Tokyo-based startup Trip, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japanese web development company Lig, has launched an online travel marketplace, also called Trip. The service is available only in Japanese at the moment.

The goal of the service is to connect tourism activity providers (individuals and companies) with consumers who are interested in unique travel experiences. Sellers need to pay a 10% commission and a 3% mandatory deposit of the sales price. Buyers pay a 5% commission and a 500 yen ($5) optional deposit when placing an order.

Trip has partnered with Nagoya-based tourism consultancy KHS which has strong connections to tourism promotion departments all across the nation. By leveraging this connection and the travel portals (Entermeus, Onsen Japan) of its partent company, Trip aspires to accumulate 10,000 activities and 100,000 users by the end of FY2014.

In Japan, there are likely many attractive spots that have been never been introduced in travel publications or by conventional travel agents. It will be interesting to see how the company will fit in this niche.

We’ve already seen several Japanese startups operating in this space, including Asoview by Catalizm, Trippiece, Voyagin, and PlayLife.