Happy Plus

Tell us about the history of Happy Plus and your specialty.

Happy plus is a company that provides guided tours around Takayama.
When I was working in Tokyo and Osaka, I used to come back once a year. Every time I came back in Takayama, I noticed that the population was slowly decreasing. It was strange for me to look, for example, at my old schools and to notice that the student number was decreasing and I wondered what I could do. The first think I came up with, thinking about what could be good for Takayama, was to build a tourism company. I put a lot of effort into establishing this company.
The purpose of Happy plus is not just to guide, but make sure our customers learn about Takayama's history and culture. For example, with some of our tours, we visit traditional sake breweries and we also provide a sake brewing experience or a lesson about Takayama sake. I think working in this field is wonderful. To be able to guide tourists around your own city is a great experience for us.

Do you have a memory with a customer or an event in particular that would you like to share?

Yes, I have a few good memories.
Once I was asked, by a local, for a guide service. After we finished our tour, he said to me that he didn’t know about some of the things I showed and explained to him. I felt really good, both as a guide and as a person born from here, to be able to help someone from Takayama discover something new about his own city.
Also, one time, I did a tour for an Italian couple and their children. After all, if you decide to pay for your trip and for a guide to show you around you are making an investment.
I think, as tour operators, we have no choice but to give our customers the chance to make good memories about their trip. To be able to accomplish that, I usually plan my tours to have our customers to interact with the locals and to experience our traditions.

Let us hear about a place you would recommend in Takayama

I really like sake breweries. There are 7 warehouses within 200 square meters in Takayama old city. Around the world there aren't many places like that. The best thing about it is that each sake brewery has its own individuality and taste. It's one of my favorite places. I like to go through each brewery over the course of a day or two. We also have several tours consisting of that. I would recommend it to anyone.

About the coronavirus (COVID-19) what are the measures you are using?

We wipe desks with alcohol as much as possible, there is also a disinfectant spray, and we use a mask. We also do online-tours where we walk around the city online and explain about it. Since it is a new method, we are still researching the best way to do it.

Finally, do you have a message to say to the people who are reading this interview?

Let's go on a journey around Takayama!