About Howard
I was probably Japanese in a former life! The country and culture suit me so well.....always on time, clean, polite, avoid conflict, follow order and love singing karaoke! :) I was fortunate enough to have been welcomed into a Japanese family as a teenager - they have become my surrogate family and instilled a love of the country from a young age.
My Story
I first visited Japan in 1993 and spent almost 6 months with a family in Osaka. I then studied Japanese at university in the UK, also spending 1 year as an exchange student in Kumamoto university. After graduation I lived in Ume in Oita working in the local government office there. As part of that work, I organised trips to the UK and Canada for Ume residents and organised camps and exchange visits for local foreigners in Oita.
I travelled all over Kyushu by bicycle and motorcycle while living in Kyushu and also worked at a ski lodge in Nagano for 2 ski seasons. I have stayed with friends in Shimonoseki, Hyogo, Osaka and Tokyo. I assisted with translation work in Ishigaki for international triathletes in 1999 and subsequently at the 2004 Athens Olympics I was an interpreter for the Japanese cycling and swimming teams. I have taught Japanese language privately for many years and am about to publish a short book about my experience living with my homestay family in Osaka back in the early 1990's.
I have taken numerous small groups on private tours around western Japan seeing all the famous sights of Tokyo, Mt Fuji, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Himeji, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As Kyushu is so familiar to me, I love to show people Japan off-the-beaten-track. In Kyushu, you can enjoy hot springs, active volcanoes, beautiful coastline, impressive gorges and serene waterfalls. Food is delicious, people are welcoming and the scenery never fails to leave everlasting memories. Driving along a winding river past well-kept paddy fields is sheer joy. Join me on the trip of a lifetime around rural and urban Japan.
We will also see my friends and Japanese family along the way, which makes for a more authentic trip - definitely not possible on a commercial group tour.