Our team at Inside Japan Tours

The sun never sets on the InsideJapan Tours team (well, maybe on Sundays) as we have offices in Bristol (UK), Boulder, (USA), Brisbane (Australia) and Nagoya (Japan). On this page you can meet the people behind our Japan tours and holidays.

We have a wide range of backgrounds and interests, but you can be sure that the one thing that ties us all together is a love of Japan, Japanese culture and a passionate desire to share that with other people.

From the accounts department, through the travel consultant teams to the tour leaders and guides on the ground, you can rest assured that everything we do is to make sure you have the best possible experience of Japan.

Kirsten Belinsky
Travel Consultant
Email: [email protected].com
Call: US 720 316 9029
Location (Boulder, USA)

After swapping her home in Los Altos, California to spend a summer volunteering in Panama during high school, the seeds were sown for Kirsten's busy life criss-crossing the globe, picking up friends, experiences and memories along the way.

Big on languages, she loved chatting to locals in Spanish during her trip, but it was when hosting a Japanese student during her final year that she really found her calling. Inspired by Japanese language and culture, she went on to study Japanese at Brown University, and after visiting her host student in Shizuoka, fell for just about everything ("from the food to the landscapes to the people"). Returning full-time was inevitable, and after graduating, Kirsten packed her bags to work as a teacher for two years in Hamada, Shimane prefecture.

After this stint, it wasn't long before she was on the move again, heading to London to do a Master's in Tourism, Environment and Development. The metropolis didn't have Hamada's mountains and seaside views, but roast dinners, full English breakfasts and pub quizzes had a charm all of their own! Her final semester was spent travelling (of course) to study in India, Argentina and South Africa.

When she's not busy boarding planes, 9 times out of 10 you'll find Kirsten outdoors. She played soccer and polo at university, spent countless summers working as a soccer camp counsellor, and competed in two triathlons in London. But in Japan she really upped the ante, learning to ski and snowboard, joining an ultimate frisbee team, teaching futsal and cycling 300km through the countryside. Phew! Anyone else exhausted? If you were thinking of emulating the mammoth cycle ride, she recommends rounding off the day with a well-deserved pint of beer and a bowl of karaage (fried chicken). We might just skip to that bit.

Describe a favourite memory from your travels in Japan

"During golden week one year, my friend and I cycled from our "hometown" in Hamada, Shimane, to Beppu in Kyushu (about 300 km).

We travelled just with (very) small packs on our bikes and stayed in various hostels and hotels. It was a great way to explore the lesser known areas of Western Japan.

I remember seeing the largest koi banners I've ever seen for Children's Day, soaring in the wind in a countryside mountain town. One of my favourite stops was at the Karato Sea Market in Shimonoseki; you can go around all the stalls and pick out the most amazing variety of sushi, tempura, and other fresh seafood. So good we went twice - once for breakfast!

In Beppu, we tried out the famous hot sand baths (highly recommend), then we wrapped our bikes in huge tarps and carried them back on the local trains and the shinkansen (bullet train)! When I went back to my schools, I loved watching my student's faces when they found out I travelled all that way on my bicycle"