The city that carried the faith
Nagasaki
A harbour city ringed by hills, and the centre of Japanese Catholicism for four centuries — through the martyrdoms of 1597, the two hundred and fifty silent years, and the bomb.
Destinations / Japan & Korea
among the Martyrs of the Far East
A Pilgrimage to
Japan & Korea
Nagasaki, Akita and Seoul — two churches that survived without priests, and grew.
For 250 years there were no priests in Japan. When French missionaries reopened a church in Nagasaki in 1865, a group of villagers approached and asked three questions: do you honour Mary, are you celibate, and do you obey the Pope in Rome. Tens of thousands had kept the faith in secret, passing on baptism and the Creed across seven generations.
That story is the reason to bring a group to Japan, and it is why this pilgrimage lands differently from anything in Europe. A ProRome pilgrimage here runs from Tokyo to Nagasaki by way of Akita, where a wooden statue of Our Lady is reported to have wept 101 times, and Hiroshima, where a Jesuit house eight blocks from the hypocentre stood.
Korea is the other half of the story and can be joined to it. The Korean Church was founded by laypeople who read their way into the faith from books before any missionary arrived, then held it through waves of persecution that produced ten thousand martyrs. St. Andrew Kim Taegon was the first Korean priest and was beheaded at twenty-five.
11–14
Nights Abroad
Recommended
Daily
Mass at
Sacred Sites
3
Lodging Styles
To Choose From
25–500+
Pilgrims
Per Group
Where You Will Pray
The places that make a Far Eastern pilgrimage
The Discovery of the Hidden Christians
Ōura Church
Built in 1864 for foreign residents. Within weeks a group of villagers approached the French priest and asked three questions — do you honour Mary, are you celibate, do you obey the Pope in Rome. The oldest church in Japan.
The Immaculate Conception
Urakami Cathedral
Once the largest church in East Asia, five hundred metres from the hypocentre. Eight and a half thousand of its twelve thousand parishioners were killed. Rebuilt in 1959, and the bell rings again.
St. Paul Miki and companions
Nishizaka Hill
Where twenty-six Catholics — six friars, three Jesuits, seventeen laymen, the youngest twelve years old — were crucified in 1597 on a hill facing the sea.
The Korean Church
Seoul & Myeongdong
The cathedral at the heart of Korean Catholicism, and Jeoldusan above the Han River — Beheading Hill, where thousands were killed in the persecution of 1866.
St. Andrew Kim Taegon
The Korean Martyrs
A Church founded by laypeople who read their way into the faith before any missionary arrived, then held it through persecutions that produced ten thousand martyrs. Kim Taegon was the first Korean priest, beheaded at twenty-five.
The Ground You Cover
Japan and Korea, site by site
Click any marker to see what is there and how long groups usually stay.
Legend
- Japan
- Korea
Nowhere is off limits
These are the sites groups ask for most — not a list of where we can go. The Hidden Christian villages of the Goto Islands, the martyrdom sites of Kyushu, and the shrines of southern Korea are all within reach. If there is a place your group cares about, tell us and we will build the road to it.
A Sample Eleven Nights
Tokyo to Nagasaki
Japan needs more nights than Europe — the distances are long and the flights are long. Eleven nights is our recommendation for Japan alone; fourteen if you add Korea.
Day 1
Depart the United States
Long-haul flight to Tokyo, crossing the date line.
Day 2
Arrive in Tokyo
Transfer, rest, and an opening Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral.
Day 3
Tokyo
The modern Japanese Church, Sophia University, and the city itself.
Day 4
North to Akita
To the convent of Yuzawadai, Mass before the statue, and time with the sisters.
Day 5
Akita to Kyoto
A long travel day by rail, arriving in the old capital.
Day 6
Kyoto
Temples, the Nishijin district, and the Japan most pilgrims came imagining.
Day 7
Kyoto to Hiroshima
The Peace Park, the Memorial Cathedral for World Peace, and Mass there.
Day 8
Hiroshima to Nagasaki
South to the city that carried the Japanese Church, and the first evening there.
Day 9
The Martyrs of Nagasaki
Nishizaka Hill, Ōura Church where the Hidden Christians came forward, and Urakami Cathedral.
Day 10
Unzen and Shimabara
The hot springs where Christians were tortured, and the ground of the 1637 rebellion.
Day 11
Nagasaki, at your own pace
The Hidden Christian sites, the atomic bomb museum, or quiet at Urakami. Closing Mass and group dinner.
Day 12
Return home
Transfer to Fukuoka or Nagasaki and the long flight back.
