About Us
Established in 2001, we are a small, family run Australia-based business operating out of Tokyo who specialize in organizing low-impact,
small-group, adventurous and "out of the way" trips for clients in Japan, Australia, Korea and China. We operate group and individual
tours for other operators in Japan as well as take private bookings for groups and individuals. As an active and grassroots company we
work closely with adventure travel operators and small ryokan and minshuku accommodations in Japan, but also have gourmet,
premium and more conventional products to provide our unique style to a variety of markets. See some articles written about us here or
read our blog.
We have a passion for the places we visit on the tours and love showing other people the nooks and crannies that we've discovered and
that make the place special to us. If there's somewhere we love to go cycling, hiking or exploring with the kids you can guarantee it's on
our list of itineraries though every now and again we do like to take it easy, relax and enjoy a fabulous meal (and we're sure you do too).
Our travel style
- Grass roots travel using local public transport where possible - minimises demand for special tourist vehicles and fuel.
- We choose small-scale locally owned accommodation where available and local restaurants and markets for dining, retaining
revenue in local communities.
- Our group leaders facilitate communication of our values to travellers and local communities, educating them in sustainable
tourism practices.
- We employ local guides where possible to aid travellers' understanding of local culture and etiquette
- Small groups allow travellers to experience cultures first hand, offering greater opportunity for cross- cultural understanding.
We operate on a policy of responsible travel which centers on respect for local cultures, the environment and tries to maximise the
positive impacts we can have while minimising the negative ones. Learn more about responsible travel.
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Foundations and organisations we support
World Friendship Centre
Based in Hiroshima, Japan, the WFC was founded to "provide a place where people from many nations can meet, share their
experiences and reflect on peace".
The Chiiori Trust
Centering around a historic thatch roof farmhouse, the Chiiori Trust aims to develop community based tourism in rural areas to preserve
local cultures and slow migration to urban areas.
Murtoa
Not so much a foundation or organisation but a town, Murtoa is the hometown of our founder and so holds a special place in our hearts.
A wheat growing town currently struggling to survive Australia's crippling drought, Murtoa is home to a friendly bunch of Aussie battlers
who need our support.
Group Leaders
Bashukway group leaders come from a variety of backgrounds. Many will have had previous experience in tourism but this is not
essential. Our leaders take great pride in showing travellers the heart and soul of Japan and are strongly committed to principles of
responsible travel They are energetic, friendly, intelligent, honest, fun loving and have exceptional organisational, problem solving and
people skills.
Want to work as a group leader?
Introducing some of our group leaders
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Yuka Suzuki
Born in Shizuoka prefecture (famous for Mt Fuji, unagi and being the number 1 consumer of pork
gyoza in Japan) Yuka moved to Chicago at age 7 and as the lone Japanese (with a Miss Piggy
lunchbox) ended up being rather a rebellious little girl. Coming back to Japan at age 12 she went
through high school encountering some cultural differences before deciding to study Japanese
culture at university. Sumo is an ongoing interest and she goes to watch it as often as she can. When
she's not chatting up sumo boys you might find her hiking, singing karaoke or drinking Sapporo beer.
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Hiroyuki Matsumura (Hiro)
Born in Tokyo, the greatest city in the world (or at least one of the largest), Hiro moved to Moscow at
age 7 to pursue a career in the KGB (or attend primary school depending on whose story you believe).
Finding Moscow was nyet for him he moved back to Japan at the age of 12 to take up rugby and
modern jazz. At university he studied economics (though can't quite remember the difference between
GDP and GNP) and after graduating worked for Sanrio selling Hello Kitty merchandise before
changing career yet again, goinginto the publishing world and taking up paragliding.
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Yuri Awanohara
Yuri was born in Indonesia to Japanese and Chinese parents. After growing up between the United
States and Japan, she's been living part of the year in Tokyo for the past 3 years, spending the other
half of the year in Brazil. Studying anthropology and photography at university, she loves observing and
photographing how Japanese culture keeps evolving and changing while parts of it retain the
traditions that it is so well known for. Her favorite pursuits in Japan include soaking in onsens,
discovering new local restaurants, and strolling through Japan's thousands of markets.
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Annamarie Ruelle
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Annamarie was born in the wilds of northern British Columbia and grew up in the beautiful city of
Vancouver. After acquiring a degree in Japanese literature (after too many alphabet soup lunches,
she wondered if there weren't other ways to communicate), she headed over to Japan to see what
was the fuss was about. After her first soak in a Japanese hot spring bath, first cup of sake, and first
mikan orange, she realized she might be here awhile. She now works in Bashukway Travel's Tokyo
office, but can still be spotted hiking or cycling in the Kanto countryside.
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