The word for welcome in Japanese is...

The word for welcome in Japanese is yosoko , which is the greeting travelers are hearing these days from Tokyo to Kyoto and beyond. It was inevitable, I suppose. The B&B; network has finally reached the land of the rising sun. Sayonara to the old life. Groups led by George Cebra and his Japanese wife Fumiko of Palm Springs are being hosted in private homes by Japanese anxious to earn the extra yen. Inexpensive food and lodging. Departures from LAX throughout the summer. Cebra, a musician, began guiding tours after teaming with Fumiko, whom he met not in Japan but in an antique store in Pasadena. Round-trip air fare, lodging, sightseeing figures out to $2,800 for 10 days. For Japan that’s cheap. Visits to Tokyo, Nikko, Kamakura, Lake Hakone, Nara (extensions offered to other destinations).

Cebra and his wife plan to turn their Palm Springs home into a Japanese-style inn, with guests sleeping on futons and with sliding shoji screens for privacy. The cost for living like an emperor (or empress) will range from $55 single to $75 double, with a choice of Japanese or American-style breakfast.

Write to the Cebras c/o Heart of Japan, Box 9403, Palm Springs 92263, or call (619) 327-0705.

Gypsy Caravan: For a new experience in Ireland, consider joining a Gypsy caravan. You’re in the driver’s seat. Each caravan wagon sleeps up to five vacationers. Blankets, cooking utensils, a gas stove. Spend the night in a meadow or beside a country road. Plenty of peace. And the Irish will love you for joining them on their own turf. The season got underway last month (continues through October). A week is recommended. Rates: $150/$450. Instructions, maps included. For brochures, write to Slattery’s Travel, 1 Russell St., County Kerry, Ireland.

Saddling Up: Wolfgang and Peggy Hallauer have been arranging tours by horseback since 1982. Europe, the United States, Canada, Africa, Australia/New Zealand, Russia, South/Central America. A choice of 27 countries. Trips average one to three weeks. Lots of leisure time. Riders are accompanied by a guide. Shelter is provided in hotels, inns, castles (tents in some cases). Luggage follows by car. Most European countries are on the schedule. You’ll ride from four to six hours a day. Average price is $120 per day (based on double occupancy). Everything included except air fare.

Wolfgang and Peggy Hallauer, FITS Equestrian, 2011 Alamo Pintado Road, Solvang, Calif. 93463. Telephone (805) 688-9494.

On Foot: Ray Cross of Irvine asks for information about a walking tour in New Zealand. Choices vary. There’s one trek that takes in the Greenstone Valley on the South Island. Follows a Maori trail across the Alps. Miles of spectacular scenery. The same company does a guided tour that starts/finishes in Queenstown. Features the Southern Alps, with breathtaking views of lakes, rivers, streams. Hikers do about eight miles per day. No age limit, although hikers should be in good physical condition. Nights are spent in cabins equipped with all the necessities. Only light backpacks are necessary. Cost: about $620 New Zealand, including taxes, meals, shelter, land transport.

Contact Mt. Cook Line, 1960 Grand Ave., El Segundo, Calif. 90245. Call toll-free (800) 468-2665. Other details from Guided Walk Information, P.O. Box 568, Queenstown, New Zealand.

Adventure for Hire: GEO Expeditions of Sonora, Calif., is doing a series of trips aimed at both the professional and amateur adventurer. In Africa, groups check out the Masai Mara (Kenya) and the Serengeti plain of Tanzania. Others track gorillas in Rwanda and Zaire and follow game on foot in Zambia’s Luangwa Valley. GEO’s trips feature South America (the Galapagos, Machu Picchu, Amazon River forest), India, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Nepal, Pakistan, China. In the South Pacific, GEO focuses on Milford Sound (New Zealand) and the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Brochures on request.

Contact GEO Expeditions, P.O. Box 3656-L7, Sonora, Calif. 95370. Telephone toll-free (800) 351-5041.

See U.S.A.: For the traveler who intends to see the U.S.A. and Canada this summer, start making plans now. This is the advice of George C. Guenther, president of the 3,700-member National Tour Foundation that concluded its spring convention several days ago in Palm Springs. The NTF focuses on the mature traveler, who the amiable Guenther predicts will be out in force across the nation this summer. “The mature market is getting younger,” he said, explaining that more travelers in their early 50s are appearing on the scene and that the trend will continue for at least the next 30 years.

NTA’s motor-coach tours take in the major national parks as well as historic settings. Popular destinations: Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion national parks, San Francisco and the Napa Valley, the Great Smokies and the New England states, both during summer and the fall foliage season. Guenther brought up one negative point: Hawaii is pricing itself out of the mature traveler market due to high prices.

For a free consumer’s guide, call the National Tour Foundation toll-free at (800) 242-1520.

Hawaii Hideaway: If you’ve vacationed at Kona Village on the Big Island of Hawaii, no doubt you will recall Barbara Campbell, who used to arrange sunset weddings by the sea. A born romantic. Now Campbell has said aloha to Kona Village and is operating a B&B; at Kamuela near the Parker Ranch. Calls it Waimea Gardens Cottage (antique furnishings, lace curtains, French doors). Campbell works with five other B&Bs; in the Waimea area. One is a converted barn (two bedrooms, a living room with fireplace). Another faces a stream with views of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and the Pacific Ocean. If you’re tired of crowds, Campbell promises sweet peace.

Write to Upcountry Hideaways, P.O. Box 563, Kamuela, Hawaii, 96743. Or call (808) 885-4550. Rates: $75/$95 (double occupancy) plus sales tax.

One-Call Reservations: Central Resort Reservations of Colorado does it all “with one call.” Customized sports vacation packages at resorts/cities throughout the West plus Hawaii/Mexico. Golf, tennis, white-water rafting, deep-sea fishing, sailing, scuba diving, biking. Dozens of options. CRS does the homework for thousands of sports vacationers. Accommodations include resort hotels, inns, condos, guest ranches.

Central Resort Vacations, P.O. Box 1086, Aspen, Colo. 81612, toll-free (800) 635-4156.

Biking: Backroads Bicycle Touring continues to expand its operation. Territories now include all Western states, Vermont, Virginia, Maine, North Carolina, Louisiana, Canada, Mexico (Baja), New Zealand/Australia, Bali, China, France, Italy, Ireland. More than 50 cycling trips. Van and trailer support for luggage/repairs. Both inn and camping opportunities. Take your own bike or Backroads will rent you one. Helmets provided.

For a 64-page catalogue, write to Backroads, 1516 5th St., Suite 1C3, Berkeley, Calif. 94710-1713, or call toll-free in California: (800) 533-2573.

Reader Recommendations

California--Mrs. Suzanne Andre, Seal Beach: “Rivendell Inn, P.O. Box 3338, Mammoth Lakes, Calif. 93546. “Paid $75 a day for three persons midweek, including breakfast, wine/cheese each afternoon. Phone (619) 934-2873.”

England--Mrs. Dorothy Jackson, San Bernardino: “Central London B&B; operated by Mrs. June Jackman, 10 Abbotts House, Aylesford Street, Pimlico, London SW1V 3RN. Rate: about $24 per person.”

England--Mrs. Paul Miller, Beverly Hills: “Francis Horneck’s Wellmeadow Guesthouse, Wellmeadow Road, Ealing W7 2AL. Rate: about $48 U.S. per couple.”