The Japanet Group, centered on the mail-order sales company Japanet Takata, has been developing its cruise travel business in earnest since 2017, and aims to further expand the business by establishing Japanet Tourism Inc. in 2023. In this interview, we asked Mr. Tomoichi Ibaraki, President and Representative Director of Japanet Tourism, why Japanet is entering the cruise business and what kind of services the company is trying to realize.
Background of your interest in cruise travel — To begin with, Japanet has a strong image as a mail-order seller of consumer electronics and other products, but how did you come to handle travel products such as cruises? Ibaraki: I had my first encounter with a ship in 2014, when a shipping company invited me to try a cruise because they were strengthening their cruise business in Japan. At the time, I had the image that cruises were only for very rich people, so I told them that Japan Net would not be able to sell them at all, but they said to me that I should just try one. I was able to have a beer by the pool, go to bed right after the bar, and wake up in the morning and go to the next port. I have never been much of a traveler, but I had never experienced a world where you are taken to places you would never go on your own, you get off the ship if you feel like it, and if you don’t feel like it, you stay on the ship to relax, which was very refreshing. I also asked about the cruise population, and was told that it is a major way to spend a vacation overseas, although it is still almost unheard of in Japan, which I felt was a shame that Japanese people did not know about it. This way of enjoying travel is cost-effective and physically easy, and since many of our customers are seniors, we thought it would be a surprisingly good combination, and that’s when we actually started selling it. –In March and April of this year, you conducted a fully chartered cruise tour on the luxury ship “Silver Moon,” didn’t you? Ibaraki: Originally, the MSC ships we handle are really luxurious cruise ships, with lots of onboard entertainment, and I think they are very good ships so that you can spend a whole day on board and never get bored. For that price, with meals, entertainment, room, and transportation, it is a very cost-effective ship and really the best ship to experience your first cruise. There are many options for those who have already realized the benefits of a cruise, and there are many ways to enjoy a cruise. There are also luxury ships such as the Silver Moon, Antarctic cruises, cruises to the Galapagos Islands, and other expedition-type cruises. The world of cruising is surprisingly deep, and as people become more comfortable with cruise travel, there is demand for the next step. When I wanted to offer that option, I happened to have a relationship with Silversea Cruises and decided to take on the challenge. When we chartered MSC’s ship Verissima, we sold rooms in the 1,000,000 yen per person class, but these rooms were not introduced on TV shopping. The rooms are sold out quickly to repeat customers, and there is a waiting list. We were in a situation where we could not sell the rooms even though customers were demanding them, so we decided to develop a new line of luxury boats. –So you have that many repeat customers? Ibaraki: Yes. The reason why the cruise industry is so active, even though we don’t usually have any contact with it, is that it seems to be a market that is almost exclusively enriched by repeat customers. When I first heard that, I thought it was a waste that only people who really know about it are enjoying it, so I decided that we should sell it too. After all, having many repeat customers means a high level of satisfaction.
Aiming to improve quality by doing it in-house — However, the culture is different when it comes to foreign-registered vessels, isn’t it? Ibaraki: First of all, it’s English. I have zero English ability myself (laughs), so basically, we have translated various items, including restaurant menus, into Japanese so that passengers can spend a comfortable time even if they cannot speak English. I think this is a service that is not available on most foreign ships. We are also making efforts in terms of meals. For example, we have asked for drinks such as Japanese tea, and we have contracted with Japanese restaurants that are not on the regular Silver Moon to bring them on board. Frankly, you want to eat Japanese food, don’t you? Breakfast is not complete without rice and miso soup. Senior passengers are even more so, so we have asked the ship to cooperate with us in this regard. We also place great importance on providing information from the viewpoint of Japanease, rather than just translating English versions of newspapers and other small items on board. In fact, we have a commercial printer on board and print it every day. We do not provide information on all events on TV shopping, but we also organize events that are unique to Japan that our customers can enjoy. The attendants on the ship are also usually members of the Japanet call center who answer customers’ reservations and questions. This is a unique feature of Japan Access, in that the company’s own employees take phone calls and board the ship directly. After getting on board, they again serve as call receptionists, so they are very knowledgeable about the content of the telephone communication. This is the kind of worldview we are aiming for. We are trying to improve quality by doing both in-house. –Mr. Ibaraki: So your stance of reflecting customer feedback in your products is the same as in the sale of consumer electronics products? Ibaraki: I think that’s the point of what we do. We are developing home appliances as well, as Japanease original models, eliminating unnecessary functions to lower the price, or conversely adding this function to the product. –In the case of Silver Moon, you softened the bread during the development process. Mr. Ibaraki: Foreign bread is hard, after all. We are constantly making improvements based on customer feedback we hear on board, but the bread was really hard (laughs), so I told the chef and we made adjustments to make the bread softer, like what is eaten in Japan. The ship side naturally has its own brand and its own way of doing things, but we consult with them while respecting the good qualities of the brand, and since they also want to provide service that will please the Japanese, I think we have created an environment where they are very flexible in listening to our opinions and implementing them immediately. We really wanted to make everything perfect from day one, and we have made a lot of adjustments over the past six months, but we can’t be sure until we actually get on the ship and hear the opinions of various customers. We are working hard to improve that as soon as possible. We charter ships and sell cruise trips. Chartering a ship is a big risk for travel agencies, and most travel agencies don’t charter ships. However, the reason why we charter is that we can give our opinions to the ship, and we can change the ship’s menu according to our own ideas. We can’t do that if there are multiple travel agencies on board. We charter to make the ship better every day. So we do it with the idea that if we don’t improve every day, there is no point in chartering the ship in the first place. –Mr. Ibaraki: Is there any other difference between MSC and ordinary cruise ships? Ibaraki: On MSC’s regular ships, drinks are charged, but on our packages, they are free. This was my first complaint when I first got on the ship. I wanted to experience something extraordinary, but when I was told that a beer was $10 a glass, I was poor and decided to stop for a bit or have a glass of water. It makes me feel less excited about the boat trip I’m on. So, I thought that if I could drink as much as I wanted, I would be able to enjoy it as much as I wanted. Also, the larger the cruise ship, the more likely it is to enter a port where container ships stop, and since there is not much secondary transportation from there, we have prepared dozens of shuttle buses, called circulating buses, for free. We are trying to solve the problems that I have experienced while riding the shuttle buses.
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