About us

What is a Kodama?

kodamas from princess mononoke — Image Source: Studio Ghibli

In Japanese Shintoism, Kodama are spirits believed to inhabit ancient and sacred trees. Their presence signals healthy forests and a deep connection with nature. In popular culture, they are best portrayed through Studio Ghibli's film Princess Mononoke, where Kodamas lived and died with the Forest Spirit, and reappeared when the land was healed.

We chose the name Kodama for its symbolic meaning. We believe the planet is only healthy if ALL lives can thrive on it - and what better way to represent this belief than the little creatures who symbolise the spirit of life? Our goal is to make responsible travel - one that is kind to wildlife, the environment, and the local communities - the default mode of travel for fellow travellers. We hope you'll join us on this journey.

Our conservation mission

Kodama Travel was founded by conservationists. For too long, we have seen how wildlife is exploited and abused in the tourism sector for human entertainment, promoted by influencers, funded by industry heavyweights, and sometimes even disguised as ‘conservation education’.

Many would argue that we should leave wildlife alone. But the inconvenient truth is they are rarely left alone - protected areas and biodiversity hotspots are under constant pressure to be turned into developments or opened up for mining/agriculture/commercial fishing. Therefore, we believe ecotourism, done well, is far less damaging than other exploitative activities. We advocate using income from responsible travel to support local conservation efforts and communities, incentivising the preservation of ecosystems.

During our travels, we couldn’t find a travel platform that shares our ethos for wildlife, so we built one ourselves. We hope you’ll enjoy the experiences we lovingly curated.

photo of atlantic puffin in the UK — Atlantic Puffin, UK

Curation Process

You can find our detailed curation process here

Step 1: We rate an experience's risk level

Not all tours are the same. A simple city walking tour doesn't have the same wildlife exploitation risk as a wildlife encounter experience. Within wildlife encounter experiences, some have more widely accepted guidelines or nationally enforced regulations than others. Therefore, we rate tours' risks based on their type and destination.

Step 2: We review digital evidence

“Every activity leaves a digital trace”. Although we do review a supplier's ratings and any certification they may have, we put more emphasis on reviewing trip photos from different sources. We've rejected or moved on from many suppliers using this method, including some that are endorsed by major certification bodies, or are listed on other marketplaces, which supposedly follow wildlife welfare guidelines. You can find our Wildlife Welfare Policy here, which was written in collaboration with World Animal Protection. You can also find a detailed guide in terms of what we look for in different wildlife tours through our blog post here, which is being updated regularly.

Step 3: We discover and test tours on the ground

For high-risk tours, we only list them once we've tested them on the ground. You can find our field notes under these trips, in the country page, or in our blogs. We also discover experiences during our own travels, and introduce them to our guests. If you can't find a destination or a type of experience, it could be due to:

The mistreatment of animals is widespread across the industry, or current practices have fundamentally altered animals’ natural behaviours, to the point that we believe there is no room for ethical experiences.
Widespread privatisation leaving local communities with little to no access to “tourist” places, such as beachfront
It is not an area that we currently focus on