Japan & South Korea (Our Lady of Akita & Naju)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Join us on a pilgrimage and cultural tour to Japan and South Korea (Our Lady of Akita and Naju). We will visit Tokyo, the vibrant capital of Japan, viewing the iconic Tokyo Tower, the Meiji Shrine and exploring the street food and markets. We will travel on the famous Bullet Train to Sendai and the highlight in Japan will be a guided visit of the Shrine of Our Lady of Akita followed by a traditional Japanese lunch of sashimi and the wonderful and well know Tea Ceremony where you can try on a Kimono! In South Korea, we join the very special celebration for international pilgrims and have 3 full days at the Shrine of Our Lady of Naju. We also have a cultural tour of South Korea and finish the pilgrimage in Seoul. Our pilgrimage includes a direct one-way flight from London Heathrow to Tokyo with British Airways and a direct one-way flight from Seoul to London Heathrow with Korean Air, all transfers and guided tours and visits as per the itinerary, daily Mass and 3*/4* half-board (breakfast and evening dinner) hotel accommodation.

A Brief History of Our Lady of Akita

Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa (the visionary) had many health problems for most of her life. Her health problems began from birth as she was born prematurely. Later in life, she was immobile for over a decade and eventually became totally deaf. In 1973, Marian apparitions were reported by Sister Sasagawa in the remote area of Yuzawadai, on the outskirts of Akita. Sister Sasagawa also reported to have a sudden healing of hearing impairments after these apparitions. A wooden statue representing the apparitions was venerated by the Japanese faithful and other Catholics and the weeping statue of the Virgin Mary was broadcast on Japanese national television in December 1973. The nuns at Yuzawadai reported stigmata on the wooden statue of the Virgin Mary that appeared before the tears started. The wooden statue was said to have wept on 101 occasions after which the stigmata disappeared.

A Brief History of Our Lady of Naju

In 1980, Julia Kim (the visionary) suffered terminal cancer and was about to do sinful act to end her life when her husband persuaded her to see a priest. Upon greeting her he declared that her sufferings were blessing from God. The priest gave her an 18-inch statue of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, which later came to be called the Lady of Naju. She was miraculously cured from her illness. In 1982 Julia Kim saw a vision of Jesus with his Sacred Heart bleeding and asking for suffering for the conversion of sinners. On 30th June 1985, she witnessed The Blessed Mother begun to weep tears through the statue owned by Julia. On July 18th, she received the first message of Our Lady. On 19th October 1986, Our Lady’s shed blood tears for the first time. She continued receiving messages up to 77 times, these messages of the combined Love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Today, Julia Kim at the age of 77 still takes part in meeting pilgrims arriving from around the world. We hope to meet Julia in Naju.