Hokkaido winter holiday in Japan
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends it's good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as experiencing new cultures.
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
We use only public transport to get around on this tour, mainly Japan's incredibly efficient train service. In Hokkaido the lines are all local and the sleepy train service is a really stress-free and enjoyable way to travel. We deliberately keep air travel to a minimum preferring to return to Tokyo by train rather than fly. Most of the food we eat is locally produced including fish caught from local waters. The tour's interest in bird watching & wildlife encourages maintenance of the natural environment and efforts to protect rare species such as the Red Crowned Crane. In Tsurui and on Asahidake we stay in small wooden lodges which aim to operate in tune with the environment. At Asahidake we use a local guide to help us explore and understand the local environment and do so by means of snowshoe – no experience necessary!
Vegetarians are very welcome on all our tours, and despite Japan being a difficult country to remain fish and meat free, vegetarian options are always available at the places where we eat.
We are active supporters of, and have made donations to, WDCS.org (Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society).
Community
Travelling as a small group we are able to eat at small local restaurants and frequent local bars – where possible consuming locally produced saké. Lead by Japanese-speaking tour leader Phil Colley further helps with local interaction. By travelling only on public transport, and in particular Japan's amazing train system, this trip stays very close to the real life of the locals.
This trip also tries in a small way to respect and bring attention to the situation and experience of the Ainu, the indigenous inhabitants of Hokkaido (and before that, all Japan) whose culture has been brought to the brink of extinction by Japanese expansion. As well as visiting various relevant exhibitions we aim to contribute to the local economy through the purchase of local handicrafts and textiles. For this trip, as for all our Japan trips, we use the same local operator that we have used for over 10 years now. We do not ‘chop and change’ our operators in order to squeeze the maximum profit preferring instead to seek out the quality of service that loyalty and length of tenure, particularly in the East, engenders.
