Past Charity Projects

• Introduction
• Our Holidays
• Our Offices
• Going Green In Japan
• Carbon Offsetting
• My Chopsticks
• IJT Charities
• Past Charity Projects

Supporting local charities

Over the years InsideJapan Tours has supported many worthy causes both in Japan and our home town of Bristol in the UK.

2011

Of course our fundraising efforts this year were dominated by the tragic earthquake and tsunami that hit Tohoku on March 11th. We decided to support Civic Force, a Japanese NGO at the forefront of the relief effort. The charity provided initial emergency shelter to victims and has since been involved in the strategic distribution of volunteers, essential goods and funds to those most in need.

InsideJapan Tours staff, family, friends and many, many clients past and present kindly donated via our Just Giving page. A second wave of donations came in September 2011 when eight members of the UK team ran the Bristol half marathon in two teams; the Samurai Striders and the Wasabi Warriors. Not wanting to be left out, Mat Eccles, ran the Boulder half marathon.

In 2011 we raised more than £25,000 for Civic Force. Thank you to everyone who contributed so generously to help the people of Tohoku in a very dark hour of need.

2010

Since 2010 we have been working with The Travel Foundation, an independent charity in Bristol. The Travel Foundation works with the travel industry to manage tourism in a sustainable way, ensuring travellers have a positive effect on the people and places they encounter on holiday. The Travel Foundation also work with the Association of independent Tour Operators (AITO), of which we are proud to be a member, so this ensures that our sustainable tourism practices are in line with those of our governing travel organisation. In September 2010 our UK staff took part in a charity “Dragon Boat” race raising over £700 for the Travel Foundation.


2009

Our chosen charity in Japan for 2009 was the Shinshu Asiatic Black Bear Study Group, an NPO working to protect the dwindling bear population in Japan and reduce human-bear conflicts. Shinshu is an area of the Japanese Alps mountain range in central Japan where the study group was set up in 1995. One of the group’s founders Oscar Huygens is the tour leader for our Nature & Culture small group tour. The tour takes our customers up into the stunning scenery of the Japan Alps offering the chance to see bears in their natural environment.

2008

In 2008 our support went to the Tyler Foundation a children’s cancer charity in Japan, and the Cots for Tots campaign for Bristol Children’s Hospital. In February that year our very own Harry Sargant ran the Tokyo Marathon to kick-start our fundraising; by the end of the year, kind donations from our customers, staff and business associates had totalled over £1,200 -thank you everyone!