Ryukyu Islands tour, off the beaten track in Japan

Planet

Travelling around Japan is easy due to the fantastic network of public transport and during this tour you will use various modes of local transport, but the main of it will be by ferry.

Japan is big on recycling so it's not difficult to be green in Japan. Look out for separate bins in the accommodation and outside convenience stores and your local tour leader will make lots of suggestions to help you support this practice.

Chopsticks are thrown away after each meal in Japan so we provide a pair of reusable chopsticks at the start of this trip to our customers, to help avoid the use of wooden disposable chopsticks.

We keep our group size to maximum 12, which means travelling in a small group allows us to support small local restaurants where the menu offers locally grown, seasonal specialities. Not only does this help in keeping food miles down but it offer your the opportunity to experience some of eat best and freshest Japanese cuisine!

People

This incredible adventure takes you to Tokunoshima & Okinoerabu, islands rarely visited by a Western tour group, as well as through prehistoric cedar forests cradled within the volcanic mountains of Yakushima. On this tour you really will be discovering a Japan undisturbed for centuries.

Very few people you come into contact with will have met foreign tourist, so you will be supporting local communities all the way. We work with the policy of ‘Take nothing but memories, Leave nothing but footprints’.

Guides will be arranged locally and you will meet different local guides on every island, which guarantees they know their own territory very well. On the islands everything is very 'local', from food to accommodation and travellers will be able to see how the locals live, and experience the traditions. This is a sharing economy so we try to involve local people and businesses in the tour as much as possible to share the benefits.

We offer just two group departures per year and travel in a small group of maximum 12 pax. We will travel with a local Japanese guide who knows the area inside out and can give you unique insights into Buddhism, the Japanese culture and history and answer all the question about this fascinating place that you might have.

You will be staying at these traditional hotels owned by local families. On the islands there is not a huge choice of restaurants to dine in at night, and the few available choices may not have availability. On some occasions we will arrange to eat in the family run hotels, which need to be pre-booked (not walk in) as they have to shop for food according to demand. These hotels and restaurants are owned and run by several generations of one family, and all income from visitors stays in the village and brings the benefit of jobs for the younger generation. Your food will be prepared from locally-sourced fish, meat, and vegetables. Many owners also grow their own vegetables and rice.