TRAVEL giant JTB Corporation has drawn up a new programme designed to take visitors to Japan further off the beaten track.
Launched this month, it offers travellers the opportunity to stay with a farming family in one of Japan’s more rural districts. Travellers will get the opportunity to stay in a traditional farmhouse, try the local onsen, sleep in a futon on a tatami mat floor, and pick vegetables for dinner.
Marketed through JTB’s Authentic Visit Japan website, this programme was drawn up in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the tourism authority in the town of Ohtawara, in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo.
“Many people who come to Japan want to do something different from the Golden Route of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. They told us that they want to see the authentic, traditional Japan, which is why we have come up with this package,” said Yoko Kageyama, who devised the programme for JTB.
Around 100 families in Ohtawara are taking part, with two homes allocated specifically for overseas tourists. In the first two weeks of the project, a family of five from Spain and an educational group from South-east Asia have sampled the delights of rural Japan.
“We have had a lot of enquiries from Asia, North America and Europe, and we are confident these sort of holidays will appeal to a wide range of tourists looking to experience a very different side of Japan,” said Kageyama.
JTB plans to expand the project to communities nationwide if demand increases.
