Founder & Lead Guide — Ippei
Born and raised in Osaka, I've always been drawn to language and the people behind it. I studied Linguistics at Osaka University and spent a year on exchange at UCLA in Los Angeles, where I sharpened both my English and my eye for what international travelers really want from a trip. Even as a student, I was already guiding — leading Japanese visitors through Tanzania during an internship abroad, where I learned how a great guide can turn an ordinary day into a story someone tells for years.
After graduating, I spent several years as a business consultant at a global firm, then moved into luxury travel, designing bespoke trips for high-end clients across Japan. Eventually, I brought it all together — the local roots, the global perspective, the obsessive attention to detail — and founded this company to share the Kansai I grew up in, one carefully planned (and occasionally improvised) day at a time.
