Hiroshima (Living), Okayama, Shimane, Yamaguchi
English (Native), Japanese
1 day on average
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Hi!
Thanks for reviewing my profile.
I am Australian, from Sydney originally but my life with Japan and its culture and history spans 30 odd years and I have been a Hiroshima resident for 18 of those 30 years.
I joined Triple Lights just recently but be assured I have led many tours in Hiroshima and more widely throughout metropolitan and regional Japan, sharing conversations about the unique society, its fascinating culture and history. I also have written several tourism blogs for inbound tour companies and also the Hiroshima Prefectural Tourism Bureau.
I speak fluent Japanese and I have immersed myself in the experience of living here in modern and traditional culture and spent many years studying martial arts Aikido and Iaido. I also have a strong interest in Buddhist teachings. My Japanese calligraphy work over the years has been received recognition and several awards and commissions both in Japan and elsewhere.
I'm looking forward to spending a great experience sharing the culture and history of Hiroshima with you.
I was initially conflicted while considering various tour guides and debated if it will be worth choosing a guide who is not Japanese but I am so happy that my concerns were unfounded. Hugh has a warm and friendly demeanor, great sense of humor and he is a walking encyclopedia. We enjoyed our conversations with him while he guided us around. We felt that our day was filled with special experiences, may it be food, or a temple or a shrine or just a deer walking by. Our children, 3 and 6 year-old had equally good time with him. We highly recommend him.
Hello Hina! Thanks for the glowing review. It was a pleasure. Wishing you all a wonderful year ahead. Best, Hugh .
Hugh was a superb guide with lots of information and understanding of the events that shook Japan and the world on August 6, 1945. This is a must-see place for solemn reflection on the horrors of war and the peace that has followed. The sights of the temple on Miyajima Island were also a very enjoyable to visit and hear Hugh's stories on the history. I would recommend Hugh to any traveller to this area. You'll get a lot more appreciation for this area with a guide than you would without one.
Hello James! It was a pleasure spending the day with you. Thanks so much for the glowing review. Best regards, Hugh
Our November 2019 guided tour in Hiroshima was a truly unique and memorable experience. We were on a Viking ocean cruise and used the standard ship’s tour on the first port day to visit the typical tourist sites (the Peace Park, etc.). We then had Hugh as a private guide on the second day. Unlike other native Japanese tour guides, communication was a breeze as Hugh is a native Australian. But Hugh also was fluent in Japanese. What was especially delightful was that Hugh first took us to a fabulous shrine complex that was well off of the beaten path. In fact, Hugh was just a bit upset that there were a handful of other tourist as he thought of the site as more his private respite. A standard feature of the entire day was Hugh’s ability to inform us about both the history of the sites we visited and, perhaps more importantly, Japanese cultural aspects. We left the tour with an enhanced and very insight understanding of how the Japanese think and act. And I would be remiss if not mentioning our lunch. We ask Hugh to pick a restaurant for a more traditional meal. We ended up a local establishment where, after passing through an outdoor seating area with a waterfall view and locals cooking their food, we sat down inside on stools. Speaking Japanese, Hugh was able to explain the dishes and order for all of us. This was truly a memorable meal! In case it is not obvious from the above, we highly recommend selecting Hugh on a future tour.
We had one day in Hiroshima and Hugh did a great job showing us the places.. it was a very informative but not tiring trip. Thanks Hugh