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Award-Winning Tours Immerse Travelers in Japan’s Unique Culture, History

The Japan Tourism Agency's 2nd Sustainable Travel Awards recently recognized tour offerings that create value for both travelers and destinations.

Brand Provided | By Sustainable Brands Japan | Published 1 week ago | About a 8 minute read

Image: '4 Themes of Shimosuwa' includes a nighttime kayaking experience on Lake Suwa | Shimosuwa Town Community Development Corporation Tourism Promotion Office

The world now seeks a form of travel that preserves the resources and culture of destinations while also enriching the lives of local communities. As demand for inbound tourism increases in Japan, as shown by the highest-ever number of foreign tourists in 2024, there is demand for providing a wider variety of attractive travel options within the country that are of high value to both travelers and tourist destinations.

In response to this demand, the Japan Tourism Agency created its Sustainable Travel Awards in 2023 to highlight the country’s best sustainable travel products and initiatives.

At the 2nd Sustainable Travel Awards ceremony on January 27, 2025, Takanori Suzuki — Vice Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency — described the current state of tourism in Japan: "While inbound tourism is thriving, challenges remain — including overtourism, labor shortages in tourist areas, and the concentration of tourism demand in urban centers."

He emphasized the need for collaboration between local groups and residents working to attract tourists and major travel agencies in urban areas, urging them to use this awards event to showcase the mass appeal of sustainable travel offerings.

Grand Prize: The Shimosuwa Long Stay Trip

A guided tour of the Hoshigato Ruins, a renowned obsidian site, is part of '4 Themes of Shimosuwa' | Image credit: Shimosuwa Town Community Development Corporation Tourism Promotion Office

The Grand Prize was awarded to the 4 Themes of Shimosuwa - Shinshu Shimosuwa 5-day Long Stay Trip, organized by the Shimosuwa Town Community Development Corporation Tourism Promotion Office (Shimosuwa Town, Nagano Prefecture). The sightseeing itinerary is designed in collaboration with local experts, museums and research institutions to provide in-depth exploration in Shimosuwa — home to attractions such as Suwa Taisha Shrine and the Hoshigato Ruins.

For example, visitors can explore an obsidian mine from the Jōmon Period (Japan’s neolithic period) — normally off-limits — while receiving commentary from a local discoverer and excavator. They can also study the historic Nakasendo Road via rare documents at the Lake Suwa Museum collection, usually not accessible to the public. A nighttime kayaking experience on Lake Suwa allows visitors to enjoy the starry sky in profound silence while immersing themselves in the scenery and cherished local culture.

Hidetoshi Kobayashi, visiting professor at Hokkaido University's Center for Advanced Tourism Studies (CATS) and chair of the awards committee, explained why the tour won Grand Prize: "The program is limited to a small number of participants to create a deep learning experience. The kayaking experience on the lake is also unique in that it is held at night — not for the purpose of ‘kayaking’ but for feeling the darkness, silence and the starry sky."

On accepting the award, Toru Miyasaka — Mayor of Shimosuwa Town and a representative of the Shimosuwa Town Community Development Corporation, expressed his excitement: "We are fostering a town where not only tourism businesses, but every resident, can proudly serve as a guide. Sustainable tourism development is a core principle of our town's tourism plan, and we will continue striving toward this goal — remembering that 'developing tourism means developing the town.'"

2nd Place: Ozu Castle Town Regeneration Stories

The wooden reconstruction of Ozu Castle in the distance | Image credit: Kita Management

The 2nd-place prize was awarded to Ozu Stories: Ozu Castle Town Regeneration Stories by Kita Management (Ozu City, Ehime Prefecture). The city's sustainable development strategy has earned high praise, including a 2024 Silver Award from international certification body Green Destinations. The defining feature is the renovation of multiple historical buildings throughout the castle town, repurposing them to create a unique and immersive visitor experience.

The tour guides, called the "Tsumugi Bito (people who help travelers and locals meet each other)," are local businesses and residents that share insight into the restoration of traditional homes and historical buildings while also engaging in cultural exchange with tour participants.

"The tour is interesting in that it allows visitors to experience not only the completed building but also the site before its renovation, and it shows the actual process of renovating,” Kobayashi commented. “By allowing visitors to experience the story of 'ongoing town redevelopment,' it creates a positive cycle that encourages visitors to stay involved as a related member of the population and to participate in town development," explaining why he selected the tour for the 2nd-place winner.

