1. Crafting comfortable air travel on a private, business-class jet
For our guests’ journey to Japan, we arranged for a private, business-class jet that provided a unique travel experience right off the bat.
Instead of the busy London Heathrow Airport, we arranged for their flight to depart from London Stansted Airport, which is often used for private flights,
so that guests would enjoy an atypical check-in and lounge experience. Equipped with first-class in-flight facilities, our guests were informed ahead of
time about the aircraft’s reclining seats, power ports, WiFi availability, and were provided information about use of tablets and headphones.
2. Selection of some of the finest hotels and restaurants in Japan
We hand-picked the Park Hyatt Kyoto and Okura Hotel Tokyo for our guests as both hotels offer luxurious accommodations. Their convenient location for dining
and sightseeing, modern and sophisticated use of space, and the traditional Japanese aesthetic they offer to guests were the key aspects that caught our attention.
We coordinated with the hotels to provide special access to their bars specifically for our guests so that they could unwind after returning to the hotel
from sightseeing or meetings. For dining experiences, we arranged for venues that would delight not only the taste buds, but all five senses. Examples in Tokyo
included Gonpachi in Nishi-Azabu, which appeared in the famous movie Kill Bill, the traditional garden Happo-en where traditional Japanese beauty is on full display,
and the Meiji Kinenkan, which boasts an impressively large banquet hall space.
3. Scheduling a balance between special sightseeing experiences and plenty of free time
We prepared two types of sightseeing plans: tours for all participants and elective tours. All participants were invited to watch a live Sumo tournament and,
if interested and physically up for it, people could participate in such experiences as joining a tea ceremony in a Japanese garden, dressing in a kimono,
and riding a rickshaw with a reservation one day in advance. For transportation across Japan, we used the world famous Shinkansen bullet train, and placed
particular emphasis on attention to detail to ensure that guests fully experienced Japanese culture, whether it be in terms of the accommodations, transportation,
and dining. We paid particular attention to including plenty of free time in the itineraries to allow for relaxation and personal time. The pandemic severely
impacted the ability of hotels, restaurants, and bus companies to operate. Although returning to ordinary operations took a considerable amount of time,
we maintained persistent communication on a daily basis with our service providers so that we would be ahead of any sudden developments, for better or for worse.
4. Smooth collaboration leveraging JTB’s global presence
The success of this tour, which was organized by a branch office of JTB Europe, was due in large part to the close cooperation between JTB’s Japan sales offices
and the client’s Japan headquarters. Communication between the person in charge of the planning on the Japan-side of things and the JTB Japan sales representative
started at the preparation stage, which allowed us to demonstrate our consideration for travelers on a detailed level, provide renowned Japanese-style hospitality,
and adjust schedules throughout the process of planning multiple tours for such a large group of people. Indeed, one of JTB’s strengths is that it operates on a global scale,
which empowers us to communicate in advance with clients not only while they are in Japan, but while they are in countries all over the world.
