Services · B2B Only
Four ways we operate Japan for you
Every programme we run falls into one of four service lines - private FIT, groups and series, MICE, or pure ground handling. All four are quoted net, delivered under your brand, and answered within 24 hours.
What we operate
Private journeys & honeymoons
Ryokan and luxury hotel programmes, private guides, chef-table dining and access that is not on the open market. Individually dated, built one client at a time.
Groups & SeriesGroup tours & series departures
Stable routing you can print in a brochure and sell all season, with FOC allocation at one per 20 paying adults and two per 40, licensed English-speaking guides and coach logistics nationwide.
MICEIncentives, conferences & events
From 10-pax board retreats to movements of 1,000-plus. Venue sourcing, gala production, team-building, AV and interpretation, delivered under your event brand.
Ground HandlingTransfers, rail & full logistics
You own the itinerary, we run it. Airport transfers, bullet-train bookings, private coaches and 24/7 on-tour support as your Japan ground handler.
From brief to confirmed, in four steps
Send dates, pax, budget band and whatever the client has already asked for. A rough brief is fine - we would rather see it early and ask questions than wait for a polished one.
A costed, net quotation within one working day, held valid for four days. Named hotels wherever we can commit to them, or-similar alternatives where we cannot, and the reasoning stated either way.
Deposit and cancellation terms are published rather than negotiated case by case, so you can quote your client with confidence about what happens if the booking moves. See payment & settlement and our trade terms.
Japan-based operations on Japan time, with a 24/7 contact for the duration of travel. We work behind your brand throughout and never approach your client.
What actually gets programmes into trouble
Most Japan itineraries that fail do not fail on hotel choice. They fail on coach access, on a national holiday nobody checked, or on a dietary requirement that surfaced too late to rebook a restaurant.
We hold permits and vetted coach suppliers on all major routes, including the central-ward restrictions in Tokyo and the narrow eastern-hills streets in Kyoto that regularly catch out operators quoting Japan from abroad. We check group dates against the Japanese holiday calendar before quoting, not after confirming. And dietary handling - halal, vegetarian, vegan and Jain - is specified at quotation stage, because in Japan it determines the restaurant list, not just a substitution on the plate.
Further reading for your operations team: how Japan DMC payment terms work, briefing clients on the shinkansen, halal operations in Japan, vegetarian, vegan and Jain dining, and planning an itinerary around Japanese weather.
Where these services run
All four service lines operate across our full destination network of 43 cities and regions - and are quoted to the expectations of your source market, because seasonality, pacing, dietary handling and flight access differ considerably depending on where your clients are flying from.
Browse all 43 destination guides →
Find your source market →
Check who you are actually contracting
A surprising number of companies selling Japan to the trade are resellers passing briefs to a third party, not operators. That is not automatically a problem - but you should know which one you are buying from, because it determines who is accountable when something moves at 11pm on a Saturday in Kyoto.
Four things are worth verifying before you send anyone a brief: the registered entity number, the membership category behind any association logo, the timezone the operations desk actually sits in, and whether terms are published or only produced on request. Ours are VB2010 Group Limited / NZBN 9429045892981, JATA Overseas Allied Member No. 43476, an operations desk in Wakayama on Japan time, and terms published in full.
Services: agent FAQs
Which service line should I brief you under?
Brief us under the one closest to the shape of the booking. Private, individually-dated travel goes to Luxury FIT. Anything moving as a single party on a coach goes to Groups & Series. Corporate programmes with a budget holder and an agenda go to MICE. If you already own the itinerary and only need it operated on the ground, that is Ground Handling. If it sits between two of them, send the brief anyway - we quote it correctly and tell you which desk is holding it.
How quickly do you come back with a price?
Within 24 hours on every brief, across all four service lines. The first quotation is complimentary and costed, and it is held valid for four days so you have time to present it to your client before rates move.
Do you quote net or commissionable?
Net, as standard. You apply your own margin and sell under your own brand. We never contact your client directly and we never publish a retail price that would undercut you.
Do you work with direct travellers?
No. Vb Japan DMC is B2B only. We work with travel agencies, tour operators, incentive houses and corporate planners, and nobody else.
Who is the contracting entity?
VB2010 Group Limited, NZBN 9429045892981, registered in Auckland, New Zealand, operating from our Wakayama office and our own Japan ground network. We hold JATA Overseas Allied Member No. 43476. All three of those are verifiable in public registers, and we would encourage you to check them - for us and for anyone else you are considering.