PLANNING SERVICES

Custom Independent Tours

For discerning travelers accustomed to intrepidly exploring on their own in foreign lands, we offer fully bespoke tours to Japan.

Independent travel to a place as exotic as Japan is not for everyone, but for those who enjoy the adventure, the rewards are well worth the effort. By traveling independently, you will have opportunities to engage with the culture in a more intimate and personal way. While Esprit provides the framework for your trip, including all reservations, transportation arrangements, day guides and personal introductions, you day-to-day plan is almost entirely at your discretion.

It is our sincere hope that you have an unforgettable journey in Japan. We endeavor to take care of the details so that you can relax and let your experiences unfold.

We provide complete packages including all hotels, airport transfers, trains, private hire cars where needed, guided days, special experiences and everything you need to make your independent trip to Japan a seamless experience. We have a seven-night minimum for our custom tour planning services.

Family Tours

Whether a family of 4 or a multi-generational family of 18, we are specialists in creating just the right experience for everyone traveling.

One of the most important and bonding experiences we can have as a family is to travel together. Yet when planing a family trip, certain stresses arise: figuring out just the right order of places to visit, the right amount of activity, making sure to include something of importance to everyone in the family, accounting for jet lag and making sure that you have had a truly unique experience and one that is only possible in the place you are visiting, just to name a few!

Our family-focused special tour planners have created a specialized set of knowledge and skills that allows us to combine Esprit Travel’s unique cultural immersion experiences with loads of family-friendly activities and destinations. We know just the right ryokan to suggest for your party–maybe the one where you can stay in a grass-roofed cottage? or perhaps the one that serves western-style breakfasts for your picky eater? We know how to make sure that your days flow logically based on where you are arriving from, what time your kids will likely be jet-lagged, when they’ll get “templed-out” and how much time you have in Japan. We know which activities are appropriate for which ages and genders, how to make sure that food allergies and health-concerns are addressed, which hotels have pools, where to take sword or taiko drum classes, and so many more things of primary interest to parents that might not be considered by a regular custom travel planner.

But the most important thing for us is that we are passionate about making sure that you and your family come to have a profound appreciation for the Japanese people and its culture. We do that by introducing you to our many friends in the country who demonstrate the Japanese concept of shokunin – the time-honored discipline of deep dedication to a craft that stands alone in today’s fast-paced world as a unique testament to the Japanese culture.

Private Small Group Tours

We have years of experience providing private tour services to museums, galleries and collectors and can create a once-in-a-lifetime custom experience of Japan.

Esprit creates and leads custom tours for a variety of organizations, including museums, colleges and universities, horticultural societies, and artists’ and alumni groups. These fully customized tours are planned in coordination with the sponsoring organization. This ensures that the destinations, activities, accommodations and schedules are all in tune with the group’s interests. Each tour offers a wealth of specialized activities relating to gardens, art, crafts, textiles and ceramics, theater, cuisine, cultural traditions and rural life. Through impeccable, personalized planning, Esprit helps groups offer a spectacular travel experience to their members.

Once your group arrives at its destination, you’ll discover what lies at the heart of Esprit’s success — its tour leaders. They have experience living, studying, and working in the Japan and are fluent in Japanese.

Because they are so passionate about the arts, culture, traditions and folkways of the countries they travel to, Esprit tour leaders have gotten to know many sensei, or masters, over the years. Their friends include indigo dyers, Buddhist monks, garden designers, architects, printmakers, tea ceremony masters, basket makers and artisans. Your group will have the chance to meet some of these friends, who share your interests, and spend time with them one-on-one in their homes, studios and gardens.

You members will return home ecstatic about the journey they’ve experienced and eager to hear where you plan to travel to next and when they can sign up. You and the entire travel planning staff at your organization will discover how easy it can be to plan a truly extraordinary cultural arts tour to Japan when you work with Esprit. And you can rest assured that your needs will be heard and met, every step of the way.