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InsideJapan Tour Leaders If you are planning on joining us on one of our small group tours we are sure you will be pretty interested in who will be showing you round Japan for two weeks! We are pleased to have some of the very best tour leaders in the business working with InsideJapan Tours and whoever is in charge of your group we are sure they will be a wonderful addition to your Japan adventures. Tyler Palma - Senior Tour Leader Liam Chawdhary - Tour Leader (food specialist) Tom Orsman - Tour Leader Axel Deroubaix - Tour Leader Steve Parker - Tour Leader Alain Sabourin - Tour Leader Oscar Huygens - Nature & Culture leader & wildlife specialist Yasuhiko Ota - Japan Enchantment & specialist Nikko area guide
Tyler Palma Senior Tour Leader Over a decade ago, Tyler made journey around the world by boat, stopping in Osaka and Nagasaki along the way and starting a love affair with Japan that continues to this day. He began working as a tour leader nearly nine years ago in the tropical lands of Southeast Asia but it wasn’t until after living in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, China, and South Korea that Tyler found his true calling in the ‘land of the rising sun’. Now living in Tokyo, his free time is spent working on a masters degree in East Asian studies and studying calligraphy under one of Japan’s most distinguished ‘sensei’. A self-proclaimed Japanophile, he takes a keen interest in all of Japan’s traditional arts and strives to find the best in every city he visits - which almost always includes a few pints of beer with the locals. Although his wanderlust has taken him to over 50 countries, he still maintains that there is no better travel destination than his home away from home. Not content with simply getting you from point to point, Tyler will happily share his personal insights on the world of the geisha, take you along to a family-run restaurant, or offer his assistance with planning your free time in Japan’s most unforgettable destinations!	Liam Chawdhary Tour Leader A former English and science teacher, Liam spent 3 years teaching in Northern Japan. Being the only foreigner in his town he quickly became accustomed to the Japanese way of life; and has even come to regard karaoke as a form of entertainment. Though don’t let that fool you: he sings with all the subtlety and grace of Johnny Rotten. Liam’s passion is cooking (in fact he only got the job because of his fondness for bringing in homemade cakes). On tour he loves to introduce as much Japanese cuisine as possible and has ingeniously invented as least 3 new mealtimes to facilitate his quest to eat every food known to man. Being a Bristolian, Liam knows just how entertaining Bristol City FC can be; and so has become an ardent fan of Sumo. If you’re unlucky enough he’ll try to convince you why there’s considerably more skill to it than just consuming inhuman amounts of food. Liam is a regular tour leader for InsideJapan Tours travelling out to Japan several times a year to bring his wily sense of humour and infectious energy to our groups. A tour with Liam is always an interesting and enjoyable experience!	Tom Orsman Tour Leader Tom’s interest in Japan started during 3 months spent apple picking with Japanese travellers whilst on a working holiday in Western Australia, in 2001. Encouraged to visit Japan by the friends he made there, he went to Nagoya as a teacher for an English conversation school. He worked there for 2 years, in the process developing an infatuation with Japan’s numerous 100 Yen shops. Since then, he has spent 2 years teaching in a High school in Ibaraki prefecture. After his contract finished there, keen to explore rural Japan, he cycled over 5,000 miles around the country, visiting its northern and southern most points. On lucky days, friendly locals indulged him with top notch Japanese cuisine, an unlimited supply of beer and a comfy bed in their spare room. Less fortunate evenings were spent sleeping in internet cafes, railway stations and even the odd car park. Now he looks forward to spending his evenings in Japan in more conventional accommodation.
