About us

April 1600

Arrival of Dutch ship De Liefde near Kuroshima Island in Usuki, on the west coast of the island of Kyushu. This marks the beginning of trading relations between The Netherlands and Japan.
October 1994

Mizuho Ikeda, a 17-year-old from Japan, boards a plane for only the second time in her life. Her destination: Auckland, New Zealand. She will spend one year as an exchange student with the Clearwater family in Palmerston North.
November 1994

Jan Courtens, a 21-year-old from Belgium, boards a plane for only the second time in his life. His destination: Nagasaki, Japan. He will spend one year working with Friesian horses at Huis ten Bosch, a Dutch themepark in Sasebo.
March 2000

Mizuho graduates from Tsuda University with a major in International Relations. She starts working for World Air-Sea Service Co.,Ltd., a Tokyo-based tour operator, marking the beginning of her career in tourism.
April 2000

To mark the 400th anniversary of the Dutch arrival in Japan, Lito Reizen, a small tour operator based in Leiden, wants to launch a group tour. Jan is asked to design the itinerary and lead the group—an opportunity that marks the beginning of his career in tourism.
April 2001

Mizuho and Jan cross paths in Brussels, where Jan steps in to save her from the feared chocolate lady, a local character known for aggressively selling overpriced chocolates to unsuspecting tourists.
June 2002

Japan and South Korea host the first World Cup in Asia. Mizuho and Jan lead a group of Belgian supporters to cheer for the Red Devils, from their epic clash with Japan to their exit against Brazil.
March 2004

Zenzen Japan is established as a DMC (Destination Management Company). Koning Aap Reizen (Monkey King Tours) is their first client, marking the beginning of a lasting partnership that continues to this day.
March 2011

On March 11, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Tohoku (northern Honshu), generating a deadly tsunami.
March 2020

Japan closes its borders to all non-resident foreign nationals, due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. The borders remain closed for almost two years.
March 2024

Airi Nakata joins the team on a freelance basis, supporting both the back office and coordinating IT tasks, bringing flexibility and technical expertise to daily operations.
November 2024

Zenzen Japan receives a license from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, officially authorizing the company to offer tours and travel services directly to individual customers for the first time.