Alastair's relationship with Japan started in 1998 when a stroke of luck brought him to Japan for the first time to teach English in Aichi prefecture. He always had a different vision of his work life. Upon finishing his teaching career in Japan, he and his friend, and now business partner, Simon, took the long way across Russia where they had the pleasure to enjoy a slice of real Russian life. This experience inspired them to start their own venture and now a well established travel company: InsideJapan Tours. A passionate Bristolian, Alastair shared his favourite locations to visit and food he can never get enough of.
Hi, thanks for talking to us today. What sparked your interest in Japan?
Honestly, that initial spark of interest was down to a girlfriend from university who went to Japan after graduation to teach English on the JET scheme. She used to send me the occasional postcard from Niigata, a place I’d never heard of but looked spectacular. It was this that planted a tiny seed of interest in Japan. Before this my only exposure to Japan was Channel 4s brief foray into broadcasting Sumo in the early 1990s and the fact I owned that iconic 80’s symbol of Japanese technological domination: a Sony Walkman.
In my final year at university where I was studying history, I took an optional paper titled “The emergence of modern Japan: 1868-1970”. I read novels by Tanizaki and Mishima, learned about the Meiji restoration and the modern post-war constitution, Japan’s imperialist wars of the early twentieth century, the 1918 rice riots in Osaka, environmentalism in the 1970s and the beginnings of the economic miracle. It was a whirlwind of extraordinary change and an opaque culture I was entirely ignorant of. It was everything I wanted when I chose history as my degree and it was this that really got me hooked.
How did you end up working and living in Japan and what was it like?
It almost didn’t happen and was entirely down to a series of events that I had very little to do with. One day at uni a three-line note appeared in my ‘pigeon hole’ (yep, the days before email when physical paper used to be stuffed into a small wooden box to communicate messages to the students) asking anyone who was interested in teaching English in Toyota City in Japan to contact Dr Brian Powell. Like many other 20 year olds I had no post-graduation plans and no idea of what I wanted to do for work. This seemed like a great opportunity to actually step foot in Japan and experience for myself what the country was really like. Along with my friend (and now business partner) Simon King and four others, I applied and was interviewed for the role. Two places were available. I was not selected. Simon was. I finished my exams and whilst Simon headed off to Toyota I went back to Bristol and took up a role doing door-to-door sales (new utilities supplier anyone? Great savings on your gas bills...) and when that proved too soul destroying, I moved to a BT call centre helpfully informing people of where their local florist was or of the local cinema listings. But in a stroke of luck for me, the second of the Toyota English teachers missed his girlfriend and quit. A word from Simon and the opportunity was mine. After an intensive course of driving lessons to acquire the mandatory license, 20th Feb 1998 I was on the direct BA flight from Heathrow to Nagoya’s Komaki Airport and my relationship with Japan has really begun in earnest.
The teaching in Junior High Schools was fun. Even the bad kids were basically pretty nice and being something of a curiosity, kids were keen to talk and interact. I’m not sure my teaching was great but one thing I can be sure of is a generation of Toyota kids all grew up knowing about Brit Pop and why Bristol is the best city in the world! Outside of work, Japan was such fun - izakaya, karaoke, bowling, English exchange groups, hot spring baths, gigs and club nights and trips to extraordinary places like Kamikochi and islands in the Seto Inland Sea. Looking back it really was a wonderful two and a half years.
What inspired you to start InsideJapan Tours? What are your favourite trips and experiences you have on offer?
I had never really wanted to get a proper job and upon leaving Japan in late summer 2000 I really had no idea what the future held. After our teaching contracts ended, Simon and I spent a month studying Japanese in Sapporo before flying to Hong Kong to begin an epic overland journey back to the UK which included 6 nights on the Trans-Siberian railway from Beijing to Moscow. Lots of time to think! My memory is a bit hazy (probably all the vodka) but I think it was during that time crossing the vast Siberian plains that Simon first posited the idea of starting a travel company for Japan. This was cemented by a 5 nights backpacker bus tour we took starting in Moscow and dropping off in St Petersburg, stopping off along the way at small towns and even a Russian holiday village on the banks of the Volga - a slice of real Russian life. And it was that which we decided to build our business from - offering visitors a slice of everyday Japanese life.
