MagicalTrip

What MagicalTrip does

MagicalTrip Inc. is a Japan-headquartered marketplace operator that connects international tourists with local guides for small-group tours across Japan and, as of 2025, Thailand. The company's core offering centers on 'local tours' spanning bar hopping, cooking experiences, cultural and nightlife tours, chauffeured tours, and online tours across six or more Japanese cities (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nara, Hyogo, Hokkaido, plus Okinawa from 2023). Revenue is generated through transaction fees on bookings made through its direct-to-consumer e-commerce site (magical-trip.com), with TripAdvisor serving as a flagship discovery channel where the Tokyo Bar Hopping Tour has held the #1 ranking among Japan's Top Experiences for two consecutive years.

The underlying technology is a proprietary multi-component platform comprising a customer-facing storefront, a backoffice system for tour operations and guide assignments, a Partner/Venue Portal for real-time reservation management with external collaborators, and a dedicated mobile Guide App that automates tasks previously handled manually by guides from offer receipt through check-in and check-out. The company operates as a direct-to-consumer marketplace with supplemental B2B distribution through resellers H.I.S. Co., Ltd. and JTB Australia, and is supported by a 400+ active guide community and partnerships with numerous venues and facilities.

MagicalTrip was founded in 2018 and incorporated as MagicalTrip Inc. on August 8, 2019 following a spin-off from Libra Inc.; the company remains privately held with disclosed capital of 37,619,000 JPY and no external institutional funding reported. It is led by Representative Director Ryosuke Iwase and Founder & Chairman Yasuhiro Suzuki, holds a registered Travel Agency license (Type 2, No. 2-7941) from the Tokyo Governor, and in 2025 obtained an upgraded Category-2 Travel License to operate chauffeured tours. The company claims to have served 150,000+ tourists cumulatively through its platform.

Name

MagicalTrip

Legal name

MagicalTrip Inc.

Website

https://magical-trip.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MagicalTrip Inc. is a Japan-based marketplace operator connecting international tourists with 400+ local guides for small-group bar hopping, cooking, cultural, and chauffeured tours across Japan and Thailand, earning transaction fees through its direct-to-consumer platform and TripAdvisor distribution.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Tour Experiences

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Travel Agencies (56151)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Adventure & Expedition Travel Agencies (THAKAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Multi-Activity & Expedition Packages (Guided Adventure Trips) (THAJABAL), Private Guided Tours & Personal Tour Guides (THAJALAA), Safety, Permitting & Logistics Support Services (Trip Leaders, Route Planning, Rescue Support) (THAAALAL)

Keywords

• Local tour experiences
• Guided small-group tours
• Cultural tourism services
• Inbound tour operator
• Bar hopping tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Chuo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Tour Booking Revenue: MagicalTrip generates revenue through transaction fees on tour bookings made through its platform. The company acts as a marketplace connecting tourists with local guides, taking a commission on each completed tour experience. Tour types include bar hopping, cooking experiences, and various local cultural tours across Japan and Thailand.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

MagicalTrip operates a tour-booking marketplace that connects international tourists with 400+ registered local guides across Japan and Thailand, offering 60+ types of small-group local tours including bar hopping, cooking, cultural, and chauffeured experiences. The company centralizes guide assignments, group and venue booking, and tour operations through its proprietary platform comprising a customer storefront, backoffice system, partner/venue portal, and dedicated Guide App. It earns revenue via transaction fees (commissions) on each completed tour booked through its website and partner channels such as TripAdvisor.

