The trip agents will want to sell while Japan is booming

Japan’s tourist numbers have exceeded expectations by rebounding quickly after the pandemic. It seems travellers can’t get enough of the destination’s cuisine and culture, further tempted by the value proposition of a weak yen. In March 2024, the number of visitors to Japan exceeded three million foreign tourists in a single month for the first time ever, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO). Further to this, specialist operator Inside Japan is reporting an incredibly busy year with record figures every month.

If this Japan-mania sounds familiar to you, and your clients are inspired to explore the Land of the Rising Sun, then take a look at Inside Japan’s new ’Hidden Zen’ itinerary, prompted by the entry into service of Japan’s newest high-speed bullet train. The 14-night tour explores off-the-radar regions along the Hokuriku shinkansen route, which started operating in March.

Kate Samuel, senior product manager of tailormade experiences at InsideJapan Tours, says. “The new bullet train line opens up some incredible places along Japan’s less-visited West Coast. Whilst still visiting key sights such as Tokyo and Kyoto, the new self-guided Hidden Zen trip aims to offer travellers a quieter side of Japan, including the hot spring towns of Kaga Onsen and the ancient temples of Fukui and rural Toyama sitting just north of the line.”

Hidden Zen starts with the bright lights of Tokyo, before moving to the seaside town of Kamakura. Next comes Kyoto, and a visit to a local home for a private tempura cookery class. After that clients will board the Hokuriku shinkansen bullet train to Fukui, where a contemporary take on the traditional temple lodging serves up vegan, Buddhist cuisine. They’ll continue along the train line to Kaga Onsen, gateway to a collection of hot spring towns, where they will bed down for the night in a traditional ryokan. Then onward to Kanazawa, the Samurai town where a traditional machiya wooden townhouse stay provides another authentic experience. Rakudo-An, a farmhouse that has been restored as a boutique guesthouse, set amid rice paddies in rural Toyama, makes for a bucolic escape, before clients loop back to Tokyo again.