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Multi-Day Tour by Helicopter for Wealthy Foreign Tourists, Featuring Michelin-Starred Restaurants and Luxury Traditional Japanese Inns/Hotels
The idea behind the tour is that the novelty and special nature of the event will attract this target demographic. TripAdvisor, the leading OTA overseas, offers a variety of tours, but no tours that utilize helicopters to take participants around accommodations and restaurants. Using a helicopter gives this tour a sense of novelty. The tour can also be marketed as a special experience, as it can be tailored to meet the specific preferences and needs of wealthy foreign tourists. For instance, some tourists tend to favor ostentatious, extravagant experiences, the interior of the helicopter could be decorated with gold balloons for such a tour group.
Additionally, ARILA Inc. conducts over 300 helicopter tours a year and would be able to form partnerships with many airports and helicopter operators. This collaboration between ARILA Inc. and Gurunavi—a company with strong ties to the restaurant industry—also allows us to offer dinners for these wealthy foreign tourists at restaurants where they would normally be unable to get a reservation. This event will also appeal to foreign tourists through the inherent attractiveness of the various sightseeing destinations in Kyoto and Kumamoto Prefectures. -
Three Great Festivals of Japan: Kanda Festival Mikoshi Carrying/Tsuke Festival Tugging Experience and Authentic Japanese Culture Experience
The Kanda Festival, which dates back to the Edo Period, is considered one of Japan’s Three Great Festivals. During the Edo Period, it was referred to as the Tenka Festival, and, as the only festival that allowed parades through the castle grounds, served as a lively form of entertainment for the common people.
Previously, the program only allowed for the typical observing of the festival. However, special consideration by the various parties involved has allowed it to be upgraded to an experiential tour—one that will allow participants to experience the passion and spirit of the festival for themselves. The program also allows participants to don traditional Japanese dress and take part in traditional cultural activities, such as tea ceremony, traditional dance, enjoying Japanese cuisine, and worship services, making it a special and inspiring experience that would not have been possible in previous years. -
Setouchi Triennale Premium Tour
This tour will be held at the site of the Setouchi Triennale, an international art festival held every three years, and features private viewings of facilities like the world-renowned Teshima Art Museum and Chichu Art Museum. This is the first luxury tour offered by the Setouchi Triennale. It features a stay at the Benesse House; lunch at SHIMA KITCHEN, with meals prepared by a famous chef and made primarily with Teshima Island ingredients; a workshop by artists participating in the Setouchi Triennale; and a cruise on a salon ship around the beautiful islands of the Seto Inland Sea. The tour also includes commentary by Fram Kitagawa, the general director of the festival and a quality tour guide, making it an exquisite limited-time experience not only for art fans, but also for first-time visitors to the Setouchi Triennale.
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Experience life as a castle lord in Odawara, the largest castle town in the Kanto region: A healing gastronomic journey
(1) Castle Lord Plan
A castle lord experience utilizing Odawara Castle and Odawara Castle Park. Samurai retainers will welcome guests as the lords of the castle. There are also plans to offer a ninja experience or ninja demonstration show themed on the Fuma ninja clan associated with Odawara. In addition, for the first time ever, guests will be able to actually stay overnight at Odawara Castle. Guest can either take a leisurely tour of Odawara Castle or enjoy panoramic views of Odawara City from the castle tower. Immerse yourself in the charms of Odawara Castle as its feudal lord.
(2) Retreat Plan
Enoura Observatory has been planned, prepared, and executed over the course of many years by contemporary artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, who conceived the idea of a museum that doubles as an observatory amid the tangerine fields of Enoura. Guests are invited to experience Zen meditation and enjoy a performance of ancient Japanese court music in this breathtaking venue, spending some time in this truly special space to relax and inwardly reflect. Naturally, guests can also enjoy Sugimoto's own works and art collection in this privately rented space. Accommodations are also available at the Enoura Rimon Retreat, a retreat resort nestled high in a citrus grove, and the Hilton Odawara Resort & Spa.
(3) Gastronomic Plan
An abundance of fresh fish is caught each season in the fishing grounds of Sagami Bay. Experience morning fishing in Sagami Bay and enjoy Japanese cuisine prepared with ingredients caught in the bay. The restaurant is located in the Former Residence of Gokichi Matsumoto, built about 100 years ago and designated as a historical landmark by Odawara City. Enjoy the gastronomic delights of Odawara in a space steeped in the history of Japan. Overnight accommodation will be provided at Hilton Odawara Resort & Spa. -
Japan’s first-ever exclusive early-morning opening of a national park public trail & environmentally-conscious national park tour
Because of Japan’s geography as an island nation surrounded by the sea and steep mountains,
nature has long been an object of worship in Japanese culture, and there is a long history of people harmonizing with and living in close proximity to nature.
The Alps Sangakukyo area in particular has seen people build their lives among the 3,000-meter-high peaks of Japan’s Northern Alps.
This relationship with the environment has also influenced the history of local architecture and folk art in the Matsumoto city area.
