One of the people behind Naviko, suddenly found a calling - to ski 40 days in Japan in a single season, with family and without breaking the bank.
After making the initial plan, it became obvious the plan had big holes:
- Everything for the season was already booked out
- What was not booked out, was prohibitively expensive
- What was not expensive was not on booking sites
To make it happen, he had to step out of his comfort zone and start calling Japanese businesses in Japanese - which he failed.
But he also found someone who could make the calls for him. And that person realized they are pretty good at it. And now they offer this service as Naviko.
The result - 47 days in the mountains all over Japan, over 15 powders day with some 4 bottomless powder days with nobody else on the slopes.
What is Naviko?
Naviko is a small local-help service for travelers in Japan.
For times when you just need:
- someone to call a hotel, ryokan, ski lodge or minshuku
- help understanding booking details, like whether your child actually has a bed and meal after being booked as “free” (true story)
- help figuring out transport by calling the transport company
- confirm opening times at a restaurant or other business
And if you are specifically asking for snow trips, Naviko can help with
- Tips for resorts with no crowds
- Logistics between mountains
- Last minute ski/snowboard trips
- School, restaurant, resort contacts
- Local park rats/diggers contact
- Quick snow trip from Tokyo