Japan hiking tour, Samurai trails & pilgrimage paths

Planet

1. Protection of Local environment
Our tours are all small-group, both avoiding the need for large vehicles and hotels, and ensuring we don’t overwhelm the places we visit.
Where our tours use mountain or countryside trails, we ensure that we don’t damage vegetation by using only established trails. We leave what we find, so no taking of plants, rocks, archaeological artefacts, etc.

2. Wild life
We respect wildlife by avoiding quick movements, loud noises, getting too close and feeding animals. We help with the preservation of local culture by educating visitors about local traditions and crafts, and making the history and culture a central theme of their visit.

3. Energy
We reduce the consumption of energy by unplugging all electronic appliances when leaving the office. During the day when it is bright we use natural sunlight and avoid turning on the light. During the summers we use electric fans instead of air conditioners.

4. Waste
We follow the principles of ‘Leave no Trace’ on our walking tours. We do not leave behind any waste on our tours. On our walking tours we dispose of all waste properly to avoid contamination of water sources. We avoid as much the use of paper, and do as much of our marketing as possible on-line, using internet fax and avoid printing out paper. When we do print we use double side as much as possible.

5. Transport
We use local public transport as much as possible where this is an option, lessening the environmental impact of extra vehicles on small country roads.
We encourage our employees to walk/bike to the office

People

1. Traveling with respect
Our local guides spend a huge amount of time and effort explaining to our clients about local customs and etiquette so that our clients can interact appropriately with the local community. Japanese culture can feel extremely unfamiliar and habits that might be second nature to us (such as blowing our nose) can seem rude to the Japanese. Our pre-departure literature alerts our clients to ways they can avoid giving unintended offense.

2. Local Crafts & Culture
The tour introduces clients to the cultural heritage of an area that has a history going back centuries but has perhaps not been fully appreciated in recent decades. Our guides are local, knowledgeable individuals who can introduce our guests to the culture, history and traditions of the Kumano and Kiso Valley areas.

3. Small group tourism encourages young people who would otherwise leave to find work in the cities to stay and start small-scale sustainable enterprises that cater to visitors. We try to avoid the destinations that cater to mass-market tourism, taking our guests to the lesser-known but if not more rewarding places that larger tour companies tend to avoid due to their unsuitability for large groups. This means our clients' money will end up in small communities that may have little in the way of work for its young people.

4. A fair deal
We work with small local businesses rather than international chains, and where possible we source goods and supplies locally, using only small, locally-owned and run accommodation and restaurants. This ensures that as much as possible of the money remains within the local economy.

For our accommodations where possible we choose to use locally family inns run by local families for generations.

We hire local staff and provide sickness and vacations benefits. The local staff is given full responsibility for tour operations encouraging great responsibility and fostering management skills.