User:(WT-en) Yaeyama

This is the imported user page of user Yaeyama on wikitravel.org/en. All contributions that this user had made on Wikitravel up until August 2012 were imported. The imported revisions of this contributor are labelled as "(WT-en) Yaeyama".

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Hi, I live on Ishigaki Island (the main island of the Yaeyama Islands, southern Okinawa, Japan). One of my jobs is tour planner and travel guide, and my favourite kind of work is what you might call "educational tourism", that is, assisting travelers and vacationers who are interested in the history, culture (incl. religion, art, etc.), languages, as well as environmental and socio-political issues etc., of our region. (Ideas as to what exactly constitutes our region probably differ widely, but for me it goes beyond the Yaeyama Islands to include Okinawa Island and the eastern counties of Taiwan.)

Considering the rules for the inclusion of links to tour operators in travel pages, shown at http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Wikivoyage:Activity_listings#Tour_listings, it is conceivable that my own operation could be listed on the travel page for the Yaeyama Islands, but I would like to solicit the opinion of other editors/contributors as to whether that would be appropriate.

In view of those rules, here is an explanation of my tour service: - My tours are a value-added activity (that is, travelers can only fulfill the substance of the tour on their own if they speak and read Japanese and have had the opportunity to peruse some relevant resources - not travel guides but books and articles concerning the history, religion, culture, etc. of our region - or if they have their own guide/interpreter who is knowledgeable about our region). - I live in Ishigaki and am self-employed. I have a "real world" office with a phone number and address, even if the office is in my home. ;-) Detailed contact information can be found on my Japanese homepage (accessible from within Japan), while my non-Japanese homepages offer a mail form for contact. Occasionally I employ or contract with other people, since I also provide services for Japanese and Taiwanese customers and to English-speaking foreigners who only want a standard tour, but all custom tours are conducted by myself. - I am not a booking service but provide booking assistance and planning assistance to those travelers who contract with me for a tour. All my tours are custom tailored, that is, their contents and timing depends on the customers' wishes and budgets, the available time, and the environmental conditions. - I do not resell anybody else's tours - that would be counterproductive, since there is no other service like mine in Yaeyama. ;-)

My English homepage is at http://www.visit-okinawa.info/

Awaiting your comments (feel free to send me e-mail, as well)

This is the imported user page of a user from pre-Wikimedia Wikivoyage or Wikitravel, who did not opt-in to the transfer of their data. All contributions that this user had made on pre-Wikimedia Wikivoyage or Wikitravel before August 2012 were imported. The imported revisions of this contributor are prefixed with "(WV-en)", or "(WT-en)" respectively.