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Meet the InsideJapan Tours' UK Team!

The internet is a wonderful thing but it can be a little anonymous and sometimes it is nice to know who you are dealing with, especially when planning something as important as a holiday! This page is where you can read about who we are. If you wish to visit us at our office in Bristol (UK) we would be delighted to welcome you - we are open for personal callers 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 11am to 4pm on Saturdays.

• Simon King - Director
• Alastair Donnelly - Director
• James Mundy - PR Manager
• Harry Sargant - Sales Manager
• Ruth Hubbard - Travel Consultant
• Jocelyn Knightly Brown - Travel Consultant
• Naomi Rogalska - Financial Controller
• Matt Spiller - Travel Consultant 
• David Wall - Travel Consultant
• Mark Johnson - Travel Consultant 
• Maddy Rodell - Travel Consultant

Simon King
Director
Call: 0117 370 9731



It is Simon who can perhaps be credited with the spark of inspiration that led from the outer reaches of the Siberian wilderness to the creation of InsideJapan Tours. Simon taught English in Japan for three years before going on to found the company with university friend and co-Director Alastair. Like Alastair, Simon seemingly shares a passion for disappointment and holds a season ticket for Bristol City. However, having become a father for the first time in June 2011 his new pride and joy is little Florence who certainly helps keep him on his toes and by the looks of it, up all night as well! If you want to find him on a weekend you are best looking down the allotment these days rather than down the pub although he has been rumoured to be seen at the odd real ale festival.

A strong Japanese speaker, Simon is in charge of the day-to-day running of InsideJapan Tours helping ensure that the three company offices are all operating smoothly. Across three continents and 16 time zones this is no mean feat! Simon also takes responsibility for the Group Tours department as well as overseeing all new product development.

Alastair Donnelly
Director
Call: 0117 370 9732



Alastair's interest in Japan dates back to his university days when he took a paper in Japanese history for his finals. After graduating and a series of part time jobs, an opportunity then arose to join his friend Simon out in Toyota City and thus began an ongoing love affair with Japan. Alastair is a solid speaker of Japanese and in the early days of IJT brought a laid-back approach to leading tours. In addition to his day-to-day office duties Alastair plays a key role in the design and upkeep of the web-site and in the production of all advertising and printed material.

As IT manager he is also a little too keen to discuss the intricacies of WANs and LANs and scheduled packets and server configurations with anyone who will listen (and often those who won't!). In the non-virtual world, Alastair has a passion for food and loves to take any available opportunity to visit a new restaurant or try a new recipe. He can also be seen speeding around town on his Specialized road bike and down Ashton Gate of a Saturday afternoon cheering on the mighty Bristol City.

In addition to all things technical Alastair also plays the leading role in business development helping to take the company in new directions and helping ensure IJT remains the very best company for travel to Japan.

James Mundy 
PR Manager
Call: 0117 370 9733



PR Manager Jim has three passions in life - Japan, the claret and blue shirts of West Ham United FC and his toddler Max. Following the Hammers is always frustrating but at least since joining the InsideJapan team in April 2005 Jim can share his passion for Japan on a daily basis! Jim's experience of Japan is extensive having spent 3 years working in Junior High Schools in the back and beyond of rural Gunma Prefecture before following this up with a year teaching English in Tokyo for a year - two very different experiences of life in Japan.

After returning to the UK in the summer of 2003 Jim worked for a Japanese engineering company before deciding to make sharing his love of all things Japan more than just a way of annoying his friends! He has travelled extensively throughout Japan and speaks excellent Japanese, some of it perhaps not quite what your grandmother would want to hear! When he's not injured, Jim is also a dangerous midfield man but never quite made it to pulling on one of those beloved shirts. You can follow the musings of Jim on the company Twitter feed @insidejapan

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Harry Sargant
Sales Manager
Call: 0117 370 9734



After three fun-filled years in Niigata teaching some of Japan’s youngest English students, Harry returned to the UK and immediately started work with IJT. Harry shares his colleagues’ passion for good food and can be relied upon to find the right restaurant whatever the required cuisine. His search for Japan’s Best Gyoza continues each time he returns to the country and he will happily introduce you to these delicious little treats (but mind the garlic!). He is a big fan of Japanese 'matsuri' (festivals) and can advise you on the best time and place to catch local events and celebrations. Harry has always been very sporty and has, at various stages been a keen player of football, rugby, water polo and squash; He’s even worked as a trampoline coach! He has travelled extensively throughout Japan and enjoys collecting visa stamps from elsewhere in the world whenever possible.

Harry is Sales Manager and helps ensure that InsideJapan Tours continue to deliver holidays unrivalled in the quality of experience and variety options available.

Ruth Hubbard
Travel Consultant
Call: 0117 370 9737



Hailing from the small village of West Coker in Somerset (just outside Yeovil), Ruth came to InsideJapan Tours fresh from life in Kyoto as an English teacher on the JET scheme. In her two years in Japan's historic capital she got to know the city inside out and whether you are after the best temples and shrines, the most delicious Kyoto cuisine, or the cheapest beer in the city, Ruth is the perfect person to advise you. Having studied German and Italian at Bath University, Ruth is an exceptional linguist and tries to keep up her Japanese up to scratch. A year spent at Bosch in Germany also means she has something of a reputation as a power tools specialist! Perhaps most significant of all though is her status as InsideJapan's champion cake baker - a sure fire way to keep her colleagues happy. Ruth can also be seen on the netball court for a local side and in 2011 joined several of the IJT team in running Bristol half-marathon.

