Originally from Britain I’ve now been based in Japan for at least 20 years; living in Okinawa, Kagoshima, Hiroshima, Kochi, Yakushima and Kumamoto twice. I haven’t always been a guide though. I became involved in tourism by chance when I moved to the World Heritage island of Yakushima in 2012.
Living on the island surrounded by some of the most beautiful nature I had ever seen, it was clear Yakushima had huge potential for overseas tourists. But at the time there was so little English information available online it wasn’t easy for people to plan their trips. Then I met Steve, also from the UK and also living in Yakushima, we realised we had the same interest in shouting from the rooftops about our island home. So one day, over my kitchen table, we decided to join forces and do something. We started by making a website called YES Yakushima. The website offered lots of information about Yakushima in English and quickly attracted visitors. People who wanted to visit the island began contacting us for help so we liased with local businesses and began offering a free booking service to help people book activities and accommodation and then we got trained and began running guided tours in English. And to cut a long, long story very short… it worked! YES Yakushima became a huge success, international tourism increased hugely and these days YES Yakushima is the No 1 tour guide company for inbound tourists to the island. To top that off in 2019 YES Yakushima was chosen by JNTO to represent Yakushima in the ‘100 Amazing Experiences in Japan’ which even though I’m no longer involved in the business I am so very proud of ‘Go Steve!’
So how come I left that and moved to Kumamoto…
Though I loved my life on Yakushima I also have a family and due to family commitments, in 2015 I left Yakushima and moved to Kumamoto. Having lived here once before I knew the Kumamoto region also had lots of amazing nature and wonderful places to visit. So I decided to create Explore Kumamoto. For the first 6 months I researched places and went out with local Japanese guides exploring the region. Over time I qualified as a Geopark Guide for the Aso area and a regional licensed guide/interpreter. I also got a Japanese professional driving licence. I developed tours and created this website, (which is and always will be a work in progress). I was just starting to get a steady stream of enquiries when in April 2016 Kumamoto was rocked by two completely unexpected and devastating earthquakes. At the time the idea that anyone would ever visit Kumamoto again seemed absurd and I seriously considered packing it in and going back to my old job. But I also really loved being a guide so I stuck with it and sure enough little by little people began to come back to the region and by 2018 I was busier than ever. I am now writing this in the midst of another diasaster, this one effecting us all; the Corona pandemic and though sadly guests from overseas are not currently able to visit Japan, this is only a temporary state.
Signs are promising that international travel to Japan will be much more possible in 2021, so if you are reading this and planning on booking a tour don’t worry Explore Kumamoto will be open for business and I am looking forward to meeting you and showing you some of the wonderful places in the Kumamoto area and northern Kyushu. just need to stay healthy and be patient a little longer!
February 2021: Tours are available for anyone resident in Japan but currently international tourists are not allowed to visit the country.