The Real Japan

18/12/2014

The Real Japan & Teresa Perez Tours at ILTM Cannes! Thanks for a great moment!

01/07/2013

27 beautiful pictures from Tokushima Prefectures, Shikoku Island, Japan

Images from the first week of the Smiles Of Shikoku project

01/07/2013

smilesofshikoku's video on Instagram

01/07/2013

If your clients are looking for some Freshwater Adventure while in Japan, the Iya Valley offers beautiful sights and great rafting opportunities!
Please see the video below...

Rafting with Forest and Water in a remote part of Tokushima prefecture

26/06/2013

Who said Japan is one big city ??
Here's the Iya Vally in Shikoku...
Nice but a bit scary!

By the way, please follow our Page to promote Shikoku Island... Everyday, posts & pictures by our "ambassadors" Katy & Jamie.

http://www.facebook.com/smilesofshikoku

Here… nice but scary…!
うーん、実際に渡ってみるとドキドキなのでしょうね・・・

24/06/2013

1200 year old cedar at temple no.2, Gokurakuji.

24/06/2013

Another exciting project by The Real Japan!

We've been commissioned by Shikoku Tourism office to create a 40 days journey for 2 people, to discover and showcase the beauty of the Island.

Please "like" the "Smiles of Shikoku" page, if you want to follow the journey!

12/12/2011

A double milestone for our company has been achieved today!
1) NEWSWEEK Japan has selected The Real Japan in the "Japan's 100 most innovative small & medium businesses" 2011 list. It's only in Japanese but we're very proud to it! The reason for this selection is our "Travel Volunteer project" to restore Tourism to Japan.

2) Following the feature on Newsweek but also on the "Nikkei Report", Yahoo! JP has picked up the story in its Eco & Business News! Travel Volunteer on the Top page of Yahoo! Japan... We had never even dreamed about it!!

Our two travel bloggers have now visited 40 Prefectures in Japan, since Sept 12th... Already 85 days and 15 more to go! The Travel Volunteer project is still going on until Dec 24th, so make sure you follow the last part of it! http://travelvolunteerblog.net

12/10/2011

We're proud to be featured by Pure Life Experience on the PURE TV!

Check it out and for the happy few... see you at Pure in Marrakesh!

22/09/2011

THE REAL JAPAN NEWSLETTER (part 2/2)

Travel Volunteer Project – A meaningful contest to promote Tourism in Japan

In an effort to show the world that Japan remains a safe destination and promote international tourism back to Japan, we are sponsoring two “Travel Volunteers” to visit Japan’s 47 prefectures during a 100+1 journey.

The idea for this project came from one of our employees at The Real Japan: three months after the events, we were brainstorming on ways to restore confidence and bring back tourism to Japan. We had all seen the coverage about Japan from international media and felt an important part of information was missing... Although the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear issue are terrible disasters which claimed many lives, Japan as a country was NOT entirely destroyed or irradiated. All other places outside the evacuation zone remained totally safe. But the media never mentioned it. An idea arose and immediately caught everyone’s enthusiasm: ”How about creating a contest to win a journey through all 47 prefectures of Japan in 100+1 days and report on a Blog and social media? All travel and accommodation expenses, including international airfares would be covered by the project. Impossible? Crazy? The seed for the “Travel Volunteer” project was planted…

On July 06th , after one month of excitement and intense work, the Travel Volunteer website was launched. It took off immediately, with over 200 applications in less than two days. Two weeks later, the page of our project was shared more than 10,000 times!

On July 31st, the application closing date, we had received 1897 applications from 85 different countries in the world… Every applicant was requested to pay a USD 5.00 fee to enter the contest, thus ensuring they were serious and committed. The funds were raised to support “On The Road”, a grass-root NPO, actively involved in the reconstruction efforts in the devastated Tohoku region.

On August 15th, we had read all 1897 applications and pre-selected 5 candidates based on their answers to three simple questions:
- What is your personal reason to apply for Travel Volunteer?
- If you are selected, what would be your dream while in Japan?
- Why should we choose you?

The “lucky five” were 3 single applicants – 2 female & 1 male) from Canada, Malaysia & Ukraine, plus two couples from the UK and the USA. They were invited to join the final selection process (return flight paid) on September 13th at Kaikaro, a prestigious Geisha Tea House in Kanazawa, in presence of our main supporters and TV Crews. After three rounds of questions to the contestants, the judges - comprised of local personalities and The Real Japan Team - voted and the result was immediately announced by our President, Mr Hiroshi Kuchiki. The whole selection process was broadcast live on U-Stream (watch it here).

We also involved Japanese tourism businesses from all over the country to sponsor a part of the journey and many contributed in the form of complimentary room-nights at hotels and Ryokans, with local guides offering their services to es**rt the Travel Volunteer for free in their city. We would like to thank them for their support.

On September 15th, our finally selected Travel Volunteers - Katie & Jamie from the UK - departed Kanazawa at 08.50 am to their first destination, Toyama. They are now hosted in a charming place in Hokkaido and will keep blogging everyday about their journey in Japan.

