Our Specialist Team for Travel in Japan
We are a Japan specialist tour operator creating journeys that reflect the individual, rather than a set formula. Every experience we design is guided by comfort, style and authenticity, informed by long-standing local relationships and an in-depth understanding of how Japan truly works.
Meet the Team
Nick Coates
Nick insists on still calling Tokyo his home, even though we all know he now lives in The Cotswolds.
Matt Bruce
Matt's enthusiasm for Japan focuses on the unusual, the out-of-the-way, and the under explored.
Georgia Smith
Glad to be in Japan at any time, but happiest when waist deep in powder in a Japanese ski resort.
Aiko Yanagisawa
A Tokyo girl to the core, now married to a Brit and living over here. So we grabbed her and we are so glad we did.
Rei Fujiwara
Our woman in Japan, who frequently tells us all off from afar. Demands accuracy, hates mistakes.
Jim Millward
Our resident Marketing guru, who we occasionally listen to and then do as we're told.
Nick Coates
Nick founded Different Snow, a Japan-focused ski company, back in 2013. It took off quickly—largely because skiing in Japan is, quite simply, better than anywhere else. Fact.
But here’s the thing: many guests came for the powder and ended up falling for Japan itself. They wanted to come back—when it wasn’t freezing—and explore properly. So Different Japan was born.
That move made perfect sense, as Japan was always Nick’s first love. Before going solo, he spent 20+ years in luxury travel with a strong Japan focus, building a deep network of contacts who’ve backed him ever since.
Ask most people what they love about Japan and you’ll hear about temples, traditions, and tranquil countryside. Nick? Not so much. He’s all about the urban buzz—neon-lit streets, cluttered side alleys, and the strange calm tucked in between the chaos. Forget the big sights; he prefers the gritty details and local characters. He’s a city slicker at heart and Tokyo’s backstreets are his home turf.
He lived in Japan through much of the ’90s, still spends months there every year, and has over 50 entry stamps (and counting) to prove it. His Japanese, however, remains…questionable.
Matt Bruce
Matt first went to Japan on the JET Programme—a scheme that drops graduates anywhere in the country. It’s a bit of a lottery, and he landed in the remote (but ridiculously beautiful) Tochigi Prefecture.
He loved it. So he stayed. For seven years. Leaving was never really part of the plan.
Then came post-pandemic reality, plus a wonderful Japanese wife, and “life” nudged them back to the UK—semi-permanently and somewhat reluctantly. Matt, however, has clearly left his heart behind. He returns as often as his bank balance, in-laws, and mildly tyrannical boss (“hello!”) allow, and makes no secret he’d rather be back in rural Japan.
Why the obsession? With Matt it is far deeper than the standard sightseeing tours. Matt is all about the Wabi-sabi—the quiet beauty, the history, the nature, the hard-to-explain magic. He avoids the obvious, chases the fleeting and elusive, and builds trips that do the same.
His only other love (aside from his wife, obviously)? Oxford United Football Club. It takes all sorts.
Georgia Smith
Georgia went to Japan for the skiing—and stayed for two full seasons on her beloved Hokkaido. She worked as a guide, lived in a proper local town (not the foreigner-packed ski resort), and quickly fell hard for the culture and way of life.
When the snow melted, she didn’t sit still. She roamed all over: wandering samurai districts in Kanazawa, cycling around Shikoku, and holing up in remote ryokans across Honshu. Somewhere along the way, she became the unofficial tour guide for a steady stream of visiting friends and family.
So what keeps her hooked? Yes, the skiing—but also a serious obsession with onsens, a deep love of Japan’s food (she’s our resident epicurean), and a talent for rummaging through vintage shops in Shimokitazawa and Nakazakicho. Her golden rule: arrive with one suitcase, leave with two.
Aiko Yanagisawa
Aiko was born and raised in Japan. School, university, friends, family—the whole lot. She spoke only Japanese and had (and still has) a serious, no-nonsense love affair with Japanese food.
So naturally, she decided to move to inner-city Newcastle upon Tyne. No friends, no connections, no obvious reason. Why? Nobody knows. Not even Aiko.
