Japan Golf Tours: Courses, Caddies and Culture

Japan has more than 2,000 golf courses — the second-largest golfing nation on earth — yet golf tourism here remains a fraction of Thailand's or Vietnam's, mostly because the market has been hard for foreign agents to access: member-oriented clubs, Japanese-only booking channels and an etiquette all of its own. That is precisely the gap a DMC closes. For agents whose clients golf, Japan pairs championship courses with the strongest cultural product in Asia.

What a Japanese golf day looks like

Set expectations first — the rhythm differs from Western golf:

• The halfway lunch. Nearly all rounds break for a proper sit-down lunch at the turn; it is part of the culture, not a delay. Menus at good clubs are excellent.
• Caddies and carts. Traditional clubs assign forecaddies (often guiding four players with one cart); modern resort courses offer self-drive carts, increasingly with fairway access.
• The bath. Every clubhouse has a large communal bath — the round properly ends with a soak. Brief clients with the onsen etiquette guide.
• Dress and pace. Collared shirts, jackets at the door of prestige clubs, and punctual tee times. Explera's documentation covers each club's specifics.

Where to play

Around Mount Fuji — the signature setting: courses at the mountain's foot play toward the cone all day. Combine with a lakeside hotel or ryokan for the classic Fuji stay.

Kanto (Tokyo access) — hundreds of courses within 60–90 minutes of the capital across Chiba, Ibaraki and Saitama, including past tournament venues; ideal for extending a business trip or a Tokyo-based itinerary.

Kansai — historic clubs in the hills between Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe; golf mornings pair with Kyoto temple afternoons better than anywhere else in the country.

Hokkaido — summer golf in 24°C air while the rest of Asia swelters; resort clusters near Niseko and Sapporo make a natural green-season counterpart to the ski winters.

Miyazaki and Okinawa — winter golf: southern courses stay warm November–March, with Okinawa adding beach resorts alongside.

How agents package it

The formula that sells: golf every second day. Play–culture–play pacing keeps non-golfing partners happy and lets Explera weave in food experiences, onsen and a bullet-train transfer between regions. A typical 8-night program: two rounds at Fuji, one in Kansai, with Tokyo and Kyoto touring between. Clubs, tee times, caddies, club rental (premium Japanese brands), competition scoring and non-golfer programs all arranged under one net quote.