There are so many groups handing out travel awards now that it’s almost necessary to award the awardees in order to make sense of it all.
It seems like you can’t go two seconds without hearing that another organization you’ve never heard of has declared this city or that country as the next big thing for tourists looking to avoid the well-trodden path. There’s no accounting for taste, however, and one traveler’s commodification of the globe-trotting experience is another’s essential if not handy guide.
If there’s any area where Japan’s top travel destinations lag behind the rest of the world, and where there’s a yet-to-be-filled niche for a voice to cut through the void, it’s accessibility. Thousand-year-old temples aren’t wheelchair friendly, and the majority of tour operators outside of major cities struggle to communicate with travelers who can only speak English (leaving aside other non-Japanese languages).
Enter the Japan Travel Awards (JTA). While currently far from a global player, the JTA is filling a void for recommendations on forward-looking travel-centric organizations and creating opportunities for small businesses to take stock of their current place in the tourism industry.
The JTA is an annual awards show that held its first ceremony in 2022 to put the spotlight on “remarkable travel destinations in Japan.” Specifically, it looks to highlight tour operators, destinations and more that demonstrate efforts to promote diversity, inclusion, equity (DEI) and sustainable practices.
This year marked the JTA’s third awards ceremony and the first to be held in person. Though small in comparison to other similar events, with around 100 people in attendance, what shines through is its honest attempt to promote those doing good in the industry.
A different approach
While it isn’t unheard of for companies to start events or award ceremonies where the goal seems centered on expanding their own business, such as the Luxury Japan Award held by travel agency Luxury Japan, the JTA differs with a non-profit approach that allows businesses of all sizes to enter.
In order to get a well-rounded overview of each entry, judges visit the locations of the finalists in person. This travel is covered by the company that runs the awards, Shiitake Creative Inc. (full disclosure: I work for Shiitake Creative on a freelance basis), and the judges are made up of four employees and four external experts in the fields of accessibility, sustainability, LGBTQ+ communities and Japan inbound tourism.
To provide equal footing, there is no entry fee or other costs associated with applying for the awards — a feature common in Japan when it comes to acquiring industry-specific commendations. However, any accommodation or experiences must be covered by the entrant.
Notably, the JTA judges reserve the right not to bestow an award if, in their opinion, nothing merits the commendation. Last year, no winner was awarded for the category of best LGBTQ+ friendly travel. As the website stated in reference to applicants: “This was due to the lack of sufficient visibility of (applicants) efforts to appeal to travelers from the LGBTQ+ community on official websites, social media channels and other promotional tools.”
Awards in Japan focused on DEI and sustainability in tourism on this kind of level playing field are a rarity. The D&I Awards, for example, focus on internal DEI policies within companies, while the Japan Tourism Awards makes no mention of DEI criteria, though it does involve sustainability to an extent. With the JTA’s focus on both DEI and sustainability, alongside its low barrier to entry and extensive feedback from judges, it gives small businesses a chance to enter and learn how to improve on multiple aspects.
When asked about the origin of the JTA, Shiitake Creative co-founder Ally Hongo says: “We wanted to encourage the smaller businesses who feel like it’s difficult to compete with larger players like travel organizations or places that have been heavily promoted overseas.”
The winners
This year’s awards ceremony was held at the Tokyo American Club. There were a total of 11 awards across different categories, including one grand prix given to the most outstanding candidate. This year saw a total of 163 entrants, just over double the 80 that applied in the first year.
The 2024 grand prix winner was Zerogravity, a marine activity provider with a focus on accessible tours and accommodation. The Kagoshima-based facility opened in 2016 with the goal of allowing wheelchair users and those with mobility issues to have the same experience participating in aquatic sports as everyone else. Zerogravity achieves this goal in different ways, such as by having its own boat that allows wheelchair users to be lowered into the water, providing a wheelchair-accessible pool for pre-dive practice and even offering clear-bottomed kayak tours for those unable to enter the water.
According to the JTA website, Zerogravity was chosen for the grand prix for “its dedication to creating an accessible marine sports facility that everyone, regardless of physical abilities, can enjoy with their loved ones. (And for) their achievement of establishing a one-of-a-kind destination in Japan that is not only open to all, but also sets groundbreaking standards in an industry that is often perceived as inaccessible.”
Selection process and expertise
The panel of judges was made up of 10 people. Four were experts in specific fields, and the other four were staff members of Shiitake Creative, plus two honorary judges that change annually.
While no award was given in the best LGBTQ+ friendly travel category last year, the Hotel Palm Royal Naha in Okinawa won the award this year for their “dedication to establishing a safer, welcoming, and engaging place for all members of the LGBTQ+ community,” according to the JTA website. This was also made clear on their social media and on-site.
A big part of last year’s lack of award was simply due to low visibility of LGBTQ+ friendliness on websites and in promotional tools. Despite this relatively low bar, many places around Japan fail to reach it. The judges were happy to see what Hotel Palm Royal Naha was doing this year and hope that they “can serve as an example to other similar businesses in Japan.”
One thing that many of the judges agreed that was overall lacking this year, though, was English support. A core value of the awards is that the destinations are welcoming to everyone, and that includes non-Japanese speakers.
“There were so few places with any English website or English in their social media,” notes sustainability expert, judge and Japan Times contributor Joy Jarman-Walsh.
“There is just not enough information available in English, particularly about accessibility,” agrees Josh Grisdale, an accessibility expert and fellow judge. “(Some businesses) have an incredible website and incredible information on accessibility in Japanese but they had no page at all in English. ... If there’s no English information, (international tourists) are not going to know about that destination at all.”
However, Walsh noted that one of the winners, Naniwa Issui, was meeting that expectation and more.
“They have an amazing website,” she says. “Not only English access, but allergies, vegan, vegetarian-friendly. ... I’ve never seen a website in Japan that is so careful about that, like certain food dyes which were derived from an insect.”
Inspiring change
Despite its small size, the JTA delivered its message that while progress in the country’s travel industry is welcome, more needs to be done. That clear impact was felt even among those who walked away with hardware.
“There are a lot of things that we need to update before we apply for the Awards again,” says Kumiko Itoh, senior manager of the Togakushi Tourism Association, the winner of the best destination development category. “We say that we are doing universal tourism, and we have facilities for those with physical disabilities, but when it comes to those with hearing or visual difficulties, there is still much to be done. This has been the impetus for us to start working on those things bit by bit.”
Zerogravity’s director Yuta Kawamoto agrees.
“There was a lot to learn from what the other award winners were working on that we hadn’t thought of.”
For those that take these lessons to heart, demonstrated potential awaits. At the 2022 JTA ceremony, Accessible Travel Fukushima took home the grand prix commendation — something that changed its outlook going forward.
“After winning the grand prix, two things changed,” says director Yukari Sato. “One was our confidence. ... Another was the understanding of those around us. After we received the award, we received a special feature in the Fukushima Guide, which is owned by the Fukushima City Tourism Convention Association. Since then, our accessible sightseeing information has come to the attention of the general public.”
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