I was born in 2001 in Tondabayashi, Osaka. Ever since I was a child, I loved playing outside, and when I was in the third grade, I started playing baseball. I even had the honor of representing Japan in a world tournament at that time.
In junior high school, I went through a series of injuries that made it hard for me to play as much as I wanted, but I continued as a player until my senior year of high school. After graduation, I started thinking about my future and decided to study baseball and psychology at a university in the United States. Even though I couldn’t introduce myself in English at that time, I began studying the language seriously at the age of 18.

However, something I never expected happened. The COVID-19 pandemic completely changed my plans — I lost the opportunity to study abroad, and along with it, I lost my passion for baseball, which had been my greatest motivation in life.
Still, the effort I had put into studying English became a new source of purpose for me, and I decided to study English at a university in Japan instead.

During that time, I began to question Japan’s approach to English education. Many Japanese people are exposed to English from a young age, yet so many still struggle to communicate in it. As I gradually became able to speak English myself, that question grew stronger within me.

After the pandemic started to settle down, I decided to pursue another dream — living overseas. At 23, I moved to New Zealand on a working holiday visa.
Although I had previously lived in several countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and the United States, this was my first time living abroad long-term. I was both excited and nervous about this new chapter.
I was given an opportunity to work as a bartender at one of the biggest bars in New Zealand, but I struggled to adapt to the new environment and ended up leaving the job after a month. After that, I experienced panic attacks and insomnia — something I had never gone through in Japan — and my long-awaited life abroad came to an end before I even reached six months.

At first, I blamed myself for not being able to make it work overseas. But after returning to Japan, I slowly began to find new hope in my daily life. About two months later, I started thinking, “Is there something I can do in my own way?” — and that led me to my current work in the tour industry.

Looking back, I realize that my difficult experiences abroad gave me the perspective I needed to do what I do today: sharing the beauty of Japan with people from around the world. Through every encounter with our guests, I’m reminded that no experience in life is ever wasted.

Thank you very much for choosing our tour among so many options. I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.