Let me tell you why I became a bilingual licensed guide in Japan.
Originally from a small town in central Japan, I have always been fascinated by hearing stories about cultures and people from different countries, so I took the chance to study in the UK at the age of 18.
That summer, I had an opportunity to study English with a group of students from Europe. I quickly became friends with an Italian group; we ate together, went on weekend excursions and talked until late in the evenings. Being the only Japanese or foreign person in the group, I picked up their language and learned their culture first-hand, not in the way books can tell you.
A couple of friends I grew particularly close to invited me to visit their home country. They were living in a charming hilly town in southern Italy, far from the tourist cities I had heard of. Over the Christmas holiday, I took my first international solo trip outside of the UK to spend a week with their family. This was my first immersive travel experience, one that I still cherish to this day. You can learn more about my adventure in this podcast episode.
The biggest lesson I learned from this trip is that even if we don't speak the same language fluently (my English level was elementary at that time) or visit famous tourist destinations, we can create memorable experiences through interactions with locals. These immersive experiences are often what you'll remember for a longer period of time.
This trip encouraged me to travel more and make connections with locals, leading me to visit dozens of countries around the world.
Since returning to Japan, I have become a travel journalist in Tokyo, covering airlines, destinations, and hotels, and meeting representatives of these organisations from all over the world.
Throughout my career in journalism and communications, I've focused on telling stories in the most effective, appealing, and easy-to-understand way.
While assisting with many PR projects, ranging from major global companies to start-ups to local governments, I began to realise my passion for bringing out the charms of less-visited places and sharing the unique culture and traditions with visitors from abroad.
This realisation led me to become a bilingual licensed guide, through which I have learnt and continue to learn about Japan's history, culture, nature and everything that makes Japan a unique place in the world.
I'm helping like-minded travellers create their Uniquely Japan Experience by enriching their knowledge of Japan and fostering connections between locals and travellers.
Through these efforts, I hope more people will feel comfortable curating their personalised travel experiences, making them more meaningful and enlightening, and contributing to destinations from a sustainable tourism point of view.
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