Product overview

MagicalTrip Inc. operates a unified local tour platform offering over 60 types of guided experiences across Japan and internationally. The portfolio centers on authentic local tours (Bar Hopping Tours, Cooking Experiences, Chauffeured Tours, Online Tours) that connect travelers directly with local guides and communities. The platform is supported by proprietary technology infrastructure including a customer-facing website for browsing and booking, a Backoffice system for operational management, a Partner/Venue Portal for external collaboration, and a Guide App for tour facilitation. The company serves tourists seeking non-traditional, locally-immersive experiences unlike standard group tours.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bar Hopping Tours Flag small-group guided bar-hopping tours through neighborhoods such as Tokyo's Shinjuku alleyways, ranked #1 among Japan's Top Experiences on TripAdvisor for two consecutive years (2024, 2025). Targeted at international tourists seeking authentic nightlife experiences.
• Cooking Experiences Culinary local tours launched in 2024 that allow travelers to learn local Japanese cooking techniques and cuisine from local hosts. Targeted at international tourists interested in food and cultural immersion.
• Chauffeured Tours Premium guided tours with private chauffeured transportation launched in 2025 following the company's Category-2 Travel License acquisition. Targeted at international tourists seeking higher-end, transport-included local experiences.
• Online Tours Virtual tour experiences launched in 2020 that allow remote participation in MagicalTrip local experiences, broadening reach beyond inbound travelers to any user worldwide.
• Local Tours (Multiple Cities) Authentic local guided experiences across Japan spanning Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nara, Hyogo, Hokkaido, and Okinawa, connecting travelers with local guides and communities through more than 60 tour types. Targeted at international visitors seeking non-mainstream, locally-led cultural experiences.

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TripAdvisorcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTripAdvisor serves as a primary distribution channel and marketplace partner, featuring MagicalTrip's tours prominently on its platform. The company's Tokyo Bar Hopping Tour has consistently ranked #1 among Japan's Top Experiences on TripAdvisor, making this a flagship partnership for customer discovery and booking.
• JTB AustraliaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJTB Australia serves as a distribution partner, reselling MagicalTrip tour experiences to Australian travelers visiting Japan.
• H.I.S. Co., Ltd.minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorH.I.S. Co., Ltd. is a major Japanese travel agency that distributes MagicalTrip tour experiences to travelers as part of their tour packages.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ToursByLocals: ToursByLocals is a marketplace for private, locally-guided tours worldwide with a model closely aligned to MagicalTrip's guide-first, small-group approach for international travelers.
• Withlocals: Withlocals is a tours-and-activities platform focused on private tours led by local hosts across multiple countries, directly mirroring MagicalTrip's small-group guided-by-locals positioning and marketplace model.
• Viator: Viator is a TripAdvisor-owned tours and experiences marketplace that aggregates local tours including in Japan; it is both a competitor and adjacent to MagicalTrip's flagship TripAdvisor distribution channel.
• Veltra: Veltra is a Japan-headquartered online tours-and-activities marketplace specializing in local experiences for inbound tourists, making it the closest domestic direct competitor to MagicalTrip in local tour supply and discovery.
• GetYourGuide: GetYourGuide is a global tours-and-activities marketplace with strong presence in Japan, offering local guides and curated experiences in the same product category and serving the same inbound-tourist customer segment.
• Klook: Klook is an Asia-Pacific tours, activities, and attractions booking platform serving travelers across multiple countries, directly overlapping MagicalTrip's local-experiences category in Japan and now Thailand.

Broad incumbents

• JTB Corporation: JTB is Japan's largest traditional travel agency and a current distribution partner of MagicalTrip; it sells packaged inbound tours to Japan and represents the broader incumbent travel-agency competition.
• Airbnb Experiences: Airbnb Experiences is a global marketplace for host-led local activities that overlaps with MagicalTrip's bar hopping, cooking, and cultural tour categories, and benefits from Airbnb's massive traveler demand and brand.
• H.I.S. Co., Ltd. H.I.S. is a major Japanese travel agency and existing MagicalTrip reseller; it competes in the inbound Japan travel market with a much broader product portfolio spanning flights, hotels, and tours.

Emerging players

• Foodie Trails: Foodie Trails is a niche operator offering guided food and cultural tours in Asia; its small-group, locally-guided format and Asian geographic focus overlap meaningfully with MagicalTrip's cooking and bar-hopping tours.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/magicaltripcom
• Facebookfacebook.com/magicaltripcom

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MagicalTrip