2025- A new beginning

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:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g14127491-d32653099-Fukuoka_City_Walking_and_Public_Transport_Tour-Chuo_Fukuoka_Fukuoka_Prefecture_K.html

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.

Ritz Carlton- Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture

One of the things that I have to do as a guide is to recommend places of interest, whether they be attractions, restaurants and of course accommodations.  It is very hard to do this if you have not visited these locations and experienced them for yourself.

I have stayed in Ritz Carlton hotels around the world but when the Fukuoka Ritz Carlton opened in June 2023 it was absolutely on my wish list of places to stay.  However one of the customs and standards of practise in Japan is that anything new always commands a higher price and a certain level of attention above and beyond what is expected in the west.

As a result yours truly had to wait approx. a year to enjoy the fruits of ones labors and at the same time feel comfortable partaking in a stay that is on average way above the normal circumstances of pricing.  

May I say that the stay was incredible. I know now why so many friends, associates and customers of Tour Nagasaki had complimented the Ritz Carlton Fukuoka to such a high standard. The check in, the rooms, the ambience, the interior design, the gourmet experiences, the views, the hospitality, the facilities and the spacious rooms just keeps making this stay better and better.

I will recommend this hotel from now on in a heart beat especially for Marriott Bonvoy members and those who want to experience 5 star exquisite luxury and comfort in downtown Fukuoka City.

Check out the Fukuoka Ritz Carlton on this map below:

Please click on the photos below to enlarge:

Lobby

Elevator Entrance

My room

Bathroom

Very spacious

Incredible views

Huge beds

Ritz Carlton robe

Tea anyone

Champagne on ice

Japanese asthetics

Japanese artistic 

Entrance

I will be back

The building

Restaurant at night

Please click on these videos below to see more of the Fukuoka Ritz Carlton:

Takeo City Library: Takeo City, Saga Prefecture

Approximately 20 years ago, a group of people came up with an amazing idea, that some might’ve thought was basically crazy, however, history has paid dividends with an amazing result. Takeo city in Saga prefecture in order to put itself on the map and promote a region of Japan that most Japanese people don’t get to let alone international tourists decided in their wisdom to build a library with a Starbucks and a Tsutaya bookstore and to promote locally manufactured products from artisan’s within the region. 

There hasn’t been just one person who can be attributed to this successful idea, but basically a collaboration of many instrumental artists designers and architects were involved in the project from go to wow, the architecture is unique, the design is sleek, the products and services are used extensively by locals and travelers alike, in other words it’s been a win-win situation for everybody involved.

I have been bringing customers here for many many years now and there hasn’t been anyone who hasn’t been impressed by this concept of community spirit and all interested parties working together for the benefits of the local community It’s also interesting to see all the cars in the parking lot that come from afar, including Tokyo and Osaka may I add. Even today with the building slightly aging, it still has a tremendous pull for the average person to enjoy.

You don’t have to be an architect or a designer to appreciate how beautiful and aesthetic this building really is, 20 years later and well over 10 million visitors is testament to how good things still work for years and years after their implementation into the community.

Please check out the Takeo City Library on this map below:

Please click on these photos below to enlarge:

Its on the map now

View from the 2nd floor

Lots to see

The tree comes out at Xmas

Always full of people

Interior is impressive

Starbucks line is always long

Many local products to purchase

So pleasing to the eye

Please click on these videos below to see more of the Takeo City Library: