The First Canyoning Adventure Company in Japan

Canyons Ltd.

If you ever have an urge to throw yourself off a cliff into a canyon or waterfall, there is a dangerous way and a safe way to do so. Canyons, an outdoor adventure company run by New Zealander Mike HARRIS, offer a wide range of outdoor adventure tours throughout the four seasons – and can demonstrate how to jump off a cliff safely and come back alive to tell the tale.

Operating out of Hakuba, Shikoku, Minakami and Kusatsu, Canyons’ outdoor adventures can be customized to suit clients’ requirements, “thrill level,” available time, and goals. Between spring and autumn, Canyons team of 30 staff offers white water rafting (riding a river in a raft), canyoning and climbing, and in the colder winter season clients can take part in skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing (walking through snow wearing “snow shoes”). All year round activities include caving, team building, and outdoor education.

How did Canyons get started? In the late 90s when Mike was raft guiding in Japan and Nepal, he recognized the need for a new type of adventure that was highly customizable. “During my time in Nepal, I had gained some experience canyoning on my days off by going out with European canyoners,” he says. In 2000, Mike started canyoning tours from within the rafting company he was managing. “I was the owner of the canyoning section and the manager of the rafting. This gave me a lot of flexibility to test new tours.”

In 2001, Mike retired as the rafting manager and concentrated on canyoning. The following year he set himself up as a sole proprietor and created the name ‘Canyons.’ “In 2003, I moved to a separate stand-alone base location but kept good ties with the rafting companies, and I became incorporated as a Kabushiki Gaisha (an incorporated company) in 2004.”

The biggest problem Mike experienced when setting up Canyons was that there were no clear regulations for canyoning or outdoor adventure in general in Japan. “There are no current official systems in place for resource consents, permits or even guide licences,” he says. “Because of this, it is very difficult to obtain any definite answers when trying to assess the viability of courses/areas, or get permission to commence activities.”

Personally, one of the biggest issues Mike has experienced while managing Canyons has been making the transition from being a rafting guide to a rafting operations manager to company president. He has also experienced difficulties finding and sourcing internationally qualified staff/instructors for which there is no real visa category. To its credit, Canyons has been featured on Japanese nationwide television six times.

Canyons Ltd.
www.canyons.jp

Back to List Page