A Rare Experience From Okushu Tours
Okushu Tours has treated the travel industry to a rare experience.
Instead of the standard destination webinar, Okushu Tours introduced Momo, one of the very personable and knowledgeable members of the Okushu team of tour guides in Japan.
Then, with camera in hand, Momo walked through the iconic Cherry Blossom (Sakura) experience, a highlight for many visitors to Japan. And with the country on the verge of reopening to tourism, this was the next best interaction to take in the visual and fragrant beauty of Sakura season.
The live/virtual Fam began in the city of Nishinomiya, about a 30-minute train ride west of Osaka. The city is known for Koshien Stadium, home of the renowned Hanshin Tigers, one of the oldest professional baseball teams in the country. But in Sakura season, the city invites locals and visitors to stroll through Shukugawa River Park to view the clouds of Cherry Blossoms on the trees, and that is precisely what the webinar featured through Momo’s live camera.
As she spoke about the colours and varieties of the delicate petals, she also related their significance to the Japanese people, in terms of hope, impermanence, and regeneration. Momo also introduced the joy of Hanami, the traditional picnic under the Cherry Blossoms, where family and friends gather to eat, drink sake and celebrate the season.
To add to the festive nature of the webinar, Momo asked questions along the way, with prizes going to the first viewer to send in the correct answer. And fittingly, when the Sakura tour concluded, Momo headed a short distance away to take viewers to the Hakushika Sake Brewery to visit the museum and the shop for a virtual tasting. Hakushika is one of the oldest breweries in Japan, founded in 1662. The versatile sake is brewed to accommodate dry, neutral, and sweet tastes and can be served warm or cold.
The webinar’s success was reflective of the popularity of Okushu Tours’ Japan programs. Okushu Tours offers custom-made private tours, small group series programs, and FITs. “And in particular, they offer trips that capture the imagination of travellers. Seasonal trips include Cherry blossoms in the spring and Maple Leaf watching in autumn.
Mindfulness tours involve experiential activities. These may include, for example, a temple stay, the tea ceremony, Zen garden appreciation, pilgrimage walk, Buddhist calligraphy class, and incense making class.
Japan embraces visitors with many special interest opportunities: food, history, culture, nature, art, architecture, shopping, photography, and more.
Okushu Tours’ creative webinar on the Cherry Blossoms, was only one sneak (interactive) peek into what’s in store!” the tour operator says.
