European tours for Japanese people, leaving from Canada?
December 13, 2010 5:09 PM Subscribe
How can I get my parents on a European tour for Japanese people if they live in Canada?
My 60-something aged parents, who are Japanese, have never been to Europe. They do a lot of travelling around N. America and Japan, with lots of walking, so I know they are fit to view the sights overseas. I'm looking into getting them a trip to London & Paris (tho I'm open to other places) and I believe they would be most comfortable being part of a Japanese tour group (with Japanese guide, etc.) even though they have lived in Canada a long time and are VERY fluent in English. Is there a company that arranges tours for Vancouver-based Japanese people? If not, can they join up with a group from Japan once in Europe? What company can help me arrange that? (Anonymous b/c I'd like to surprise them and there is family lurking here.)
My 60-something aged parents, who are Japanese, have never been to Europe. They do a lot of travelling around N. America and Japan, with lots of walking, so I know they are fit to view the sights overseas. I'm looking into getting them a trip to London & Paris (tho I'm open to other places) and I believe they would be most comfortable being part of a Japanese tour group (with Japanese guide, etc.) even though they have lived in Canada a long time and are VERY fluent in English. Is there a company that arranges tours for Vancouver-based Japanese people? If not, can they join up with a group from Japan once in Europe? What company can help me arrange that? (Anonymous b/c I'd like to surprise them and there is family lurking here.)
I would call up travel agents that cater to the Japanese community. I see package tour ads all the time in newspapers aimed at particular ethnic communities, for example a Korean-owned travel agency advertising group tours to Europe or Canada on local Korean free weeklies. I've seen those types of ads in one of the local Japanese free weeklies, too.
posted by needled at 5:20 PM on December 13, 2010
posted by needled at 5:20 PM on December 13, 2010
You could try a Japanese tour operator like HIS. We live in BC, and usually use HIS to purchase tickets back to Japan. They offer tour packages from the Japanese page. There's a little pull-down menu at the top of the page that takes you to their London office.
It might not hurt to give the HIS office in Vancouver a call. They're pretty friendly.
posted by KokuRyu at 5:24 PM on December 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
It might not hurt to give the HIS office in Vancouver a call. They're pretty friendly.
posted by KokuRyu at 5:24 PM on December 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
These are three (1, 2, 3) travel agencies based in Vancouver that specialise in bringing Japanese tour groups over to BC. They all have Vancouver-based addresses so there's probably people there that have good contacts with the local Japanese ex-pat community. At the very least they might be able to put you in contact with someone that can help you plan something in Europe.
(Nice gift idea by the way -- hope it works out!)
posted by modernnomad at 5:32 PM on December 13, 2010
(Nice gift idea by the way -- hope it works out!)
posted by modernnomad at 5:32 PM on December 13, 2010
Try Azumono Travel in Vancouver. They're always offering travel and tour packages.
posted by loquat at 5:32 PM on December 13, 2010
posted by loquat at 5:32 PM on December 13, 2010
Seconding KokuRyu, I've only had good experiences with the HIS Vancouver office.
posted by ripley_ at 6:55 PM on December 13, 2010
posted by ripley_ at 6:55 PM on December 13, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by decathecting at 5:13 PM on December 13, 2010