Sunday, September 8, 2024 Rakuten Travel, Japan’s leading online travel agency, is leveraging its multilingual website and comprehensive travel guides to attract foreign tourists to lesser-known destinations across Japan. As both central and local governments seek to promote secondary destinations, Rakuten Travel is positioning itself to cater to repeat visitors looking for unique experiences beyond Japan’s famous “Golden Route” of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Mt. Fuji.
Jeremy Bek, Global Head of Rakuten Travel, highlighted the growing demand for exploring Japan’s hidden gems. “There are many more undiscovered treasures, and people will continue coming back to explore the deeper side of Japan,” Bek said in a recent interview. Rakuten Travel’s website, available in nine languages, including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Indonesian, offers extensive resources such as car rental guides and customer support services.
The platform also introduces various types of traditional accommodations like “ryokan” inns with multicourse “kaiseki” dinners, “machiya” historic townhouses, and “minshuku” family-run guesthouses, which offer an authentic and affordable lodging experience. Bek shared that about 30% of international bookings on Rakuten Travel are for secondary destinations, with many travelers seeking nature-based experiences such as hiking and mountain climbing. “Immersive experiences like staying in a ryokan or attending a local festival are in high.