More than a trip. A journey.
I’m Naoko, a government-licensed English-speaking guide based in Beppu, Oita, in the heart of Kyushu.
After building a career in Tokyo, I fell in love with Beppu and made it my home. Seeing it with fresh eyes, I notice the small wonders of Beppu and Kyushu that are easy to take for granted — the steam rising from the streets, the quiet kindness of a hot-spring town.
Kyushu is the place where Japan’s myths were born, and where Christianity first arrived in Japan. It doesn’t have the dazzle of Tokyo or Kyoto — but it holds something quieter and deeper: a long history of myth and faith that you don’t just look at, but see, touch, and feel.
I would like to do more than show you places. I want us to make memories together — the kind that stay with you, gently, long after you’ve returned.
Not as a sightseer. As a traveler.