This is a starting point, not a package. Adding Korea makes it a fourteen-night pilgrimage — a short flight from Fukuoka to Seoul, then Jeoldusan, Jeonju, Solmoe and the tomb of St. Andrew Kim Taegon.
What it costs
$3,000–$3,500
Student groups · per pilgrim, land only
$3,800–$4,500
Adult groups · per pilgrim, land only
Both ranges are all-inclusive on the ground and vary with the season you travel. Airfare is quoted separately — see the FAQ below for how that works.
- Lodging matched to your group — religious guesthouse, four-star hotel, or five-star
- Daily breakfast and most dinners
- Private motorcoach and all ground transfers
- Catholic guides throughout
- All entrance fees and site reservations
- Daily Mass arranged and reserved
- A ProRome tour manager for the full trip
Where you stay
Religious guesthouses. Japan and Korea have fewer pilgrim houses than Europe, though several convents and Catholic retreat houses take groups. In Japan a night in a traditional ryokan is worth considering as part of the journey rather than as lodging.
Four-star hotels. More space, more amenities, and the option most parish groups choose.
Five-star. For groups who want it, we build it — and we will tell you honestly what it adds and what it does not.
The choice is yours on every pilgrimage, and it moves the price more than any other decision.
When to go
Late March to May is the finest window — mild, and the cherry blossom moving north through the country.
October and November are equally good, with autumn colour and stable weather.
June is the rainy season and July to August is hot and humid. We generally steer groups away from both.
9 August, the anniversary of the Nagasaki bomb, and 5 February, the feast of St. Paul Miki and companions, are both worth building around.
What Sets Us Apart
Your guide is a missionary, not a tour guide
ProRome guides are trained missionaries with degrees from Catholic universities. They are not working from a script, and they are not reciting dates from a plaque.
Japan is where this matters most. The story of the Hidden Christians is not on a plaque, and a guide who can explain what the fumi-e were, what apostasy cost, and how the faith was passed down without a priest gives a group something they cannot get from a guidebook.
Common Questions
Planning a Far Eastern pilgrimage
How long should a pilgrimage to Japan be?
Eleven nights abroad is what we recommend for Japan alone, and fourteen if you add Korea. The flights are long, the internal distances are considerable, and jet lag is real in both directions. Shorter than eleven nights and the trip becomes a series of travel days.
Why do Catholic groups go to Japan?
Because of the Hidden Christians. For 250 years there were no priests in Japan, and when missionaries returned in 1865 tens of thousands of people came forward who had kept baptism and the Creed in secret across seven generations. Nagasaki holds that story, along with the twenty-six martyrs crucified in 1597 and the cathedral rebuilt after 1945.
What is Our Lady of Akita?
A wooden statue of Our Lady at the convent of Yuzawadai that is reported to have wept 101 times between 1975 and 1981, witnessed by many and filmed by Japanese television. The local bishop approved devotion there in 1984. We arrange Mass at the convent and time with the sisters.
How much does a pilgrimage to Japan cost?
Student groups typically run $3,000 to $3,500 per pilgrim and adult groups $3,800 to $4,500, land only and all-inclusive on the ground, varying with the season. Japan and Korea sit at the upper end of those ranges and airfare is materially higher than Europe, so we quote the air separately once fares open.
Can we combine Japan and Korea?
Yes, and it makes the strongest version of this pilgrimage. A short flight from Fukuoka reaches Seoul, and Korea adds a Church founded by laypeople who read their way into the faith before any missionary arrived, then held it through persecutions that produced ten thousand martyrs. Fourteen nights covers both without rushing.
Is there daily Mass?
Yes. The Catholic communities in Japan and Korea are small but well organised, and we arrange Mass throughout — at Urakami and Ōura in Nagasaki, at the convent in Akita, at the Memorial Cathedral in Hiroshima, and at Myeongdong and Jeoldusan in Seoul.
How far in advance should we start planning?
Eighteen months is better than twelve for the Far East. Long-haul group airfare, cherry-blossom season lodging, and the convent at Akita all reward booking early.
How does airfare work?
Airlines do not release group fares until roughly eleven months before your return date, so airfare is quoted separately from the land price. That gives you two ways to launch. You can launch land-only now, start registering pilgrims at the land price, and add airfare once it opens — the usual choice when a group wants a long recruiting window. Or you can wait until the eleven-month mark, let us contract the air, and launch one all-inclusive price, which is simpler for pilgrims but shortens the time you have to fill the trip. We will tell you which fits your group when we talk.
Let’s build your Far Eastern pilgrimage
Tell us your group, your dates, and what is on your parish’s heart. We will come back with an itinerary and a price — no obligation, and no template.
Request a Custom Proposal →