Experience Japan kicks up efforts to get more tourists with new action tours. Howard Carr reports.
VISITORS to Tokyo can learn to be a samurai or ninja as part of a new range of unusual excursions introduced by one of Japan’s largest travel companies.
The Experience Tokyo tours are designed to give travellers a better insight of Japanese culture. They have been introduced by Experience Japan, a subsidiary of Japanese agency chain and operator HIS, which has offices in 62 cities worldwide. Each excursion is limited to a maximum of 10 people.
Via Japan operations and product executive, Mr Edward Ellwood, said: “The idea is to give visitors a very personal impression of Tokyo.” Via Japan is Experience Japan’s sister operator that is marketing the tours overseas.
“These excursions offer the kind of experiences you would not get if you were stuck on a coach with 40 other people. A lot of people were telling us they did not get to do anything individual...They wanted to experience the real Japan but felt they could not when being shown around with so many other holidaymakers.
“Our excursions are more of a one-on-one kind of tour where visitors get to see behind the scenes and talk to Japanese people,” he said. Each excursion is led by an expert in a particular field.
Master swordsman Tetsuro Shimaguchi, who choreographed the swordfight in a snowy garden in the film Kill Bill: Volume One, heads the How to be a Samurai tour.
Participants learn basic movements such as drawing and swinging a sword before watching a choreographed performance by experts. They then get to practise the moves. The excursion costs 12,000 yen (US$103).
Another tour takes visitors into the mysterious world of ninjas – often portrayed as supermen who conduct undercover espionage operations. Tourists watch a mock fight before joining a training session in unarmed body combat skills. Learn to be a Ninja costs 15,000 yen.
Mr Ellwood claimed initial response to the Experience Tokyo tours had been good. “It is still early days but we are pleased with how they have gone so far. Most bookings have been made online but we are starting to promote them to the trade as an add-on to our tours of Japan. We expect interest to grow as we roll them out via more of our offices around the world.”
Other Experience Tokyo tours include A Day in the Life of Sumo Wrestlers. Visitors watch an early morning practice session before socialising with the wrestlers. They can chat with the wrestlers’ stable master while sampling chanko nabe, a high-calorie stew that is the staple diet of the wrestlers.
At Home with Mrs Shinobu is a visit to a typical Japanese home. First, holidaymakers join the hostess on a shopping trip to her local supermarket to select the ingredients for lunch. They are then shown the preparation of a typical Japanese meal before sitting down to enjoy the result. The afternoon ends with a traditional tea ceremony.
Visitors can also attend a kimono workshop to learn how it is made. They are shown the art of kimono dyeing before dyeing handkerchiefs in similar styles. The price of 19,000 yen includes a yukata – summer kimono – to take away.
Other tours include karate, kite-making, aikido (Japanese martial art) and Japanese classical dance.
Meanwhile, shopkeepers in one of Tokyo’s trendiest districts have joined forces to offer free tours as part of Japan National Tourist Organization’s Visit Japan campaign.
Akihabara is Tokyo’s number one electronics district. It has also become the centre of Japanese pop culture. Maid cafés as well as manga and anime (Japanese animation) comics and cartoon shops are booming in the area, which is a congregation point for fans of cosplay – a Japanese subculture where youngsters dress in the costumes of their favourite manga and anime characters.
A major redevelopment of Akihabara Station and its surroundings is nearing completion, giving the district a new look to go with its cult status. The Akihabara Crossfield project incorporates two major new high-rise buildings that include shops, cafés, restaurants and a digital equipment showroom.
The two-hour free tour is being offered every Saturday until January 19 next year. It takes in anime and manga shops, electronic stores, a robot showroom and a duty-free emporium. The excursion ends with a visit to Tokyo Anime Center. It leaves from Radio Kalkan, one of the biggest specialists in anime and manga. Each excursion is led in English and limited to 15 people, who receive a goody bag of Akihabara souvenirs.
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