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Japan Guide Agency (JGA)’s mission is to provide tailor-made tours in Japan for as many different walks of life as possible. Since 2013, JGA has connected travelers with local guides across Japan and currently offers over 800 tour products, with around 230 listed on GetYourGuide.
Running over 400 tours a week at peak times, they follow the Japanese concept of ichi-go ichi-e, the idea that every encounter happens only once, and GetYourGuide has helped them to scale without detracting from the experience. This philosophy ensured that, across all products, JGA’s average revenue growth in 2025 was approximately 10–15%.
“You have one chance to meet someone for the first time, and we want that first impression to be exceptional. We want guests to not only love our company and our guides, but to come to love Japan as a country,” says Elizabeth Seimiya, who handles pre-booking and client consultation at JGA
Here, Elizabeth delves into how GetYourGuide’s excellent customer service has become an extension of the brand and attracts the clientele most likely to enjoy the tours.
What inspired JGA to partner more deeply with GetYourGuide?
We've been working with GetYourGuide since not long after we were founded in 2013, but within the past year, we've made a real push to expand the partnership. The main reason is the customer profile. GetYourGuide attracts very independent travelers, so people who know they want a guide and know what they're looking for.
Each OTA has a slightly different market, so we choose which tours fit best for each one. GetYourGuide offers excellent visibility, and customers genuinely trust the platform, which is a big part of why we chose to work with them.
We're not a 20 or 30-person bus tour operation. We offer smaller, more personalized experiences, and we find that GetYourGuide customers specifically seek that. When we saw an uptick in reservations coming from the platform, it confirmed that this was the right direction for us.
What have been the most significant outcomes since expanding on GetYourGuide?
The biggest benefit has been international reach. We went from having around 10 tours listed on GetYourGuide to over 130. With that came customers from across the globe, including Europe, Asia, North America, the UK, and many other markets we weren't reaching before.
That breadth has also been a learning experience, helping us understand what different cultures need from a tour and how to train our guides accordingly. Before, we were very focused on English-speaking markets. Now, we're thinking much more globally.
Were there any surprises when you started working with GetYourGuide?
One thing that stood out was how much they respect what we write about our own tours. On other platforms, they'll often rewrite your product descriptions, and you lose that sense of originality. GetYourGuide sticks much more closely to what we submit, which we really appreciate.
We were also surprised by how actively they work to prevent market saturation. If a tour type already exists on the platform, they push suppliers to offer something new. At first, that felt like a constraint. However, it's prompted us to build new partnerships, such as with sumo stables, cooking schools, and other venues, and to develop original experiences we might not have created otherwise.
What percentage of your bookings come through OTAs versus direct channels?
Roughly 70% come through OTAs. Our direct channel is quite small by comparison. That really underscores how important these platforms are. Customers trust OTAs. If someone is visiting from overseas and comes across a website they've never heard of, they're understandably cautious about entering their payment details. GetYourGuide removes that hesitation.
They also know that any cancellations will be handled smoothly. That level of trust is something we simply can't replicate on a direct site alone. Of that 70%, GetYourGuide accounts for around 20%.
What are the biggest challenges your business faces today?
Two things stand out. The first is managing customer expectations. Touring in Japan is quite different from touring other cities. Sites are farther apart, distances are longer, and even with private transport, guests can only cover around three sites in a six-hour tour. That surprises people who expect a denser experience.
GetYourGuide helps here, because we can be very detailed in our product listings and give guests a clear picture of what to expect.
The second challenge is pricing. Many visitors assume Japan is inexpensive because it's in Asia, but that's not the case. Balancing a price that's fair for customers while also paying guides appropriately is genuinely difficult.
Can you share a specific example where GetYourGuide helped improve your operations?
The itinerary feature has been transformative for us. Because our tours are highly customizable, we used to present guests with a list of possible sites and let them build their own day. GetYourGuide encouraged us to also create sample itineraries so guests could see a concrete route.
We found that while many guests love the bespoke approach and choosing their own sites from our list, there's a significant market for guests who simply want to be told where they're going. They want a clear itinerary covering as much as possible in a day.
Even within a private tour format, not everyone wants to customize. So, we've created fixed-itinerary private tours to serve that audience, and they've performed well.
What makes their itinerary tool particularly useful is that you can include transport, so you can show that getting from point A to point B takes 15 minutes by bus, or that a particular train segment has an associated cost. That level of detail sets expectations beautifully and helps guests understand the rhythm of a day in Japan. I'd love to see other OTAs adopt that feature.
Which other GetYourGuide tools or features have made a big impact?
Reviews are always important, and they've helped us build our reputation on the platform. Beyond that, I really value the way product information is displayed. On some OTAs, important details are hidden behind a click or buried in an expanded section that many customers never bother to open.
On GetYourGuide, guests see the key information immediately, without having to dig for it. We find this leads to better-informed bookings and fewer misunderstandings.
The platform is also fairly strict about photo quality, requiring a minimum of around 20 images, and they hold suppliers to a reasonable standard. That's pushed us to invest in better photography, which in turn helps guests understand what kind of experience they're signing up for.
What advice would you give to operators just starting out with OTAs?
Don't overextend yourself before you're ready. There are many OTAs out there, so research which ones best suit your type of business and your customers. Start with a small number of well-crafted listings on the platform that's the best fit, rather than posting everything everywhere at once.
Get those first reviews in. Once you have a handful of positive reviews, your credibility grows, more guests find you, and the momentum builds naturally. When you feel you have the capacity to handle more, then expand.
If you're worried about commission fees, post just a few products and see how it performs before committing more. Without the trust that an established OTA provides, it's very hard to attract overseas visitors to a website they've never encountered.
What's the single most important factor for success on a platform like GetYourGuide?
Be hands-on with your products, and invest in delivering exceptional service. If you do, guests will leave reviews. On GetYourGuide, the review process is rigorous, and guests have to have actually booked and completed an experience. Reviews carry real weight, and other customers trust them.
If you overextend yourself, you'll start cutting corners on service. That undermines everything you've worked to build. Focus on quality first, grow gradually, and let your customers become your best marketing.
What do guest reviews most often say about JGA's tours?
Almost universally, it comes back to the guide. Our guides are the strongest element of what we offer. Because we run private and small-group tours, everything is personalized, and guests feel that.
Reviews talk about how much they enjoyed spending time with their guide, how the guide shared personal stories, and how the experience gave them something they simply couldn't have had on their own.
Key Takeaways
- Keep the experience personal as you scale. JGA now runs over 400 tours a week at peak times while applying the principle of ichi-go ichi-e to every guest encounter. Across its products, the company recorded approximately 10 to 15% revenue growth in 2025.
- Use trusted OTAs to reach travelers you may struggle to attract directly. Around 70% of JGA’s bookings come through OTAs, with GetYourGuide accounting for roughly 20% and connecting the company with guests from markets around the globe.
- Start small and expand when you have the capacity to maintain quality. JGA recommends beginning with a limited number of strong listings, building reviews, and adding products as demand and operational capacity grow.
- Set clear expectations before guests book. Detailed product information and GetYourGuide’s itinerary feature help JGA show guests what they can realistically cover in a day, including travel times and transport costs.
- Invest in the people who shape the guest experience. JGA’s reviews consistently highlight its guides, showing how knowledgeable, personable guides and small groups can turn strong experiences into the reviews that support further growth.
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