A "New Form Of Travel" That Touches The Charm Of People

During the pandemic, domestic tourism in Japan took a hit as people started avoiding crowded areas. This led to the creation of unique travel packages by enterprising individuals and companies. So this week, we travel off the beaten track and embark on unique adventures, while maintaining social distancing during the pandemic. Our first destination is Ishiuchi Maruyama Ski Resort in Minamiuonuma City in Niigata Prefecture. It offers an unconventional experience of enjoying the resort from dome tents. Due to the decline in visitors during the pandemic, the manager of the Sales Planning Department, Mr Ken Katsumata, came up with the idea of a ski resort experience without skiing. There is a heater inside the tents so visitors can marvel at the panoramic view, while enjoying a meal. The menu has been revamped and includes new dishes besides classic items like curry and udon noodles. The most popular dessert is a pancake resembling a snowy mountain. Guests can experience all this in a private setting, separated from others. The resort also organises fireworks display once a month. This ski resort experience is so popular that the facility has had to order more dome tents. 

We next head to the historical port city of Shimoda in Izu peninsula, Shizuoka Prefecture. The popular spots in this city are its white sand beaches and hot springs. Three travellers from Tokyo are heading there for a new type of travel experience, called “human tourism”. Instead of the classic sightseeing to see objects or places, people will travel to meet the locals living in that area. Other types of tourism born out of the pandemic include green tourism - staying on a farm or fishing village to experience the life of the locals - and eco-tourism - experiencing the natural environment along with the history and culture unique to the region. Some travel packages also focus on various types of hands-on experiences.   

The three co-workers who are visiting Izu meet Mr Nobuyoshi Tsuchiya, who owns a dried fish shop. As part of a three-hour “human tourism” travel package, he shows them how to make paella loaded with seafood caught in Izu. It includes two lobsters, goldeneye snapper - a famous Izu speciality - and other unusual ingredients such as kamenote, shaped like a turtle’s hand. 

Another service offered is called Craftrip, where you can meet charming locals with exceptional skills. This unique travel concept was created by a representative of myProduct, Mr Sho Koyama. He tells us that the company does not make any profit and almost 100 per cent of the fee from the customers goes to the business owners. Mr Koyama's company procures local jobs through the connections gained by these travel plans. The company also creates migration promotion projects and promotional videos. 

The Craftrip experience is available in four areas - Miyagi, Gunma, Yamanashi and Shizuoka. In Minamisanriku Town in Miyagi Prefecture, for example, one outdoor experience has travellers learning useful skills for emergencies like starting a fire from survivors of disasters. On the other hand, the lumberjack experience has a professional teaching you how to build a house using trees. 

Craftrip is managed by a company set up about three years ago, called myProduct. It has about 20 employees based in Tokyo and Shizuoka. The travel plan for each area is created by a person in charge, called the Regional Coordinator. In the Shimoda, Izu region, this person is Ms Kano Hibiya. We accompany her as she visits “Kin-chan”, the owner of a 100-year-old confectionery shop, one of Craftrip's visiting destinations. She also drops by a speciality shop that sells tokoroten made with local ingredients. Travellers can see how it is made and learn the different ways of eating it. 

There are currently 11 travel plans that can be enjoyed at Shimoda and Ms Hibiya is trying to introduce more travel plans. She heads to a building at the foot of the mountain and meets a game meat cuisine specialist and former local hunter, Ms Kiyomi. She sees how the venison version of the Korean dish japchae is made with vegetables and glass noodles. Under this travel plan, guests can first go to a wild game butchery nearby and then come here to learn how to cook venison cuisine. 

Ms Hibiya next goes to Izukyu Shimoda Station in Shimoda City, Shizuoka Prefecture, to meet Ms Nami. She manages and owns a geisha house. The geisha tradition is still alive in Shimoda. During the Edo era, Shimoda thrived as a leading port city and drew many wealthy merchants and high-ranking officials. That called for proper etiquette and quality entertainment, which led to the introduction of Shimoda geishas. 

Our next stop is Obihiro City in Hokkaido, which is known for Ban'ei horse racing. We will travel by car for about 1.5 hours from Obihiro to a town called Taiki. Known for its dairy industry, it has a population of around 5,400. It is full of nature's charm. But as there is no proper accommodation for tourists, not many people visit this town. On this day, however, Ms Wakako Fujine and Ms Seiko Shimizu arrive at the town by car from Sapporo. They spend the night at a single lodge located in the middle of nowhere which faces the Pacific Ocean. They soak in a private open-air bath under the moonlight and later enjoy a meal provided by the lodge - a hotpot featuring seafood caught in Hokkaido. The Bansei Grand Suite can only accommodate one party a night and the fee starts at 12,000 yen per person. 

The lodge is actually a trailer house that can be transported anywhere and instantly become a hotel. The RV is managed by a company called Moving Inn. It is a subsidiary of a used car company, so it can easily procure and remodel cars. The RV serves as a room and the company plans to add a simple restroom and shower as well. Mr Shimoda and Mr Konishi have been tasked to find new possible travel locations for the RV. When they look for new sites, they are particular about choosing locations that provide mostly unknown views. They want to share these hidden gems with visitors. They leave Taiki Town and arrive at Cape Aikappu in Akkeshi Town. It boasts an excellent view of the sea. They later stop their car at a parking lot in Hamanaka Town, Cape Kiritappu. They plan to spend the night here to see the beautiful view of the starry sky, the lighthouse and the moon. The RV has a heater so guests can stay warm during winter. The RV is also equipped with a large battery, so the heater can be used even when the engine is shut off. Mr Shimoda and Mr Konishi hit the road again before sunrise to travel to Shikaoi Town to check out the dog sledding experience. They both are the only ones riding the sled. The activity lasts two hours and spans a seven-mile course. 

Mr Shimoda and Mr Konishi aim to set up the RV lodge in this area, but they need to get permission from the landowner first. If they manage to get the green light, the dog sledding experience will be a value-add service to the RV lodge package.  

Tips:

1)    Check out alternative types of travelling such as “human tourism”, green tourism and eco-tourism
2)    Craftrip lets you meet charming locals with exceptional skills