The Pearl Association of America completed two very successful pearl farm tours in 2025.
The first tour took place in early June, while the second occurred in early November. Both tours concluded with the semi-annual B2B pearl fairs in Kobe. Both tours were part of the Association’s focus on educational Immersive Experiences and were hosted and organized by the Japan Pearl Exporters’ Association.
The focus of both tours was to explore akoya pearl farming in Japan, with the objective of sharing the stories behind the pearls with diverse audiences. As a result, both tours included several key opinion leaders (KOLs) from the international jewelry world.
Japan has been successfully cultivating akoya pearls for over a century, ever since Kokichi Mikimoto harvested the first spherical cultured akoya pearl and changed the jewelry industry forever.
The June 2025 Pearl Tour
The first pearl farm tour in June 2025, brought six KOLs to small, family-owned pearl farms in Uwajima. The KOLs included Tevai Hunter of Kamoka Pearl, Helena Blanchet of Slightly Obsessed with LTD, Nathalie V. of The Journey of a Gem, BWeaves from the Pearl Guide forum, and Ruby Liu and Andrew Lucas of Guild Laboratories.
The tour was led by Jeremy Shepherd, President of the Pearl Association of America and his wife Hisano Shepherd. Both Jeremy and Hisano have a deep knowledge of pearls. With their fluency in Japanese, they became the essential facilitators of this tour.
At the farms, the KOLs got a behind-the-scenes look at a working pearl farm, including pearl grafting and oyster care. They also met the families that owned the farms.
These were multi-generational families with grandparents, parents, children, and grandchildren working together to run and maintain the pearl farms. It was both touching and reassuring for the KOLs to see the skills and traditions being handed down to new generations, helping preserve the know-how of this important industry.
After the pearl farm tours concluded, the group visited Mikimoto Pearl Island. Located in Toba Bay, the island is a key destination for anyone interested in the history of cultured pearls. The group explored the Mikimoto Pearl Island museum, which showcases the evolution of pearl cultivation in depth. The museum also houses one of the most extensive collections of antique and vintage pearl jewelry, including several notable MIKIMOTO pieces.
A highlight of the Mikimoto Pearl Island visit was a live demonstration by traditional female pearl divers, known as Ama divers. During the performance, the Ama divers recreated the historic way in which oysters were harvested for natural pearls, before the introduction of pearl farming.
The November 2025 Pearl Tour
The second pearl tour started in the first week of November 2025 with five KOLs. These included high-profile jewelry influencer Tracey Ellison of The Diamond’s Girl, Jennifer Heebner, a respected jewelry journalist with over two decades experience writing about pearls, Esther B. Ligthart, international jewelry journalist and luxury consultant, jewelry journalist Reema Farooqui of The Culture of Pearls as well as Tao Hsu, Director of Gemology Content and Professional Development at GIA Carlsbad.
Once again, this tour was led by Jeremy Shepherd and Hisano Shepherd.
In the November tour, the participants visited Nagasaki Prefecture, which is famous for its large, commercial akoya pearl farms.
A short flight from Fukuoka brought the participants to Tsushima Island, where the Kitamura Pearl farm is located. Located in a sheltered bay, the farm has been producing cultured akoya pearls since 1901. The akoya pearl production of the farm is close to three million pearls annually. Kitamura Pearl farm, however, is most renowned for its large and stunning, deeply hued blue akoya pearls.
The tour also included a visit to the Sasebo Pearl Farm in Nagasaki, where the participants met Mr. Fujita. He is not only the CEO of Sasebo Pearl Farm but also the President of the Japan Pearl Promotion Society.
The Sasebo Pearl Farm is a large, commercial pearl farm that produces approximately 750,000 akoya pearls annually. During this visit, Mr. Fujita generously offered the participants the opportunity to harvest their own akoya pearls, which was an exciting and memorable activity.
At the Sasebo Pearl farm, the participants were given a behind-the-scenes look at the pearl grafting process. Once again, this was very special because most pearl farms don’t allow outsiders to visit the pearl grafting workshop.
The third stop on the tour was the Fukae Pearl Company in Nagasaki.
The pearl farm is famous for its beautiful, lustrous white akoya pearls, and has won numerous awards.
At the Fukae Pearl Company, the tour participants were honored with a visit by Mr. Oishi, Governor of Nagasaki Prefecture. Mr. Oishi, a medical doctor by profession, also performed a pearl grafting procedure after receiving instructions from one of the technicians.
With the pearl farm tours over and a couple of days to spare before the 7th Kobe Pearl Fair, the Pearl Association of America took the KOLs on a daytrip to the Mikimoto Pearl Island.
Coincidentally, this was the day when His Majesty, the Emperor Naruhito, was also visiting Mikimoto Pearl Island (though not the Mikimoto museum). As a result, security had heightened, because the Emperor’s visit had attracted large crowds hoping to catch a glimpse of His Majesty.
