Nordic Share & Connect – Finntour – Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Japan

2023 MARCH

[Nordic Events] Nordic Share & Connect: The inspiring Hokuo – the Image of the Nordics in Japan from the Travel Industry Perspective

Program and hosting company, Finn Corp

**The inspiring Hokuo – the image of the Nordics in Japan from the travel industry perspective**

The interest in the Nordics keeps on increasing in Japan and you can continuously see the Nordics referred to in Japanese business and media. Wide and clean nature, sustainability, Northern Lights, sauna culture, design, coffee culture, simple lifestyle, social welfare, and happiness – the Nordics have a lot to offer to the Japanese.

But what does the Nordics mean to the Japanese, what is “Hokuo” and what makes it interesting? How can we communicate the Nordic identity to the Japanese, and how to inspire and engage them to hop on the plane? How can this be used in other industries?

We hope to share our experiences from the travel industry and discuss ways to utilize the highly positive Nordic image for marketing in a variety of industries in Japan.

Come to Nordic Share & Connect to learn more about:

The image of the Nordics in Japan from a viewpoint of the travel industry.
How has the Nordic image evolved and what is interesting for the Japanese in the year 2023?
How can the Nordic image be used for marketing outside of the travel business?
Opportunities for cross-industry cooperation between Nordic organizations, Hyvää Matkaa! as an example.

ABOUT NORDIC SHARE & CONNECT

Nordic Share & Connect is a networking event collaboration with the Nordic Chambers NCCJ, FCCJ, ISCCJ, DCCJ & SCCJ (Nordic Net•Works) aimed at connecting Nordic companies in Japan. A member company of a Nordic Chamber of Commerce opens its doors to its fellow Nordic Chamber members to share their insights and experiences. The event will take place on March 22, 2023, at Hyvää Matkaa! in Omotesando, and will be attended by members of Nordic chambers in Japan. Participants will have the opportunity to meet and network with like-minded professionals from the Nordic business community, and to learn about successful business strategies, as well as potential challenges, in the Japanese market.

On the 22., in addition to the valuable networking opportunities, guests can enjoy a selection of Nordic beers available for purchase. This will provide an opportunity to unwind and continue the conversations started during the event while enjoying a taste of Nordic culture.

Join us at Nordic Share & Connect and take advantage of this unique opportunity to connect with other Nordic companies in Japan, gain insights, and build relationships that can help you succeed in the Japanese market. We look forward to seeing you there!

The Venue

Hyvää Matkaa! is a new Nordic event venue, café, shop and cultural space in Omotesando, Tokyo opened in April 2022, operated by Finn Corporation. When you wish to feel the Nordic culture and stroll the picturesque streets of the Nordic cities, we hope to welcome you to Hyvää Matkaa!.

In Hyvää Matkaa!, you can get inspired by the Nordic countries, and always find something new about the Nordic culture. In the café, we have Finnish cinnamon rolls and Nordic snacks to enjoy with a cup of coffee, as well as a selection of Nordic beers and soft drinks. We have a changing selection of Nordic and Baltic items in the pop-up shop, and we regularly organize ourselves or rent our venue for Nordic events. All staff is Finn Corporation personnel, and we are always ready to help with your travel planning to the Nordics, was it for leisure, business, media or something else.

Hyvää Matkaa! means “Have a nice trip!” in Finnish. Entering the doors of Hyvää Matkaa! is a beginning of a new journey, new matka.

Company profile: Finn Corporation

Finn Corporation is a Japanese travel company focused on Nordic and Baltic countries. Established in 1983, we are celebrating our 40th anniversary in 2023. We are a pioneer of Nordic travel in Japan and were the first company to introduce Santa Claus & Northern Light tours to Finland as the main purpose of travel.

We focus on special interest tours with a wide variety of themes from official Moomin tours to the sauna, Nordic design, movie collaborations, and local lifestyle. We work closely with Nordic Embassies, chambers, and tourism bureaus as well as collaborate with Japanese media. In our product line-up, we offer both group tours, FIT travel as well as make B2B travel arrangements for companies and organizations. In Japan, we market our products under our brand name “Finntour” and for land operations & reservations in the Nordics, we are known as “Nordic Japan”.

We actively share recent information about the Nordics on our popular social media to engage our customers and reach to new ones. In 2022, started a new business, Nordic cultural space “Hyvää Matkaa!” in Omotesando.