Meet the SCCIJ Members

Meet the SCCIJ Members #20 – Wanping Aw, Co-Founder & Director, TokudAw Inc.; Bioscience Researcher

Meet the SCCIJ Members #20 – Wanping Aw, Co-Founder & Director, TokudAw Inc.; Bioscience Researcher

As parallel careers go, biomedical scientist and boutique tour operator is nothing if not an unusual pairing. However, the journey to being a project research associate at Keio University’s Institute for Advanced Biosciences and travel company director seemed a natural progression for Wanping Aw.

Meet the SCCIJ Members #20 – Wanping Aw, Co-Founder & Director, TokudAw Inc.; Bioscience Researcher

Born and raised in Singapore, and influenced by an environment with “a lot focus on academic achievement” and a prevailing belief that advanced qualifications in fields such as engineering, medicine and the hard sciences guaranteed a stable and prosperous livelihood, Aw followed that path.

Scientific answers

Another shaping factor was Aw’s mother, who she says bought her nutritional supplements when she was young but was unable to answer her questions about what they actually contained and how they worked. “Some of them were kind of shady, I think she bought them from those multi-level marketing companies,” recalls Aw, laughing at the memory. “So now I want to provide scientific answers to those questions.”

After completing her undergraduate studies in Brisbane, Australia, she came to Japan, though not entirely for scientific reasons. A self-confessed fan of boybands from the stable of Johnny’s, Aw wanted to be able to join their fan clubs (which required a Japanese postal address) and attend concerts. But within a year of arriving in Japan in 2009, after being more exposed and geographically closer to her idols, Aw had “totally lost interest in them,” and decided they “were not so special after all.”

On the plus side, she won a scholarship from the Japanese government — one of several grants she would be awarded — allowing her to go on and undertake her PhD at Tokyo Medical & Dental University. During her studies, she was able to carry out research at a University of Tokyo lab, where she collaborated on a project with Nestle, her first significant connection with Switzerland.

A guiding light

Joining Keio in 2014, in addition to studies that have led to numerous published papers, Aw guides undergraduate and high school students in their research. The focus on research goals and processes even before undergraduate level is one of Keio’s strengths, suggests Aw.

Meanwhile, her husband was working in transportation for inbound tourists. Asked to help out at the company as an assistant tour guide due to her English skills, Aw found the experience thoroughly satisfying and enjoyable. Aw and one of the bus drivers, Kazuhisa Tokuda, made such a good team that they set their hearts on forming their own tour company, TokudAw, an amalgamation of their names.

The pandemic struck just as they were preparing to launch, but they decided to go ahead anyway, figuring they would learn more about running the business while they waited for tourism to restart.

Meet the SCCIJ Members #20 – Wanping Aw, Co-Founder & Director, TokudAw Inc.; Bioscience Researcher

Right on time

Their first big job was as transport coordinator for the marketing and hospitality team of Omega at the postponed Tokyo Olympics. “It was a great experience working for a Swiss company at a major sporting event, really a lot of fun. The Omega people were always on time, never late,” she quips.

With Japan’s borders still effectively closed to outsiders, Aw had the idea of combining her two disparate careers to generate some business for the company. Her plan was to sell masks made out of high-end ‘samurai silk’ along with a coating spray that had been proved to protect against the coronavirus. Despite being backed by scientific research, an expensive new product from a company with little track record attracted few customers. Aw now presents the masks and spray to her clients, who have begun returning to Japan since travel restrictions were eased in June.

Though travellers are now booking private tours to destinations including Tokyo, Kyoto and Hokkaido, the Japanese government’s ever-shifting regulations and entry procedures have proved quite the challenge, according to Aw. Responding to the rules, and clients’ questions related to them, is currently accounting for a large chunk of the time she spends outside the lab.

In addition to bespoke tours, TokudAw also offers a ‘Samurai Experience’ led by the sword-fighting choreographer from the movie Kill Bill, as well as a ‘Ninja Experience’. But somewhat to Aw’s surprise, a volunteer rice-planting experience has proven to be the most popular of all with her clients.

As Japan makes gradual moves toward reopening, Aw says she is determined to further the overall mission of her company to build meaningful and lasting relationships between her guests and the local people they interact with.

Text: Gavin Blair for SCCIJ.

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