For more information, please visit:

Website: http://www.travelvolunteer.net
Blog: http://travelvolunteerblog.net/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/travelvolunteerproject
Twitter:

We hope you will enjoy following this amazing trip through Japan’s 47 prefectures, as much as we enjoy creating this unique itinerary!

The Real Japan Team

22/09/2011

THE REAL JAPAN NEWSLETTER (part 1/2)

Contents - September 2011:

1) Inbound tourism to Japan recovering more quickly than expected

2) Travel Volunteer Project – A meaningful contest to promote Tourism in Japan



Inbound tourism to Japan recovering more quickly than expected

On March 11, 2011, the world woke up to discover the double natural catastrophe that hit the Tohoku region, on the west coast of Japan. A few hours later, the report of a nuclear incident at Fukushima Daichi, broadcasted live on international channels, just seemed to confirm the worst case scenario could be happening.

As a consequence and understandably, the vast majority of international travels to Japan were immediately cancelled. This resulted in an overall drop of 72% in international arrivals for March 2011 compared to previous year. The following months – April & May – weren’t much better. All over Japan, hotels, Ryokans and other businesses involved in tourism suffered consequent losses and expressed concerns over being able to continue operating if international travellers, in fears of disruptions in services or concerns over safety due to nuclear radiations, kept on avoiding the country for a longer period of time.

The reality of the situation on the ground was very different than reported in the media: apart from the north-eastern part of the country, the rest of the country - although shocked - remained safe and open for business as usual. However, due to intensive media focus only on the hardest-hit regions, Japan was a no-go destination in everyone’s mind.

Six months later, thanks to the joined efforts of government organizations, private operators and international travel agencies, business is coming back. Starting with few enquiries for very short trips (3-5 nights) in July and August, the trend is picking-up speed in September, with requests coming from the US, Latin America and Europe. Surprisingly, most travellers book at short notice, wanting to visit Japan in October and November, in time for the Autumn leaves season. Trips for Cherry Blossom cancelled in 2010 are also coming back to the books and we expect April 2012 to be at the same levels as it was supposed to be in 2011.

Of course, the full recovery of regions devastated by the tsunami and around Fukushima nuclear plant, will take many more years, but the recovery of tourism in the rest of Japan is a very encouraging sign for everyone in the country and especially for us, in the travel industry.


(Part 2- Travel Volunteer Project - to be continued in next post)

We are proud to announce the winners! Congratulations to Katie & Jamie!!!

16/09/2011

We are pleased to inform you that our two "Travel Volunteers in Japan" have been selected and started their 100+1 days journey through Japan's 47 prefectures yesterday!

Follow their adventures on: www.travelvolunteerblog.net and feel free to share with your own friends! Our aim is to promote Tourism back to Japan!

Thanks,
Eric - The Real Japan

Follow the Travel Volunteers 100+1 days journey through Japan's 47 prefectures !

27/07/2011

Two weeks after the launch of the "Travel Volunteer" project, we have already received more than 1260 applications from 74 different countries in the world!

This is really exciting and we hope to get more during the last 5 days until 31st of July!

We offer Travel Volunteer candidates the chance to visit Japan from North to South and report the reality of the situation in Japan to the world! Apply before 31st July 2011!

08/07/2011

Our project, Travel Volunteer has been featured in today's Travel Daily Asia (TDA)!

We've received over 200 applications from more than 15 different countries in less than 72 hours.
We're all so excited! Now also looking for more press coverage to support Tourism back to Japan...

In a bid to promote international tourism, The Real Japan travel agency has launched an online contest, offering the winner an expenses-paid trip to the land of the rising sun. Beginning the adventure on 15 September, the ‘100+1 days Travel Volunteer’ will visit all of Japan’s 47 prefectures

07/07/2011

Big smile from Travel Volunteer team member, we counted more than 465 people sharing our page! http://www.travelvolunteer.net

100+1 Days Travel Contest to Support Tourism in Japan!

06/07/2011

TRAVEL VOLUNTEER｜トラベルボランティア
travelvolunteer.net

We offer Travel Volunteer candidates the chance to visit Japan from North to South and report the reality of the situation in Japan to the world! Help us spread the word!

06/07/2011

We started travel volunteer project to save travel industry in Japan!
Please help us spread the word!
www.travelvolunteer.net

We offer Travel Volunteer candidates the chance to visit Japan from North to South and report the reality of the situation in Japan to the world! Apply before 31st July 2011!

05/07/2011

We're about to launch our Travel Volunteer Project... Stay tuned!

04/07/2011

Thanks to Lady Gaga for supporting Tourism back to Japan!
We hope the rest of the world will listen ;-)

22/06/2011

Our JUNE Newsletter is there!

"Like" our page to receive it...

Thanks,

T R J

14/06/2011

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DLX1-zLn99oU&h=bb5fb

This video is a testimonial by international tourists travelling in Japan during March & April 2011. We hope this contribution will help people realize that ...

14/06/2011

14/06/2011

The Real Japan is back to work! Trying to Promote Japan...
Please check our Page and if you do... Please like it!

20/04/2011

cherry bloosoms lighten up at night time

20/04/2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX1-zLn99oU

This video is a testimonial by international tourists travelling in Japan during March & April 2011. We hope this contribution will help people realize that ...