WHY TRAVEL WITH US?

Our 19-year-old friendship has been fuelled by an unwavering appetite for both travel and food. We met while living in Japan in 2007, teaching English in nearby towns in Fukushima Prefecture, and have barely lived in the same country since (well, except for an accidental two weeks in Hobart when COVID slammed the borders shut on us).

That year in Fukushima was just the beginning for Minsky, who's spent more than two decades living overseas, eight of them in China (plus time living in Singapore, South Africa, Germany and the US, and travel through close to 100 countries along the way). Beth went home to Wellington and built a career on the same appetite, nearly a decade programming Visa Wellington On a Plate, the Southern Hemisphere's largest culinary festival, and authoring The Cuba Street Project, a photography and recipe book on Wellington's most-loved food street.

Finding the sweet spot of just enough organisation and the right amount of serendipity and discovery is what lets those unforgettable moments happen. We've danced with Vishnu at a temple festival in the hills of Kerala, ducked into whisky dens in Tasmania, sung karaoke on a boat in the middle of a frozen ocean in Hokkaido, dined at secret supper clubs in Shanghai, and shared meals in homes across the world where the language was foreign but the welcome was unmistakable.

Not led by guidebooks or TikTok trends but curiosity, conversation and the ultimate window into someone's culture: food. This is how we believe the world should be experienced. Not at a distance, but at the table.

We can’t wait for you to join us

Minsky + Beth

People sitting at a long wooden counter in a cozy sushi restaurant in Nagoya, enjoying drinks and conversation, with various condiments and small bowls on the counter.

MICHAEL MINSKY‍ ‍

Minsky is a polyglot charmer, proficient in Spanish, Mandarin, and Japanese, and conversational in so many more. He has a knack for opening doors and hearts wherever he goes. His fluency, however, isn't just in language but in connection, and in finding that perfect, un-Googleable moment.

A man with glasses and a beard leaning out of a train window, smiling and extending his arm with traffic in the background.

BETH BRASH

Beth is the Festival Director of Visa Wellington On a Plate, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest food festival and cookbook author. She’s spent her life proving that food isn’t just sustenance, but story, connection, and identity.

A woman with short wavy blonde hair, wearing a blue velvet jacket, red earrings, and red lipstick, sitting at a wooden table with a blue coffee cup and saucer, smiling in front of a yellow tiled wall with green plants on the side.

OUR MISSION

We guide adventurous travellers beyond the well-trodden tourist trails of Japan and China to discover the culture hidden in lesser-known regions. Through intimate small group and private tours, we connect our guests directly with local communities, traditional craftspeople, farmers, and artisans who preserve centuries-old ways of life. We take you one level deeper, away from the crowded cities everyone visits, to rural villages, family-run workshops, and mountain communities where genuine culture thrives.

Food remains at the heart of every experience, because it's where curiosity turns into connection. We believe the most memorable travel happens through authentic connection, changing how you see these places and how you experience the world. The best adventures aren't found in guidebooks. They're discovered at the table with people who welcome you like family.

WE’RE READY TO TAKE YOU OFF THE EATEN TRACK.

Together, whether it's Tokyo or Tamil Nadu, Beijing or Berlin, for years, friends, followers, and fellow travellers have slid into our DMs asking, "When's the next trip, and can we come?" or "When you retire, can you please start a boutique tour company?" So we've decided, why wait? In a world where it's increasingly easy to find great online city guides, people are looking for a more curated and intimate experience, getting out of the city to experience a country not only as the locals do, but with them.

Our tours are small, deeply personal, and crafted for those who believe a good meal with locals is worth more than a hundred rushed photo ops. You'll meet the makers, sit at their tables, and come away having felt part of a place, not just having visited it.

To us, travel is a shared plate, not a checklist, and just like leaving room for dessert, there's always room for more. So we're pulling out the chair and inviting you to join us.

Updated Sept 29, 2026

A woman wearing sunglasses and a patterned skirt is dim sum from a plastic container while sitting next to a smiling man in a yellow shirt and shorts. They are sitting outside near a store window with signs in Hong Kong.

HUNGRY FOR MORE?

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HUNGRY FOR MORE? *

Whether you’re curious about our upcoming tours, want to discuss a custom itinerary, or just have questions about traveling off the beaten path in Japan or China, we’d love to hear from you. Tell us what kind of adventure you’re dreaming of.