Specialty tours to Japan created with knowledge and passion for the country and its people.

Catalpa Travel Ltd. is a new name in the inbound Japan travel business and has been established by Paul Christie and Llew Thomas. Both Paul and Llew are also core members of staff at Walk Japan Ltd., the pioneer of walking tours of Japan including the classic Nakasendo Way. Catalpa Travel is the sister company of Walk Japan and specialises in providing cultural and specialist tours with less emphasis on physical activity.

Catalpa Travel tours replicate the quality of Walk Japan’s tours and are for those who are looking for a more relaxed time but still wish to access areas of Japan, its culture, society and people that too often remain inaccessible or unexplained to most visitors. Using the proven concept of intimate, small-group travel that Paul and Llew have helped establish and refine at Walk Japan, Catalpa tours emphasise comfort while never losing sight of the authenticity essential to a meaningful experience of what is probably one of the world's more elusive and least understood countries.

Catalpa Travel’s first specialty tours include golf, gourmet, tea and a historical tour, the Shogun Trail that follows in the footsteps of William Adams - one of only two westerners ever to become a samurai. In future, we will be adding more quality tours that reveal many other interesting aspects of Japan.