About TokudAw

Private tours and travel support across Japan — built slowly, kindly, and around the people you're traveling with.

Our Mission

Japan, made easier to explore.

We're here for multi-generational families, business travelers, and anyone who values a thoughtful, well-organized trip.

Every itinerary is built from the ground up around what matters most to our guests — with help from people who know the roads, rhythms, and real joys of traveling in Japan.

Our Vision

Travel that bridges cultures.

TokudAw is building a future where meaningful travel connects people across cultures.

Through hyper-personalized service, diverse representation, and a strong ethical foundation, we aim to reshape what it means to experience Japan — slowly, kindly, and with intention.

Our Story

TokudAw founders Tokuda-san and Wanping in front of Mount Fuji and pink flowers on a sunny, blue sky day.

Japan has a way of surprising you — if you can find your way in.

For a lot of travelers, that's the hard part. Not the flight, not the hotels, not even the language barrier on its own. It's the feeling that you're moving through Japan rather than actually experiencing it. That the best parts are just slightly out of reach.

Our founders, Wanping Aw and Kazuhisa Tokuda knew that feeling well — and knew it didn't have to be that way.

In 2020, they founded TokudAw. Wanping brought years of cross-cultural business experience, moving between Singapore and Tokyo and learning first-hand how much context matters when you're navigating a country not your own. Kazuhisa brought something equally rare: deep regional knowledge and the operational instincts to make complex logistics feel effortless.

What began as a private car service quietly grew into something larger — a full Destination Management Company offering tailor-made itineraries, curated cultural experiences, and the kind of on-the-ground support that makes a trip feel genuinely looked after.

Today TokudAw works with multi-generational families, business travelers, and everyone in between — not to show them Japan from the outside, but to help them find their way inside it.

We're still just getting started.

Read more about how generational connections are core our founding at this link on our blog.

Visit our Newsroom

Time

We take the time to understand what matters to you — your pace, your priorities, your people — so every journey feels considered, not rushed.

Truth

We believe in clear, upfront communication. That means honest guidance, realistic planning, and no guesswork about what to expect.

Trust

Trust is built through care and consistency. From your first enquiry to your final drop-off, we're here to support you with reliability and respect.

Our Team

A woman with shoulder-length dark hair and a smile, sitting in front of a wooden shelving filled with potted plants, wearing a navy blue jacket, brown top, and patterned pants.

Dr. Wanping AW

Kazuhisa Tokuda

Co-Founder, Travel Curator, Cultural Liaison

Certified Transport Manager • Japan Travel Planner • Produce Enthusiast

Born in Singapore and now based in Tokyo, Wanping’s journey to TokudAw began in academia.

With a PhD in Biomedical Science and a current research post at Keio University focused on nutrition, she’s always been drawn to the connections between science, culture, and daily life.

After years of helping international guests get to grips with Japanese culture-through education, food, and curated local experiences-she realized there was a gap in the market for travel that felt authentic and deeply personal.

TokudAw was her answer.

A licensed tour guide, transport manager, and Japan travel planner, Wanping combines structure with warmth. She designs each itinerary not just to impress, but to create a genuine exchange, between guests and hosts, regions and visitors, ideas and identities. She believes travel should enrich everyone it touches.

TokudAw is her way of building those bridges, one thoughtfully planned trip at a time.

A man wearing glasses, a blue turtleneck, and a dark blazer sitting in front of a wooden wall with shelves of plants.

Certified Transport Manager • Japan Travel Planner • Produce Enthusiast

Kazuhisa spent over three decades in Japan’s fashion industry, leading sales at Onward Kashiyama Co., Ltd., before transitioning to Mono Edition Co., Ltd., where he worked with imported Italian apparel and managed a fine dining restaurant.

But the part he always looked forward to most? Planning the company trips, carefully researching destinations, booking transport, and finding just the right local touches.

That attention to detail-and love for helping the people in his company and people who worked with him create opportunities for mutual understanding and networking contributing to corporate success, led him to the travel industry. Kazuhisa co-founded TokudAw to bring together the best of both worlds: cultural hospitality and seamless logistics.

Apart from manging the company, he’s a certified transport coordinator and operations manager, overseeing TokudAw’s in-house fleet and liaising with a trusted national driver network.

He’s the kind of person who knows which rest stops have the best local produce and how to keep a journey running smoothly and safely behind the scenes, guiding our drivers and the guests the most time-efficient, fun and safe route to travel.

Co-Founder, Logistics Lead

What we do

(and what we don’t)

TokudAw specializes in private car travel. Every trip we design is bespoke, painstakingly planned around your pace, your interests, and your (and your party’s) travel needs.

We plan and coordinate everything from airport pick-ups to multi-day itineraries. In Tokyo, we operate our own in-house fleet through our transport arm, Japan Private Drivers.

We also offer optional services like private guides, translators, or specialist experiences if deeper insight is what you’re after. You won’t find preset packages here, and we’re not a cookie-cutter tour company.

Read more about why we believe in flexible itineraries.
Learn more about how we create our itineraries.