2024 is the Best time to visit Japan

With a string of natural disasters behind them, it has been a difficult time to reach some of the remote locations in Japan.. However, with international flights becoming cheaper and more flights becoming available, now is a great time to be looking to visit Japan.

With this in mind, we have decided to offer new option for independent travellers with our offer to create an amazing, unique and special itinerary just for you.

A message of interest can lead to a consultation process that could have you visiting places you have always wanted to or exploring new attractions and destinations you had never thought of... No matter your interests, whether food, theme park, shopping, pop culture, hiking and nature, history, gardens, sports or just discovering the soul of Japan.

Japan Special Tours can create a perfect itinerary and support you throughout your visit.

Behind a Japan Special Tour:

The beginning of my Tourism journey

Hi I'm Geoff, the Director of Japan Special Tours.

Thank you for reading this,

I will be using this blog from time to time to look at the tourism industry and talk about the stories behind the way I create a special tours journey. I hope my stories will be informative enough and interesting enough for you to be able to look a bit closer at your travel options in a post coronavirus world and gain a good idea of what we offer.

The best way for me to start, is to explain where I started my tourism journey.

Dad was a soldier, Mum was a Doctor, me, well I kind of went in the direction of travelling to another country and being nice to people, a pretty good mix of the two :)

I was fortunate to begin learning about the Tourism industry at James Cook University's pioneering Tourism Department in Townsville, Australia.

As a student in this newly developed facility and course, I was able to receive daily education from some of the world's leading tourism experts, people sought after for their opinions in planning, strategies and education. It was a unique time of personal access to the biggest brainbox behind the developing global tourism industry.

I took a deep dive into learning this tourism industry, and looked in the nooks and cranny's, into all the parts that make it so, the what, where, why and how's of a newly developing industry. We were hands on and in the field, using North Queensland as a place to learn regional and local destination management strategies. We audited attractions, destinations and operations and looked closely at access and transport routes for domestic and international markets, planes, trains and automobiles. We learned how to run and establish a tourism business, develop , promote and identify market segments and studied the psychology of tourists themselves. Why people travel, How they travel. As I progressed my studies I found my interest was in regional and local tourism, ecotourism, sustainability and studying Japanese language. I thought it may come in handy eventually at the time.....who knew?

I completed my study by researching a thesis based on these ideals and came up with a simple strategy for using the design and wording of signage to encourage mindful behaviour in people to result in less litter at natural recreation sites.

I have since realised that this introduced me to the power that simplicity has to be special, something that as I am always discovering, is at the core of Japanese culture.

ahh, you know, I'd have to show you... :)

I earned a Bachelor of Administration(Tourism) with Honours and decided to let that information simmer, it was time to get up close and personal with this industry, and with playing football of the round type taking up 50% of my scone, I needed the space :) .

I set foot into the world of 5 star hospitality.....

but that's another yarn for another time

Cheers for reading, I hope you come back again

What makes a tour special?

Special has a different meaning for all of us.

Special things engrain themselves in our soul, shape our futures and flood our memories.

Special things are personal and shared with those close to you.

Special things are worth pursuing

Kazuyo and I have been making special connections with Japan and Australia for over 20 years now. We operated with major Japanese travel agents as destination managers for inbound study tours and our groups included some of Japan's highest quality schools.

In the process we were able to successfully and completely independently, market the city of Townsville and North Queensland to Japan. As a result of our efforts, for the first time, Townsville became a new and viable inbound destination for Japanese student groups and educational based travel. We found a niche gap in the market, formed relationships with the right people and supported it with great business practice. We treated all of our customers with the same hospitality that we offered family and friends and our tours were all focused and having fun and learning. We helped young , first time travellers experience a new culture and different language safely and comfortably.

Being able to facilitate and bring about the most most basic, yet life changing connections between Japanese students and their Australian families was something very special, but seeing their tears of joy and understanding of the world expand when they left and as they have grown up is a treasure beyond appreciation to us both.

These were special tours for a great many people.

As we did this business in Australia, Kazuyo and I almost exclusively spent our holiday time travelling domestically in Japan, discovering it's corners, it's secrets and it's beauty. As we meticulously planned new travels, chose new destinations and discovered amazing food, we realised they were quiet special in their methodology and we gained a genuine understanding of domestic tourism in Japan and how to work smoothly with it.

We have hiked ancient paths and generally taken an off track route, getting lost in a crowd is not special at all, now days , avoiding tourist hoardes is becoming an art form we are getting very good at. We have discovered Japan's natural gems and been immersed in regional and local culture around the country, making connections as we go.

We have travelled famous scenic local rail lines and spanned the country by Shinkansen, but driving ourselves through remote regions opened up an entirely new and amazing experience for us. We have visited gardens and castles beyond count and have chased legendary local food treats and humour spots all over Japan. Want to visit the only natural spring in Japan with carbonated water?.... it's way off track but I know the way.

Our travel was always based on treating ourselves to a great experience, and Ryokan accommodation became our favourite part of that. The room's, the meals, the hot springs, the routes we took, the people we met.

There is something special about travelling this way and Japan has got it right.

One thing that is often overlooked by mass tourism and as a result by international tourists is that Japanese people have perfected the art of domestic short term holiday getaways to ryokan's, hot springs and nature based attractions. This is special travel segment for a domestic market driven by a fervant national desire for peaceful and fun holiday time.

There is a high level of infrastructure for the most part in most regions, yet this is only now beginning to show signs of becoming accessible to foreign tourists that are first time visitors. It is still often difficult to reach and manage by yourself without some experience in Japan. The only option that often remains for a large portion of the Japanese inbound tourism market is to book a standard cattle coach tour to a major attraction, be shuffled through chain hotels and hold on for the ride, trying to inhale some of the real Japan as you go.

We want to make tours that offer easy, safe, comfortable and fun access to a Japanese style holiday, one that avoids crowds and offer so much more to see and do than just queue at national hotspots. We want to take people to places they could never reach and locations they will never forget in a style they never imagined. We want to offer you the same experienced hospitality we offered our Japanese students.

This is what makes our Tours special for you.