At InsideJapan Tours Ruth is one of our expert travel consultants, putting her passion for all things Japanese into beautifully crafted tailor-made itineraries. She also has responsibility for the company's Sustainable Tourism strategies and manages IJT's fund raising activities.

Jocelyn Knightly Brown
Travel Consultant
Call: 0117 370 9738



After heading to Japan on a vague whim after university, lured by the crazy culture and opportunity to travel, Jocelyn found herself in a small beachside town in Shizuoka Prefecture, in view of the magnificent Mount Fuji. The friendly people, relaxed way of life and regular karaoke persuaded her to stay for two years, teaching at a lively high school surrounded by green tea fields. Jocelyn travelled through much of Japan whilst living there, citing a school trip to Okinawa amongst her highlights, though even her extensive love of souvenir shopping was stretched to the limits by the stamina of her Japanese colleagues! She also rocked out two years in a row to the sounds of her favourite bands at Fuji Rock Festival and intends to persuade her bosses it is imperative she return soon to track the changes.

Jocelyn continues to compare the awesome festivals, beautiful weather and mouth-watering food of Japan against their weaker English counterparts whilst also enjoying the chance to ride her horse again at weekends and turning out rain or shine for her netball team. She is also a real show stopper at karaoke!

Jocelyn brings a wide range of new itinerary ideas and unusual Japan experiences to her role as expert travel consultant. She also looks after our growing schools department arranging life changing trips to Japan for UK school students.

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Along side planning tailored itineraries, Matt looks after IJT's relationships with travel agencies, organising events and introducing Japan to travel professionals across the UK.

Before discovering the delights of Bristol, David liked to dwell in the London urban jungle and escape to the great outdoors some weekends, hiking up mountains and ambling down country lanes. He headed out to Japan to follow in the footprints of the literary geniuses David Mitchell and Haruki Murakami, and discover what his globetrotting grandfather had been talking about all these years. Working in the crazy but super-clean suburbs of Tokyo suited him down to the ground, as he delved the depths of Shinjuku to find late-night shoebox bars one weekend and explored the surrounding magical mountain realms the next.

He is a keen believer in going everywhere by public transport and pedal bike (which is nothing to do with his terrible driving skills of course) and some of his best memories are of cycling around places like Kamakura and Tazawako with half-hidden temples and nature all around.

Always looking for creative outlets, he went out to Japan armed with a pen, a mini-keyboard and laptop and got inspired by everything from the gentle glow of ryokan windows to the buzz and bright lights of Tokyo. Reams of travel writing and half-baked odes to Bladerunner are now littering his laptop, which will become finished creations eventually if he can just stop buying new bits of music software to mess around with. It looks like Bristol will provide another burst of creative inspiration, and he is looking forward to exploring the theatres and music venues (where Britain has the edge over Japan for once).

In the office, David is a travel consultant in the independent travel team and endeavours to bring his enthusiasm for all things Japanese to every itinerary he works on.

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Maddy first started helping people live out their dreams of travelling in Japan as the excursions representative in Toyama, which saw her taking groups of Toyama residents up Mount Fuji, snowboarding and to a traditional sumo tournament. The organisational and linguistic challenges presented in designing trips suited Maddy perfectly, so much so that she decided to make a career of it! Other ventures in Japan included helping to write, translate and produce a play in Japanese for the local residents of Toyama, which built up community relations and raised thousands of pounds for charity.

The first time Maddy set foot in the InsideJapan offices was less than 48 hours after her return to the UK and the rest, as they say, is history. Maddy is delighted to have the perfect excuse to spend all day talking about her favourite subject: travelling in Japan. Maddy also oversees sales of the Japan Rail Pass helping ensure we always remain competitive and on top of our game.

Mark’s interest in Japan was first sparked by two quintessential elements of Japanese culture: Sumo wrestling - as  seen on Channel 4 - and the mesmerizing classic animation film, Akira. It wasn't until 2005 that he finally made it to Japan, embarking on a two month solo backpacking trip. Bitten by the Japan bug, he quickly returned, signing up for a three year stint teaching English in Yamaguchi prefecture (southwest Japan). With spare weekends spent exploring the country, Mark has travelled extensively from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the far south. But with no place like home, his favourite prefecture is still Yamaguchi!  Between travel adventures, Mark also managed to find time for regular karaoke (a must for any member of the IJT team) and to study calligraphy.

Not content with returning to UK the conventional way, in summer 2009 Mark followed in the footsteps of company directors Alastair and Simon, embarking on a one month overland adventure (despite his passion for travel Mark is embarrassed to admit he has a slight fear of flying!) which included the epic Trans-Mongolian Railway from Beijing to Moscow.

On arrival back in the UK Mark sought a job combining his love of Japan and his previous experience in tourism and found both with a position at IJT! In 2011 Mark permanently cemented his Japan bond with his marriage to Rie, who also works at IJT as an Admin Assistant

As well as his role planning tailored holidays, Mark is occasionally called into action as a tour leader giving him the chance to share his love of all things Japanese directly with our clients on the ground.