Japan hiking tour, Samurai trails & pilgrimage paths









Price
US $6090 excluding flights
More info
Single supplement $865 applicable to hotel accommodations on your tour.
Description of Japan hiking tour, Samurai trails & pilgrimage paths
Price information
Check dates, prices & availability
Travel guides
The wise words of Japan’s most celebrated writer ring true for any traveler, especially walking wanderers. However, if any walking trails in the worl...
Reviews
1 Reviews of Japan hiking tour, Samurai trails & pilgrimage paths
3 out of 5 stars
Reviewed on 14 Apr 2023 by Linda Sims
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The most memorable part was experiencing a culture that is so completely different from my own.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
You will do a lot more walking than the itinterary would suggest (8-10 miles/day).
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
I appreciated the fact that almost all transportation was via public transportation. It was interesting and it was good for the environment.I was dismayed at the amount of food that was wasted at every meal. There were two main reasons for this. #1 many meals were too much food for one person and #2 Japanese cuisine is quite different from American and there was no way to pick and choose what one wanted to eat; therefore, day after day, we were served items we did not want to eat and it all went to waste.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
It was a worthwhile experience.
Read the operator's response here:
Thank you so much for your feedback on your tour. We are pleased you found it a worthwhile experience and an opportunity to discover rural Japan and two of the most famous hiking routes in Japan. The inns we stay in on our tours are proud of their set menus of local cuisine, which seek to showcase the best of what the area offers and to provide a hearty meal for those who have spent the day hiking and who are likely to also do so the following day. As most of the small family-run inns on the trail do not have a staff, they don't have the capacity to offer a choice of dining options to guests as might be found in larger properties. I am sorry if that was not to your expectation. Our Preparing for your Trip and Traveling in Japan handbooks provide some background on the experience of staying in the smaller trail inns. Thank you once again for traveling with us and we hope you take with you wonderful memories of Japan.
Responsible Travel
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we've screened this (and every) vacation so that you can travel knowing it will help support the places and people that you visit, and the planet. Read how below.
Planet
1. Protection of Local environmentOur 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 respectOur 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.
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