Kenjiro Ikeda
Director of Inbound Travel Department, heads up the Inbound land operation team. As the company name shows, we are fascinated to introduce the culture of Japan, our of box experience, with full of Japan’s culture, beauty & Spirit.
What places and activities do you specialize in?
"We are specialized in cultural travel in Japan, and also the outdoor activity."
How did you get involved in travel?
"I traveled around in Japan while I studied in university, from the surf peak in the tropical sea to snowy mountain peak in Hokkaido, all these travel experience naturally started me to be motivated working for travel. After the graduation, I started the career as a tour leader for Japanese outgoing group, it brought the travel experience to more than 90 countries within 10 years. The tour leader experience gave the new motivation to me, that to promote Japan as the destination to the people living outside of Japan."
Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.
"There are so many things unforgettable, but one of the best experiences in recent years is, the waterfall training (Takigyo) experience.
I did it with the group of American Entrepreneurs. It is the training have done by Buddhist monks from ancient time, to train themselves and to be stronger. On the day in last September, we drove to the mountain from Tokyo, and met the instructors at the water fall. We changed to the special gear, and did the purification ceremony to pray for the safety of the training.
Once we got ready, we stepped into the water and reached to the spot under the waterfall, and being hit by the waterfall. We needed to go with a bamboo stick to support us not to feel down. The water was cold, and it was far harder than we expected. The water pressure was quite strong, but we stood up with it for a couple of minutes.
After doing this, we felt very refreshed. I also felt that the water washed away our negativity, bad things in mind. The greatest thing was that, the most of our customers, who were group of entrepreneurs, told they enjoyed it very much & one gentleman described it as “it is the best thing in my life”.
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