Five tours win Special Prize

Sakitsu Village | Image credit: Regional Tourism Research Institute

Five initiatives were selected for the Special Prize:

The Guided Sustainable Tour of Sakitsu Village World Heritage with Dinner, organized by the Takarajima, Amakusa Tourist Association (Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture), is a guided bus tour that takes participants through the Amakusa region — where public transportation is underdeveloped — to both prevent overtourism and provide a deep sightseeing experience. Sakitsu Village is one of the 12 properties in Kumamoto Prefecture registered as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 2018 as "Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region," which preserve the history of secretly continuing the Christian faith while coexisting with other religions during the 17th to 19th centuries when Christianity was banned in Japan.
The Okutsugaru Jōmon Wellbeing Stay Plan: 2 Days 1 Night stay package, organized by the General Incorporated Association Kanagi Genki Mura (Goshogawara City, Aomori Prefecture), allows visitors to experience an epic adventure through the Jōmon Period — an era classification unique to Japan, dating back approximately 8,000 years ago. "Okutsugaru" refers to the area surrounded by mountains in the northwestern part of Aomori Prefecture's Tsugaru Peninsula, where many Jōmon Period sites remain — including the Kamegaoka ruins, where the famous shakokidogu clay figure was excavated. This stay has been highly praised not only for its value in relaying an experience highlighting the life, food and culture of the Jōmon Period but also for its ability to redefine these cultural aspects from a wellbeing perspective — appealing to a wide range of visitors beyond history enthusiasts.
Leading travel agency Club Tourism International Inc (Koto-ku, Tokyo) won a Special Award for its "Traveling Ikimono School!" Nature-Positive School program (website available in Japanese only). Held in Ikusaka Village — a "zero-carbon village" in Nagano Prefecture — the program consists of six sessions in which participants can learn about initiatives to reverse the loss of biodiversity and put nature on a track toward recovery, as well as regenerative tourism — a growing trend in travel that helps to improve the places you visit.
From an island in the Seto Inland Sea, the Walk & Experience Tour to Enjoy Nakayama Senmaida Field and Rural Kabuki Stage — organized by the Shodoshima Tourism Association (Shodoshima-cho, Kagawa Prefecture) — is a collaboration between the towns of Shodoshima and Tonosho, located next to each other on Shodoshima Island. The tour includes a visit to local rice paddies and the stage of a rural kabuki performance, performed by people on the island since the Edo Period and designated as an important, intangible cultural asset by the Japanese government.
Fukui Hitomono Design Co.,Ltd. (Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture; website available in Japanese only) won an award for its Enishi no Tabi: Sanpo-yoshi kara Juppo-yoshi e ("Journey of a destined encounter: From three-way satisfaction to 10-way satisfaction") experience in the town of Eiheiji, Fukui Prefecture. The program is designed to bring people together with the culture and spirit of Zen unique to Japan. Participants will experience zazen meditation and vegetarian cooking with the monks at the renowned Eiheiji Temple. The subtitle to the experience, "Sanpo-yoshi kara Juppo-yoshi e," is a message to not just limit oneself to the traditional Japanese management philosophy of "sanpo-yoshi" — which focuses on the idea that a "business is only good if it not only makes the seller and buyer happy but also contributes to society" — but it also encapsulates the Buddhist concept of "juppo," referring to "all things at all times."

Five companies also won a 2025 Encouragement Prize:

Iwasaki Gofukuten Ltd. (Saku City, Nagano Prefecture)
Area Promotion Japan Inc. (Oyamazakicho, Kyoto Prefecture)
Alternative Farm Miyako Co., Ltd. (Miyakojima City, Okinawa Prefecture)
Kumamoto Prefecture Travel Agency Cooperative Association (Kumamoto City)
Nakashibetsu Tourist Association (Nakashibetsucho, Hokkaido Prefecture).

Normalizing the participation of local communities in tourism

The number of attractive and sustainable travel options originating in Japan that are of high value to both tourists and tourist destinations is steadily increasing. At the awards ceremony, Kobayashi looked back on past awards and pointed out a change in the direction of regional revitalization through tourism.

"A cycle in which a portion of the proceeds are used for regional conservation and the way in which residents take the initiative in participating in tourism is now becoming the norm," he said. "Last year, we received an offer from an overseas travel agency as a result of winning this award, and the response has been tremendous. In the coming years, the idea of visiting award-winning regions may gain traction. It is essential to identify and share outstanding case studies, and we aim to continue this initiative."