[ About ]■
Our Story: From Day Trips to Deeper Paths
For the past 15 years at The Backstreet Guides, we have focused on sharing the best of Tokyo and Kyoto with our guests. Our approach has always been simple: to make you feel like you are exploring with a knowledgeable friend, rather than a traditional tour company.
Over the years, many of our guests have asked us the same thing at the end of a day tour: "Can you take us on a longer journey around Japan?" We loved the idea. However, designing and managing fully custom, private multi-day itineraries for individuals takes a great deal of resources. To do it well meant charging rates that simply didn't feel as accessible as we wanted them to be for our community.
Enter Tabi Trails. We created this project to give our guests exactly what they have been asking for, at a more accessible cost per person.
The Tabi Trails Approach
Tabi Trails is a collection of thoughtfully designed, small-group journeys. By opening up a few select dates a year and sharing a nimble minivan with a maximum of 12 like-minded travelers, we can offer premium, hand-crafted multi-day experiences without the high cost of a fully private booking. You get the intimate, insider feel of a private tour, with the camaraderie of a small group circle.
Who Is Guiding You?
While Tabi Trails is a new chapter for us, it is built on a very experienced foundation:
The Same Care: The exact same management and customer service team you know from The Backstreet Guides handles the logistics behind the scenes.
The Same Familiar Faces: Many of the friendly guides you know from our day tours will be leading these journeys.
Specialized Support: We have also welcomed some wonderful new guides to our team who specialize specifically in the logistics and storytelling required for multi-day travel around Japan.
Our Promise to You
Whether we are walking under the 400-year-old cedars of Hakone or meeting a local maker in Shizuoka, our goal remains the same: to offer a warm, professional, and authentic experience. We don't do massive tour buses or cookie-cutter itineraries. We simply focus on the places we love to visit ourselves, and we are truly excited to share them with you.
A 15-Year Reputation You Can Trust
While Tabi Trails is a new name, our guiding philosophy is backed by 15 years of 5-star experiences at The Backstreet Guides. We are incredibly proud of the community we have built. Here is a small snapshot of what our guests frequently say about our team:
"Like spending the day with a well-informed friend" "Our guide was fantastic. It didn't feel like a formal tour, but rather like spending the day with a well-informed friend who knew all the best spots and the history behind them. We learned so much more than we would have on our own."
— Reviewer from New York
"The highlight of our trip to Japan" "The local knowledge was incredible. We saw sides of the city we never would have found in a guidebook. The team’s passion for travel and their country really shines through in everything they do. I only wish we could have stayed with them for our whole trip!"
— Reviewer from London
"Personal, professional, and authentic" "15 years of experience really shows. The communication from the office was seamless, and the tour itself was the perfect balance of professional organization and a warm, personal touch. Highly recommended for anyone wanting a deeper connection to Japan."
— Reviewer from Sydney
[ HISTORY ]When we started The Backstreet Guides 15 years ago, our goal was simple: to help travelers experience Tokyo and Kyoto not just as tourists, but as welcomed guests.
Over the years, our team has had the privilege of walking thousands of miles with incredible people from all over the world. But as passionate travelers ourselves, we know what makes a journey truly stick with you. It’s slow travel. It's taking the time to actually interact with the people who live there.
In Japan, we know that meaningful interactions can be incredibly difficult for travelers to find on their own. Language and cultural barriers often keep experiences strictly on the surface.
This is exactly why we created Tabi Trails, and why we are so excited about these new adventures.
Because all of our guides are Japanese, they act as your bridge. Spending four full days together means we have the time to really talk, share stories, and connect. We have also designed these routes to maximize your chances of genuine interactions with the local makers, monks, and residents in all the areas we visit.
Even after 15 years of guiding, Japan still has the power to take our breath away. Seeing a snow-capped Mt. Fuji for the first time each year always blows us away, and we cannot wait to share that feeling with you.
We are just getting started with Tabi Trails. We have even more adventures in the planning phase that we will be rolling out over the next year.
We hope you'll join us on the trail for this next chapter.
Warmly,
The Founders of The Backstreet Guides