This tour is designed to provide visitors with opportunities to learn about and experience the relationship that Japanese people have with nature, as well as their traditional culture.
Visitors are encouraged to enjoy the special way of life people have created within the breathtaking natural landscapes within the national park.
Highlights of the tour include the first-ever early-morning mountain biking experience on a public trail in a Japanese national park, a hands-on trail maintenance session, and woodworking and lacquering using local natural materials.
The tour will conclude with a dinner made from local ingredients, providing participants with one last taste of the region’s strong ties with nature. -
Experience the hidden charms of the Shinkansen! Special opening of the Rifu Shinkansen General Rolling Stock Center
Located in the town of Rifu in Miyagi Prefecture, the JR East Shinkansen General Rolling Stock Center is the only JR East rail yard where all Shinkansen bullet trains are maintained.
Here, rolling stock is inspected, cleaned, and maintained to the very best condition in order to provide safe and comfortable service to passengers.
Normally, only a very limited area of the rail yard is open to visitors, with most of it closed to the public.
This time, however, visitors can enjoy a special ride on a Shinkansen bullet train departing from Sendai Station, a ride in the driver's cab and conductor's compartment, a tour of the maintenance floor, and a photo opportunity on arriving and departing lines with an array of Shinkansen trains.
Visitors will be able to fully enjoy the attractions of Rifu: dining on local Rifu delicacies, lodging in high-quality guest rooms, picking wakame seaweed, and other seasonal, experience-based content. -
Program to attract wealthy Thai tourists with a special experience-based plan to watch Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo home games
At Sapporo Dome, a dome stadium unlike any other, participants will enjoy a Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo match, whose roster includes Supachok, a member of the Thai national team.
Prior to the game, guests will be able to tour the players' lockers and experience penalty kicks on the pitch—something not permitted during normal games—and will be served meals prepared by Chef Nobu Shimokuni, one of Hokkaido’s leading chefs, using ingredients unique to Hokkaido.
After the game, guests will have the opportunity to interact with Supachok and take a private tour of Shiroi Koibito Park, one of Hokkaido's leading tourist facilities. A priceless experience is guaranteed.
*Content will vary depending on the course. -
Seaside Tent Restaurant
From the late 18th to the early 19th century, Unzen Onsen was a popular summer resort destination for Westerners and other foreigners living in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The foreigners who visited the Unzen hot springs, which was rich in natural beauty, created a new way to spend time: the summer resort. Wake in the morning to the soothing sounds of birdsong and hear the hot springs bubbling up like the heartbeat of the earth. For many years, Unzen Onsen has been reviving the zest for life in all who visit. This open-air restaurant offers an elegant way to spend your time by the Unzen seaside.
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Bonsai and Sencha Tea Experience: Pastime of the Literati
Both of these have their roots in China, but toward the end of the Edo period, these cultures fused together to become leading forms of traditional culture in Japan. For the first time in Japan, the Japanese cultural experience of "Japanese Bonsai and Sencha Tea Experience: Pastime of the Literati" has been realized as a tourism revival program with novel high-value-added content. The cultural figures (bunjin) of the late Edo period lived in style, enjoying poetry, literature, calligraphy, painting, and bonsai.
On the first day, at Jogenji Temple of the Soto sect of Buddhism, the temple gate of which was constructed in 1777, participants can become bunjin themselves and drink sencha tea prepared by the successor of the Baisaryu Sencha tea school. In the afternoon, they will attend a lecture on the appeal of bonsai and ways to enjoy the hobby from a bonsai master with extensive experience, and try their hand at caring for bonsai themselves. Participants will experience the chic, elegant world of the literati of the time, while deepening their understanding of Japanese culture. On the second day, participants will visit one of Japan's leading bonsai gardens in Nagoya City to see the best of Japanese bonsai, including introductions and explanations of famous bonsai trees and high-end bonsai pots. This will be followed by a garden visit to chat with a private bonsai enthusiast. Finally, participants will visit a progressive bonsai garden to further appreciate bonsai and try their hand planting in bonsai pots. On the third day, visitors will depart for various destinations. (Optional) Visit a workshop making Tokoname-ware ceramics, one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan. Meet the potters and shop for high-end bonsai pots. -
Special tour of the repair of National Treasure Buddhist statues, and explanatory session on protection of cultural properties
Shin-Yakushi-ji Temple, founded 1,300 years ago, is one of the leading temples of Nara. It holds three national treasures in its collection and has close ties to Todai-ji Temple, famous for its Great Buddha of Nara.
Making the most of the opportunity of the two-year restoration of the Seated Wooden Statue of Yakushi Nyorai at Shin-Yakushi-ji Temple, a special visit will be made available to observe the restoration of this statue and other Buddha statues, which are Important Cultural Properties usually not open to the public. A lecture will be given on the protection and restoration of cultural properties, in which participants will learn the significance of passing down cultural properties in Japan to future generations as well as current efforts to do so.