Somehow, that leap worked out. She’s now married to a Brit, lives five minutes from our office in Cheltenham on the edge of the Cotswolds, and has fully embraced life as an honorary Anglophile.
Luckily for us, she’s also a core part of the team—bringing actual Japanese insight (very useful, as it turns out) while keeping strong ties to home. So while her life took a slightly unexpected detour, we’re all quite glad it did.
Rei Fujiwara
Rei lives in a tiny town about an hour north of Kyoto—in a insanely pretty stretch of coast often called “Kyoto by the Sea.” We try not to shout about it too much. It’s where we send guests who want the good stuff: quiet towns, proper ryokans, and none of the crowds. You know…something a bit ‘different’.
Anyway—Rei. She spent 18 months in our UK office after winning a work visa via the classic lottery system (luckily for us). She quickly became part of the family.
Now she’s back home in Japan, running operations on the ground. In other words, she’s the reason trips run like clockwork. Her attention to detail is borderline terrifying—in a good way—and if anything unexpected pops up, it’s dealt with swiftly and efficiently.
Why? Because, quite simply, you don’t mess with Rei-san.
Jim Millward
Jim is a bona fide marketing guru, with years spent steering big-name tour operators—many of them alongside Nick. These days, he’s semi-retired, wandering the globe and generally having a lovely time. Must be nice.
That said, he’s still very much part of the Different Snow & Different Japan setup, bravely attempting to inject some structure into our…let’s call it “relaxed” approach to marketing. Honestly, he’d settle for any marketing activity. The rest of us are usually too busy planning trips, scouting new experiences, plotting our own travels, or just falling further down the Japan rabbit hole.
To be fair, we do occasionally remember marketing exists. But the business keeps growing anyway—thanks mostly to repeat guests and word of mouth. So yes, Jim is here to keep us on track. Whether we actually need him is…well, still up for debate.
Why Different Japan?
Because you love to travel, because we are passionate about all things Japanese and because we both believe that the right tour operator for you should be able to tick all these boxes;
It is our sole specialism. Japan is not merely another country we offer as part of a worldwide touring programme - such tour operators are, more often than not, jacks of all trades yet masters of none. We take pride in knowing Japan on-the-ground better than anyone else and this know-how means that we can offer things other operators can’t. Each holiday is designed to exceed your expectations.
Our guiding philosophy is to listen carefully to what you want from your travels in Japan and also to learn about your likes (and dislikes) whilst on holiday. We then use our first-hand knowledge and experience to plan a trip that is completely tailored to your individual needs, while delivering unrivalled personal service and absolute attention to detail at all times. Many may claim such. But we're confident we can deliver - no two holidays we've ever operated have been exactly alike.
From the moment you contact us and then throughout your travels in Japan our passionate and attentive team, both in the UK and with our local partners in Japan, will deliver the optimal amount of support, always comprehensive and thorough yet never matronly or intrusive. You’ll always feel like you are on your adventure, not ours. The travel documents we send to you in advance of travel are detailed, precise and informative - enabling you to relax and enjoy your holiday. And we'll always be on hand (24/7) while you're away, aided by our experienced English-speaking local partners in Japan.
It is because of our on-the-ground knowledge and years of experience in Japan that we are able to offer honest advice, as we’ve almost certainly stayed in that hotel or ryokan and explored the region thoroughly ourselves; this will ensure we are able to make the right choices for your trip. We won't sugar-coat anything, if we think something is not right for you then we'll steer you away from it, and the recommendations we make can be trusted.
That money you pay us is totally safe. Both your deposit and balance payment are held in an independently controlled & managed Trust Fund, operated in conjunction with our ATOL license. We only then receive customer monies from Trust once you have returned from your holiday. Therefore, you would be guaranteed to get that money back in the unlikely event that your holiday couldn’t go ahead. When you travel with us, you can be assured that we have you covered.
Ski & Snowboarding holidays to Japan
We have a sister company. Different Snow is the UK’s #1 Japan ski specialist. However, we find that most Different Snow guests like to combine a holiday to the world's best powder snow with time to also tour around Japan. Therefore, the line that divides Different Snow and Different Japan is very often blurred.