For me the favourite experiences we make happen for our travellers are exactly that - a little bit of normal life in Japan. Our izakaya nights led by our fabulous ex-pat Insiders are a chance to enjoy an evening out in Tokyo that is the same as tens of thousands of Japanese experience every night. It’s about sharing what we loved about living in Japan with as many people as possible. I absolutely love the trips that include Kamikochi, a national park on a mountain plateau 1,500m above sea level that when I first visited was like a glimpse of paradise. Truly magical If you like the outdoors this is a must. We were the first British tour operator to offer Kamikochi and I am very proud that we helped shape positive change in how the park welcomes foreign guests. Our small group tours have a very special place in my heart. I led our first tours in summer 2001 including an incredible sunrise atop Mt Fuji on 4th July which was extra special for the Amercians in the group. The group tours truly capture the founding ethos of the business with our Insiders sharing the things they most love about Japan. And they are a huge amount of fun. I really can’t recommend them enough.
You can find out more about Kamikochi and read about Alastair's adventures in Japan here.
Are you working on any new projects at the moment?
Since Covid struck we’ve been working incredibly hard to improve the business so that when travel restarts our service will be better than ever. It’s not my project, but our series of live virtual tours of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto have been one of the most exciting things we’ve done in the past year. For anyone who hasn’t attended, they are all available on YouTube. A great way to spend a free hour and a little glimpse of what an InsideJapan Tours trip is all about.
What would be your dream holiday to Japan?
At the moment just to set foot in Japan would be a dream come true. This is the longest I’ve been away from Japan since that first trip in 1998 and I miss it hugely. But when I can go I’ll be booking a stay at the Ryokan Kurashiki to treat myself to what I think is the finest hospitality in Japan. If I was to create a dream trip it would have to include Gran-Class shinkansen to Kanazawa, a few days cycling on the Noto Peninsula, bar hopping in Osaka, and a couple of nights at an onsen resort in the mountains. And if cost were no object, I’d get my friends together from my Toyota teaching days and travel with them. Relive some of those heady days of youth!
What are your favourite spots in Japan you could revisit anytime?
Kamikochi for its magical other-wordly natural beauty and tranquility; Asakusa in Tokyo where I just love the ‘shotengai’ shopping arcades and the backstreets around Sensoji temple; Matsumoto, which I feel is the best of a European Alpine town crossed with the best of Japan; and Osaka because eating is pretty much my favourite thing to do in Japan and there is nowhere better to eat than here!
Can you give us any travel tips for people who are visiting Japan for the first time?
Book with InsideJapan Tours! Then after you arrive a few words of Japanese go a really long way so a little bit of pre-departure study will make your trip a lot more fun. Be sure to leave time to explore. Japan’s major sights are amazing, but the true fun of the country is to be found in the every day - buying a bento at a supermarket, exploring the Mom and Pop stores that can still be found in nearly Japanese town and city, stumbling across a shrine hidden amongst the apartment blocks and offices, having lunch with the salarymen at a canteen-style restaurant - these are the experiences that add a richness to any trip. And finally, think vertical! In the West most stores, restaurants and bars are to be found at ground level with obvious signage. Not in Japan! Look up and don’t be afraid to get in the elevator, pick a place and give it a go. You’ll have the most surprising and memorable encounters.
Our word of the month is 'enryo no katamari' (遠慮の塊) which is a phrase used to refer to that one last lonely bit of food that no one wants to touch out of politeness. What Japanese food you wouldn’t be able to stop eating till the last bit?
This is a hard question. When I lived in Japan I was obsessed with “ebi-furai” - huge prawns which are breaded and then deep-fried. But I think it would have to be Japanese curry from Coco-ichi. Originating from Ichinomiya in Nagoya and now found across the country, Coco-ichi is the perfect marriage of spicy Japanese curry with an array of fried meat, fish or vegetable options. There’s even a topping of cheese available. Definitely my number one guilty pleasure!
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