return to also shape the journey. City, forest and contemporary hospitality gave rhythm to these ten days.

Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo
Institutional photography · Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo

Nihonbashi · Tokyo

Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo

The first home. A constant reference between Tokyo's tables and neighbourhoods. A place to return, rest and prepare for the next encounter.

FUFU Kawaguchiko
Institutional photography · FUFU Kawaguchiko

Kawaguchiko · Fuji

FUFU Kawaguchiko

The forest as home. A night when staying is part of the programme. Forest, water, wood and mountain time shift the scale of the journey.

Four Seasons Hotel Osaka
Institutional photography · Four Seasons Hotel Osaka

Osaka · Kansai

Four Seasons Hotel Osaka

A home to return to. The base for Osaka, Yamazaki and Kyoto, supporting both the encounters and the freedom to discover the city independently.

WCE CARE · CURATED FREEDOM

Care also lives
between encounters.

Arrive.

Time to set down your bags and find the rhythm of a place.

Choose.

Room for a street, a personal discovery or simply a pause.

Stay.

Guidance and context, with attention to the scale of each encounter.

The edition library · 2026

The journey continues
within these pages.

Each publication holds a part of the experience. This edition’s documents remain connected to 2026.

kizuna 絆

A deeper reading

Japan, between the pages.

People, craft, culture and hospitality. The experience’s magazine, kept in the 2026 library.

Full magazine · restricted access

View Kizuna access ↗

Your personal documents and information have a place of their own.

Enter the traveller area ↗

A new edition. A new story.

Japan welcomes us
to the table again.

Explore the 2027 edition ↗