Hyogo, Kyoto, Mie, Nara, Osaka (Living), Shiga, Wakayama, Mount Koya, Kobe, Himeji
Japanese (Native), English, French
2 hours on average
Today
Ai obtained her MBA from Kyoto U in 2020, major in tourism & hospitality management.
She is currently a graduate student at Columbia U, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences(GSAS), Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, goes back-and-forth between NYC and Osaka.
She passed a national license of English guide interpreter exam in 2015 and speaks French.
In her tour, she offers you free photo taking & sharing digital data by using her award-winning + magazine-cover photography skill.
<Awards & Publications>
-cited by Columbia's Official Instagrams four times during her fist summer at Columbia (2022)
-got interviewed by Nikkei WOMAN, June issue of 2021, a monthly magazine that publishes 150,000 copies nationwide, and two other magazine and book, published in the same year
-won a top prize in Photo Contest at Tourism Expo in Osaka, hosted by SriLanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (in 2019)
-received Gold Award in CONRAD OSAKA opening Art Photo Contest among 367 entries
-coverered "NU7(top 7 national universities)" magazine, 50,000 copies (in 2018)
-2nd Prize in Festival Tower West Opening Photo Contest and her shot became a billboard advertisement
(both in 2017)
She was raised in Kobe, had attended schools and universities in Kyoto for twelve years.
Before enrolling to Columbia, since COVID19 forced her to suspend her vocation, she had served as a contract in-house interpreter at an IT department of SHIMADZU Corporation group(2020-2022), waiting her opportunity to fly to Manhattan.
She resides in her hometown Osaka now and lands on Upper West in May 2024.
Tours in Japan are available in Spring, early summer(May), Autumn, and Winter.
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Feel free to contact me! Just inquiry is totally fine.
Let's have fun together☆★＊* Ai
【Familiar towns】
My main areas are Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Kobe, and Himeji.
Since I used to live in Tokyo and travel around Metropolitan area very often, if you could cover my transportations(+ accomodation if necessary), I can travel(+stay) with you.
【Anyone is welcome!】
If you or your family members/friends are:
Vegetarians/vegans,
LGBTQ,
physically challenged people,
senior citizens and/or babies,
don't hesitate to ask me special requests.
I'm willing to help these guests:)
【Insurance】
Please take out your travel insurance. My insurance will NOT cover your sickness, injury, and/or accident during the tour.
The highlight of our trip. We had an amazing time working with Ai to create a custom trip for our group for 3 days. The photos she took were such high quality which was a great perk of booking with her. She showed us places and gave us the history, as well as helped us book private taxis to make it easier to keep the whole group together. We 100% recommend working with her!
The highlight of our trip. We had an amazing time working with Ai to create a custom trip for our group for 3 days. The photos she took were such high quality which was a great perk of booking with her. She showed us places and gave us the history, as well as helped us book private taxis to make it easier to keep the whole group together. We 100% recommend working with her!
Dear Zain, Thanks for having me three days! I really enjoyed the trip very much. This is because all the guests are professionals in their fields(former lawyer, flight attendant, consultant, accountant etc.), everybody came from the cities where I've been to(three of them are my neighborhood in Manhattan lol), and we are around the same generation; that made us share the same values and beliefs in life. The highlights of Kyoto was not only visited iconic spots, such as Golden Pavilion and vermillion Torii Gates Fushimi Inari Shrine; but also we enjoyed tea ceremony experience, Gekkeikan Sake Brewery and Museum, and high-end Tempura Endo Restaurant in Gion in just a day. Yes, we'll definitely work together in the future. If you enjoy your hobby, that could be your job, and, if you work hard, that could be your vocation. Ai
The highlight of our trip. We had an amazing time working with Ai to create a custom trip for our group for 3 days. The photos she took were such high quality which was a great perk of booking with her. She showed us places and gave us the history, as well as helped us book private taxis to make it easier to keep the whole group together. We 100% recommend working with her!
Ai is definitely a professional tour guide as she explain and bring you to those highlights in a chill and relax vibe. She can agree to certain request such as bringing you to local hidden gems or local marketplace than regular sight-seeing. Ai can take pictures for you while explaining the history and places around at the same time. Thank you Ai !
Thanks for having me. Since we both love taking pictures and have MBA, I enjoyed talking while traveling with Andy very much. Please let me know if you ever have a chance to come back to Japan as your business trip, honeymoon, or just a vacation with your family and friends. I appreciate this serendipity. your guide, photographer, and new friend, Ai