JAPAN UNFILTERED - the “Anthony Bourdain of Japan Tours!”

 

Featured in Global Travel Media

Richard Morgan

“..With his refreshingly candid perspective, RamKy opens up a new dimension to your appreciation of Japan. He doesn’t want you to just love Japan for its cliches; he wants you to fall in love with Japan, its messy warts and all.”

- Richard Morgan - Hemispheres - Inflight Magazine of United Airlines Read Article
Christopher Elliott

“RamKy’s Mt. Fuji tour is not mere sightseeing… He takes you on a journey to discover Fuji- san's soul.”

- Christopher Elliot - Forbes Magazine Read Article
Helen Schulman

“RamKy’s tour presents Tokyo as a living, breathing city. He delivers on what he promises.”

- Helen Schulman - Travel + Leisure Read Article
Christopher Elliott

“The absolute highlight of our time in Tokyo was an all-day tour of Mt. Fuji with the fascinating RamKy.”

- Christopher Elliot - former Editor-at-large National Geographic Magazine Read Article
Tanvi Chheda

“Chatty, honest and a stranger in a strange land himself, RamKy is not shy about diving into controversial topics such as politics, office dynamics and World War II in between stops to a Shinto shrine, a teahouse, Mt. Fuji’s lakefront and a cable car across a volcano. Our day was anything but cookie-cutter.”

- TANVI CHHEDA - Invited Magazine Read Article

 

RamKy collaborates with globally reputed Travel Advisors, top Luxury Hotel concierges,and acclaimed Destination Experts.

 

JAPAN UNFILTERED

One-of-a-kind. Well researched. In-depth. Quirky. Unvarnished.TRANSFORMATIVE.

"Travel isn’t always pretty.It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts; it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you.” - Anthony Bourdain

Japan is the number #1 travel destination in the world. Yet, 99% of the tours are cookie-cutter; they’re just about shrines-palaces-temples-Samurai-food-anime-rinse and repeat!

Japan is the most complicated and quirkiest country in the world!

  • The longest-running recession drama in world history, spanning 30+ years and still ongoing…
  • Where 1/3rd of men are virgins and 1/3rd of women are single.
  • The fastest-shrinking country in the world, losing ~1 million people every year!
  • With the lowest rate of marriages and childbirth in 2023, lower than World War 2 or The Great Depression!
  • The oldest population in the world, where seniors live well beyond 90+ years of age.
  • Where 70% of women workers only have a part-time contract and no lifetime employment.
  • Where they sell more adult diapers than baby diapers!
  • Where they have more cats and dogs in homes than babies!
  • Where ~500,000 women are in the adult entertainment industry.
  • Where 33,000 family firms are more than 100+ years in business!
  • Where you can rent someone to apologize to your boss or to break up with your partner!
  • Where ~300,000 people died alone just in 2023!

None of these facets to Japan ever feature in tours. “Native” Japanese tour guides will absolutely never discuss any topics far removed from their usual scripted tours. Japanese culture mandates people to shy away from discussing anything uncomfortable. Harmony is everything and truth is the least convenient option in the room.

JAPAN UNFILTERED : We go where few tours go...

  • 8+ years of curating bespoke and high-quality tours.
  • Global clientele ~ CEOs / CXOs, Silicon Valley Executives, Entrepreneurs, Diplomats, Pioneering Medical Surgeons, Award-winning Educators, Community Leaders, Politicians, Craft Artisans, Musicians, Civil Bureaucrats, Agriculturists, Researchers, and guests from ALL walks of life!
  • 2000+ happy, enlightened clients
  • 50% of guests are referrals from previous guests. This is a strong indicator of our tour quality.
  • Strong partnerships - regular clients sent by seasoned Travel Advisors in the Virtuoso / Select / Signature networks.
  • RamKy - a Ph.D. researcher who brings his laser-sharp focus and insatiable curiosity to his tours. His past corporate stints with Fortune 500 majors and an eventful career graph have honed his unique gaze and rich perspective. He brings his “A game” to your tours!

 

RamKy - the “Anthony Bourdain of Japan tours!”
The only guide in Tokyo to be featured by leading global travel media

RamKy

Through his meticulous research and delivery, RamKy strips away the exotic filters one ascribes to Japan. He goes beyond simplistic assumptions - good and evil, victor and victim—and finds an essential humanity that we all share. In a time when social media has elevated Japan to the realms of the “exotic”, RamKy offers ambiguity that is somehow reassuring: It’s possible, he suggests, to look honestly at Japan’s diversity, quirkiness, complexity, and occasional depravity, and be better for it.

RamKy grew up in the bucolic southern state of Kerala in India, but he has traveled and lived all over. A chance encounter with Japanese cinema kindled his interest in this country. He visited Japan for the first time in 2011, three months prior to the disastrous Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima meltdown incident. The friendships he forged, and the life-changing encounters he cherished, saw him return to Japan on a coveted Govt. of Japan scholarship in 2016.

He’s currently a researcher at the National Economics University in Tokyo and is pursuing a Ph.D. His thesis focuses on “Shame in Japan”.

A life-long learner, he cherishes Japan,including its good, bad, and ugly.

 

Client Testimonials

“*** FIVE STARS *** all the way!!! An absolute expert on all things Japanese.”

- DONALD, USA -

“Absolutely brilliant; I cannot say enough! This is the only tour you should be taking if you are you looking for a compete package with historical precedence, sightseeing, fun facts, and popular culture. He managed to take the complexities of massive Tokyo and present them in a format that was informative yet digestible. From top to bottom, RamKy provided a well-planned, comprehensive, and intelligent overview of Tokyo.”

- OSARO, SPAIN -

“ Pick RamKy and you will be enriched and enlightened. You will definitely see Tokyo, but also deepen your understanding of Japanese life. It was a rare and special experience. At the conclusion of my tour I felt that I had received a generous gift from a special guide. "

- DOUGLAS, NORWAY-

“RamKy is a wonderfully passionate storyteller. You want to listen closely when he talks because his words, lessons and knowledge are worth it. He clued us into a lot of the culture, history, art and politics of Tokyo while making us feel like we just met up with a friend for a chat. He is the perfect guide when just another cookie-cutter tour is not enough.”

- ANTONIO, ITALY -

“There is a lot to say here. I have been using tour guides in many countries and RamKy definitely is one of the best guides I’ve met on my trips!...My husband hates going on tours but just he loved this one!”

- RICHARD, UK -

“We absolutely loved RamKy's in depth knowledge of Japan's history and how he weaved that knowledge through our walk. He made sure my 14 year old daughter was upbeat and the teenager absolutely enjoyed the 8 hour tour.”

- MELANIE, USA -

“Ramky is a rare find!! I've traveled to 35+ countries. Ramky has wonderful English that is easy to understand. His knowledge is tremendous and deep. He is patient, kind and funny. He tailored the tour to exactly our interests.”

- LINDA, USA -

 

Bespoke tours of JAPAN UNFILTERED - curated & conducted by RamKy

TOKYO

MOUNT FUJI

KAMAKURA / YOKOHAMA

Kyoto

Osaka

Hiroshima

Kanazawa

Takayama

Shirakawago / Hida

 

Okinawa

Nagano/ Matsumoto

 

 

Reach out to RamKy

WhatsApp/ SMS / Direct phone+81-80-92839882    or Email tokyo.ramesh123@gmail.com