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Axel Deroubaix Tour Leader Born and raised in France Axel left his home country at the age of 21. At first he travelled and worked across Europe. It was this experience that gave Axel his passion for travelling, foreign languages, people and cultures, speaking French, English and Japanese to an impressive level! In the United States Axel worked as a somellier putting on his thickest French accent for the benefit of the clientele at an upmarket New York restaurant. If you need a wine recommendation he's the man to ask! Later in life, and after travelling through many countries, it was a Japanese girl (to whom he is now married!) who brought Axel to Japan for the first time. It was the country's unique culture and the mindset of the Japanese that appealed to him immediately and he soon picked up a job leading tours, taking the time to scratch the surface of Japanese society and discovering a whole new world hidden beneath... Axel and his wife have recently moved from Kyoto to Tokyo where you can find them scouting out trendy cafes and the best shopping!	Oscar Huygens Nature and Culture in Japan Bear Viewing Hiking Tours Oscar is a wildlife biologist with a specialization in the ecology and conservation of Asiatic black bears. He received his doctorate from the University of Shinshu, in Central Japan, and, with over 60 bear captures and 8 scientific papers published on the subject, he certainly seems to know a lot about nature in Japan! Oscar found he had a knack for guiding in 1994 when he started to finance all his family trips home by guiding groups of Japanese friends wherever they wanted to go. Destinations reached so far include mule rides to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, pack trips in grizzly bear country in the mountains just north of Yellowstone National Park, cowboy adventures on cattle ranches, and 10 countries in his native Europe. Now, he leads two-day bear viewing trips in the mountains of Japan to help raise much needed funds for the Asiatic Black Bear Conservation and Study Group he helped found in 1995. Oscar has a fun and agreeable personality, and enjoys sharing his passion for nature. He loves Japan and its culture, and he will make sure to share that with you! Oscar has a great rapport with the Japanese and while traveling with him you will have ample personal contacts with them and discover them as they truly are. Oscar says: " I know and love Japan and will introduce you to its cities and its people, its history and architecture, its mountains and their secrets like no one else can".	Yasuhiko Ota Japan Enchantment Specialist Nikko area guide Yasuhiko Ota was born and raised in Tokyo in 1942, the Japanese called, Edokko". Ota-san considers himself to be a young 64 and you certainly wouldn't be able to guess his age! He graduated from Tokyo's prestigious Chuo University majoring in Business Administrations & Accoounting and followed this up with studies at the University of Delaware, USA where he met his future wife, Hiroko. Yasuhiko enjoyed his studies in Delaware so much that he stuck around for another 6 years taking up a position with E.I.DuPont Headquarters in Delaware. In 1972 he returned to Japan starting work at JP Morgan Guaranty Bank, Tokyo Branch Office, thus beginning a 25 year career in banking during which time he worked with Wespac Banking Corporation(Australian Bank) and Citibank, Tokyo. The world of international finance brought with it plenty of opportunities for travel and Yasuhiko was stationed in Sydney (about 6 months), London (about 1 year) and New York (5 years). Yasuhiko finished his career with 7 years at American Express in the travel division and there discovered that his true interests lay in the travel industry. His hobbies are travel (Hawaii is his favourite followed closely by Okinawa), reading, gardening and he has even been known to put up some impressive performances in triathlon events. He has two children (a son and daughter aged 35 and 22 respectively) and a 3 year old granddaughter. Yasuhiko and his wife Hiroko live in Utsunomiya City, approximately 60 miles north of Tokyo.
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Steve Parker Tour Leader Steve arrived on Japanese soil in the summer of 1996 and spent 6 years working in education. After whizzing around the whole country to see as many of the 2002 World Cup matches as possible, he headed for home in the UK. Soon though, the itchy feet prompted him to become a tour leader - working in Japan, Cuba, Italy and Spain. He therefore has acquired the ability to dance salsa in a kimono, toss pizza dough and dodge charging bulls - all at the same time, of course. Inevitably, after 5 years came the decision to return to his adopted homeland to both live and work, as it proved impossible to stay away from the great food, hot springs, mountains and the karaoke mic.	Alain Sabourin Tour Leader Originally from Canada, Alain started traveling solo at the age of 18 and is possibly the most adventurous of our team. After spending a few years snowboarding and rock climbing in Western Canada he went to South America for a year of trekking. Alain explored the Amazon in Venezuela, Brazil and Columbia and climbed throughout the Andes of Peru and Ecuador. Having ‘done’ South America, next stop for Alain was Asia. Here he traveled through South East Asia and India and, in 2002, found himself in Japan. Sticking with the adventure them, Alain’s first job in Japan was as a white water rafting and mountain biking guide. Since 2002 Alain has added tour leading to his skill-set and has been working throughout Asia on cultural and adventure tours. From 2009 onwards he has been based solely in Japan leading a variety of tours. A,lain is passionate about showing people Japan’s rich culture and deep traditions and the true beauty of the country.