With the support of Steering Legal, Japan Experience, a leading provider of cultural and immersive travel experiences in Japan, announces its sale to Marietton Développement,

an independent family-owned group and one of France’s leading tourism companies, marking a new stage in the company’s development.

Japan Experience, founded over 40 years ago under the brand name ‘Vivre le Japon’ by Claude Saulière, a leading figure in the tourism industry and co-founder of Voyageurs du Monde, is Europe’s leading tour operator specialising exclusively in Japan.

Acquired in early 2019 and managed by Thierry Maincent, Japan Experience has established itself as the leading brand for tailor-made and independent travel in Japan, combining on-the-ground expertise, in-depth knowledge of Japanese culture and digital innovation. The company stands out in particular for its personalised itineraries, its immersion tours, and its exclusive distribution of iconic products such as the Japan Rail Pass, driving licence translations and local house rentals (or hotel accommodation, including ryokans, traditional Japanese inns), as well as its network of 150 guides.

It enjoys a very strong reputation among a demanding international clientele, having expanded its activities to five European offices (Paris, Milan, Madrid, Berlin and London) and two Japanese offices (Tokyo, Kyoto), now employing around 100 people.

Japan Experience’s affiliation with the Marietton group, a Lyon-based group founded in 1968 and a major player in French tourism, operating in particular the Havas Voyage network and the tour operator Selectour, will enable Japan Experience, which will continue to be managed by Thierry Maincent, to change scale and develop its B2B activities, which already represent 30% of its business.

Steering Legal (David Lussigny, partner, Alexa Ivanov, associate, and Guillaume Schwal), long-standing advisors to Thierry Maincent and Japan Experience, advised all the selling shareholders in connection with this merger, the amount of which remains confidential.

Marietton Développement was advised by Dentons (Pascal Chadenet, partner, and Alexis Doise, associate).