Company Profile

Bokkura Expedition GK, a Japanese company located in Kobe, Western Japan, is an official distributor of Klepper folding kayaks, original parts and other Klepper products. We are an international team around a German long-term resident of Japan.

In our current business model we are keeping running costs to a minimum by focusing on online sales, and communication via contact form / email or postal mail. In the Kobe-Osaka area of Japan, trials of Klepper single kayaks and double kayaks are available upon appointment. For trial events in other parts of Japan, see Trial Rides and Events.

Bokkura Expedition provides this English website as reference for overseas customers in regions that have no active Klepper distributor. Send us your inquiry in your native language, and allow 24 hours for replies in English, Chinese, Japanese or German.

Depending on your location and your preference, Bokkura Expedition will process your order in Japan, or forward your inquiry/order to the manufacturer in Germany. For countries that do have an official Klepper distributor, please refer to your local distributor.

How Bokkura Expedition started

The motivation for founding a Klepper distributor in Japan was the wish to "bring Klepper kayaks to Japan".

After years of sea kayaking a different manufacturer's folding kayak, trouble with its aluminium frame created the occasion for importing Klepper kayaks into Japan again, after many years of absence:

It was on a fine autumn day, when during assembly of an 8 years old aluminium frame folding kayak, the stem of the boat suddenly broke apart under minimal stress and without visual signs that would have reliably indicated the degree of corrosion. Thinking of the last time the boat had been in use, around coral reefs in southwestern Japan, trust in aluminium as material for sea-going kayak frames was lost, and attention turned to wooden frames, and to Klepper kayaks in particular.

However, as had been at the start of our kayaking lifes, the famous Klepper products had no distributor in Japan - a shame, as we thought, considering the many rivers and lakes in Japan, and most of all the beautiful seas in and around Japan. There must be more kayakers whose touring style is similar to ours, and for whom Klepper may be the most suitable vehicle.

"If nobody else does it, do it by yourself": Upon contacting Klepper Germany we established Bokkura Expedition GK in 2015.