Case Study

Christine in Japan

Client: Christine
Destination: Japan
Duration: 3 1/2 weeks
Goal: A photographer chasing contrast and wildlife, who wants the freedom to get the shot right and people to share the trip with.

Who they are

Christine is retired and lives in Christchurch. Photography sits close to the centre of how she travels. She is a keen armature photographer, drawn especially to wildlife, and she continually looks for ways to improve her craft rather than simply documenting a trip. This was the second journey we planned for Christine, so we had additional insights from her previous 10 week holiday to lean on when planning this holiday.

"Christine is very enjoyable to work with due to her enthusiasm for new destinations and culture, and her openness to experiences we feel would be a good fit for her"

Ron Montgomery

Their starting point

Japan had been on Christine’s list for a long time, somewhere she had always wanted to go, and this trip offered a deliberate contrast to the scale of her first journey with us through Europe. February was chosen deliberately, so she would catch the Sapporo Snow Festival, built for exactly the kind of photography she loves. It also became something of a ‘bonus trip’. India was already booked for later in the year, and the gap before it was longer than Christine wanted to go without travelling, so this trip filled that space, on a tighter budget than her first.

"Christine wanted contrast, not comfort repeated. Japan in winter to fit in the snow festival. Some time with a group was also desired, though she had no further thoughts to begin with on that"

Ron Montgomery

Where we took it

“From the outset, this trip was built around balancing Christine’s social energy against her need for rest and focus. A well-chosen small group tour meets her need for company and conversation, while private guiding gives her the space to fully engage the interests that matter to her, particularly photography, without anyone else’s pace to consider. Hokkaido’s winter circuit, with its multiple stops and heavy logistics, called for a well organised guided tour, and after working through multiple options we found the best fit for Christine.. The rest of the trip called for private guiding: working a camera through Tokyo at her own speed, or sitting through a longer, more reflective experience like the Hiroshima Peace Memorial tour or the tea ceremony in Sakai. Religious sites stayed deliberately rare throughout, limited to just two exceptional ones: Zenko-ji Temple alongside the snow monkeys in Nagano, and Itsukushima Shrine alongside the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.”

"Getting that balance right is the part of planning for Christine I think about most. Too much group time and she loses the space she needs for her camera. Too much time alone and she comes home without the stories she got from Hokkaido."

Ron Montgomery

The journey

The trip opened with five nights in Tokyo: an evening photo adventure through the city with a professional photographer as guide, a morning of ikebana flower arranging, a food tour through Ueno, a ramen and gyoza cooking class, and a private walking tour of Ginza’s architecture.

Two nights in Nagano followed, built around the snow monkeys bathing in their hot spring, Zenko-ji Temple, and a taste of local sake.

From there, Christine joined an eleven-day small-group tour, starting in Tokyo’s Asakusa district and moving north for the Sapporo Snow Festival, with stops through Hakodate and rural Hokkaido along the way.

Three nights in Kyoto followed, a chance to slow down after eleven days of group touring.

Hiroshima came next: two nights anchored by a full day with a private guide through the Peace Memorial Park and Museum, and on to Itsukushima Shrine on the island of Miyajima.

The trip closed with three nights in Osaka, a food and drinks tour through Shinsekai and Nishinari, and a tea culture experience in Sakai, the birthplace of the Japanese tea ceremony, before a final night in Tokyo and the long flight home.

"From monkeys warming in a hot spring to an afternoon dressed as a geisha in Kyoto, and from new friends made on the group tour to a private walk through Hiroshima's history, this trip gave Christine an enormous range to draw from."

Ron Montgomery

Names have been changed to protect our clients’ privacy.

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