With the New Year approaching, EXO’s Japan Team has just held our traditional Bonenkai (end of the year party) at Kimpton Hotel in Shinjuku. Since most of our staff work from home on a rotating basis, and some live in different parts of the country, it was a great opportunity to see everyone in person and meet the many new faces of our growing team.
Speaking of growing, our Tokyo headquarters has recently expanded with the acquisition of an additional floor. Visitors can now meet with EXO staff in a new, upscale environment that includes attractive meeting spaces and lounges. Stop by if you’re in Tokyo!
Yet even as we grow, the extremely high demand in Japan does too, and we recently announced a stop-sell for the spring 2024 season. This is due to the critical lack of manpower and availability that many suppliers and accommodations are expected to face during the 2024 peak cherry blossom season.
We do not take these stop-sells lightly, and are dedicated to building our team and expanding our supply chain to welcome our guests, as we do not see things slowing down anytime soon!
Key Takeaways:
- Situation on the ground
In October, the number of tourist visiting Japan reached the pre-pandemic level, and it was without the Chinese tourism that has only just restarted. The situation on the ground continues to be difficult, with a lack of guides, private transportation, and accommodations as we reach our maximum capacity to guarantee a high quality of service.
- Fam trip in Kumano Kodo
Our President and some of our managers and team leaders joined a very interesting FAM trip along the famous pilgrimage route of the Kumano Kodo. It was the perfect opportunity to get familiar with an area that is growing in popularity, and arguably quite tricky to coordinate logistically. We are now able to provide better information and logistics to clients interested in the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage.
- New Year Holiday
EXO Travel Japan will remain closes for the New Year Holiday from 30th December 2023 to 3rd January 2024. Customer Care and emergency assistant for clients on the ground will remain active and our office will reopen as usual on Thursday 4 January, 2024.
Destination news
- Miyajima Visitor Tax – Starting from October 1st 2023, a 100 yen visitor tax has been added and included in the ferry ticket to Miyajima Island in Hiroshima. The collection of this tax is intended for tourism-related projects, such as refurbishing the wharf, maintaining restrooms, replacing utility poles with underground cables, and improving the townscape.
- Golden Week 2024 – This busy domestic travel period is from Apr 29th to May 6th, with peak rates starting on the 27th.
- Obon 2024 – This important spiritual holiday is officially from Aug 13th to 16th, but combined with other national holidays will create a peak season from Aug 10th to 18th.
- Team Lab Borderless Update – Tokyo’s most popular art installation closed in Odaiba in 2022 but will reopen in Azabudai in central Tokyo on February 9th 2024.
- Shinkansen Extension – starting March 16th, 2024 the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line will be extended from Kanazawa to Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture), allowing travelers to easily reach location as Kaga Onsen and Fukui.
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