Firstly, I would like to wish all my previous and future clients a Happy New Year and of course a healthy and prosperous 2025. I am sure this year will be a busy but challenging one for us all.
I am going onto my 14th year as a Tour Guide and Shore Excursion specialist. I will never forget my first tour in 2011 with the Limanski party of 8. Of course there were a lot of nerves and trepidation but the excitement was palpable with a new business venture just starting to come to fruition.
Over the years, obviously I have refined my skills, introduced many new tour offerings and expanded into many new regions around Japan as the demand for guides and bespoke/ customized experiences has become the norm. However I realize that that a one man operation was not going to be able to satisfy the constant requests and consistent demand. Therefore I am extremely happy to announce a partnership to expand and improve on the quality and scope of operations by introducing a new alliance to provide touring services throughout Kyushu and Western Japan.
Dion and Jon are fellow expats from Canada and the USA respectively, who like me have lived in Japan for over 20 years, currently work in the University system and are raising children in this wonderful country called the Land of the Rising Sun. Never did I think that I would find someone who could match my level of energy and passion to showcase Japan and its specific regions to the world but I was wrong. These 2 do that and much more and I can truthfully say I would trust them with my life and my kids as well.
Our combined website is called Private Tours Japan and you can click on this link to see more about us and our shared philosophy.
https://www.privatetoursjapan.net/
One of our goals is to be able to fulfill a customers request at all times whether large or small. It could be a short 5 or 6 hour day tour or multiple Shore Excursions with multiple port calls allover Japan. With this partnership, we will be more flexible to help match and provide excellent touring solutions to an eager and demanding public.
These are the regions that we are specializing in at present:
1) Kyushu: Focusing on the main ports of Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Beppu, Miyazaki and Kagoshima.
2) Shikoku: Focusing on the Port of Kochi
3) Western and Central Japan: With a focus on ports south of Tokyo such as Hiroshima, Himeji, Tottori, Osaka, Kobe, Shimizu and Yokohama.
The other amazing news is that my daughter Elisa will be joining me in the tour business. She is 18 years old now, perfectly bilingual, has passed the highest level of language proficiency in Japan and working towards getting her professional translator license.
She will soon be graduating from High School and heading to Tokyo to study International Business at the prestigious Sophia University. In order to support herself thru University she will be conducting city walking tours and private chauffeured day tours in Tokyo as well as shore excursions out of the Yokohama International Cruise Terminal from April 2025.
 |
| My daughter |
In the meantime to boost her skills she is providing various walking tours in Fukuoka City specializing in shopping, culture, history and gourmet experiences. If you would like to know more about her services please contact me or her directly at the following email address:
elisadestinylefebvre@gmail.com
Also, you can see her profile here on her TripAdvisor account:
I am sure you will find that she shares many strong attributes like her father but with her unique perspective of being raised as a dual citizen and bilingual to boot, I am sure she will be able to share many insights into what it means to be Japanese and Australian alike.
