Japan has become one of the most popular destinations for people in their early 20s to 30s. This is due to a combination of affordability, cultural richness, and social media visibility that few other countries can match. A weak yen has lowered the cost of long-haul travel, and efficient transportation, personal safety, and high-quality food make it easy to pack a lot into short trips—an important factor for young travelers with limited vacation time. Meanwhile, anime, fashion, design, gaming, and contemporary art coexist seamlessly with traditional culture, creating highly “shareable” experiences that circulate widely on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. The result is a powerful feedback loop: friends see their peers exploring Tokyo neighborhoods, rural onsen (hot spring) towns, or Japan’s seasonal festivals and quickly add these destinations to their travel wish lists. This reinforces Japan’s status as a near-default international destination for a globally mobile younger generation.

Today’s guest on the Real Gaijin AMA podcast is acutely tuned into this vibe and intent on protecting and revitalizing rural Japan.

Who is she?

Meet Michelle (Michelle Lyons), a British inventor and social designer who supports regenerative tourism in Japan. As the founder of Point North, she designs strategic visitor engagement tools that address socioeconomic, environmental, and cultural issues affecting destinations big and small.

In 2023, Michelle created Parks & Japan to combine her passions for Japanese culture, national parks, and experience design. After discovering the complex tourism challenges stretching from Okinawa to Hokkaido, Parks & Japan evolved into a purpose-driven project dedicated to protecting and revitalizing rural Japan.

On the agenda

We began with some basic questions about Michelle’s background. However, the conversation covered a wide range of topics related to the concept of regenerative tourism and Michelle’s upcoming first visit to Japan in May.

Key takeaways

* Regenerative tourism: Regenerative tourism is a travel model that goes beyond the sustainability goal of minimizing harm. Instead, it seeks to generate net-positive environmental, social, cultural, and economic outcomes for destinations. Rather than focusing solely on reducing emissions or waste, regenerative tourism takes a systems-based approach in which visitors, operators, and local stakeholders work together to restore ecosystems, strengthen community resilience, preserve cultural identity, and keep economic value in the region. This can include conservation-linked visitor experiences, community-led enterprises, reinvestment mechanisms that build local wealth, and clear limits on carrying capacity to prevent overuse. The central premise is straightforward yet ambitious: tourism should measurably improve a place. Michelle aims to incorporate these principles into her Parks & Japan initiative by designing visitor engagement strategies that protect Japan’s national parks and contribute to the long-term revitalization of rural communities.

“Sustainable tourism is no longer enough. We need tourism that actively regenerates the places, cultures, and ecosystems it touches.” - Anna Pollock, founder of Conscious Travel, and a British strategist, thought leader, and speaker best known for pioneering the concept of regenerative tourism, which seeks to move beyond sustainability by restoring and enriching communities and ecosystems

* Parks & Japan Project: Michelle is on a mission to raise awareness — especially among international visitors — of Japan’s national parks. One issue is that a single park, the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, attracts more than half of all visitors to Japan’s national parks. She would like to encourage more hiking and nature enthusiasts to visit the other 34 national parks scattered throughout the country. Michelle also wants to encourage visitors to “get off the beaten path” and explore the often-neglected sections within each park. In particular, Michelle has been developing illustrated “Field Quest” booklets in English for each national park. These self-guided activity guides lead visitors through a themed trail or area using structured tasks and prompts. The booklets typically include observation exercises, checkpoints, and interpretive questions that encourage active engagement with the park’s natural or cultural features. The idea is to maintain an analog, screen-free experience to help those participating in the activity stay present and in tune with their surroundings. Essentially, they transform a passive visit into a participatory learning experience while guiding movement along designated routes.

* How you can assist Michelle: Michelle has been using LinkedIn to network with various “Friends of National Parks” in Japan, but she is eager to connect with other hiking enthusiasts. After listening to the live podcast, one listener graciously invited Michelle to visit the Jogasaki Kaigan coast, which is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Michelle intends to return to Japan after her first visit this May and ultimately visit all 35 national parks. For now, she plans to base herself in Kanto during this first adventure. Please feel free to reach out to Michelle with suggestions for places to visit — especially to get more of a feeling for the real Japan than a typical tourist experience. Additionally, Michelle plans to launch the first ten field quests on Kickstarter this summer. As one viewer suggested, Michelle is also interested in finding volunteers to test her draft copies of the field quests.

Timeline

Substack does not yet have the functionality to allow you to use a link to jump to a specific section like YouTube’s “chapters.” Please refer to the times listed below to navigate through our hour-long conversation. Thank you for your understanding.

Key contacts

* Substack:

* LinkedIn - Michelle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsmichellelyons/

* LinkedIn - Parks & Japan: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parks-and-japan/

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parksandjapan/

* National Parks of Japan: https://www.japan.travel/national-parks/

* Point North: https://pointnorthbrandco.com/

#JapanTravel #TourismIndustry #RegenerativeTourism #NationalParks #BrandExperience #Parks&Japan #PointNorth #MichelleLyons #日本旅行 #観光産業 #リジェネラティブツーリズム #国立公園 #ブランド体験 #ブランドエクスペリエンス #自然観光 #ミシェルライオンズ #RealGaijin #リアル外人

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