You ain't seen nothin' yet!

Hello, everyone.　

I am Azusa Arita.

I worked as a part-time English teacher at many high schools for 15 years. It was a hard but very productive job. Teachers had two team-teaching lessons per week with a native English speaker. Almost all the students were looking forward to the T-T. Especially girls were very excited shouting, “Tom Cruise is coming,” and “We will meet Hugh Jackman soon.” Since 2017, I have worked as a national government’s licensed tour guide. I have had many wonderful opportunities to meet a lot of people from various countries and those meets have brought me strong motivation as a tour guide, just as Tom Cruise and Hugh Jackman became a strong motivation for the students’ study.

The name of Hiroshima would be associated with the atomic bomb, so in my tours, many visitors to Hiroshima asked me,” Is Hiroshima still radioactive?” The practical answer is “No.” There is no harmful effect of radiation on humans and the environment in the city. Maybe you will see many thin-haired people when you come here, which is not due to radioactivity but due to aging. Japan has the world’s highest aging rate, as you may know.

I keep three things in mind in order to have guests fully enjoy Hiroshima without worries.

1, Being flexible

Through my job experience, I realized that tours often don’t go as tour guides expect. For example, in one tour, my guests had to buy return tickets for the Shinkansen departing Hiroshima earlier than they expected. As a result, we needed to visit both Miyajima Island and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in 5 hours instead of 7 hours. It seemed a little tough. To optimize the tour, I ordered take-out Okonomiyaki, took some shortcuts, and adopted various other measures. When we successfully returned to the Hiroshima Station in 5 hours, we shared the joy of shouting “We did it.” I think the most important thing is to show guests our best efforts at all times.

2, Making guests feel relaxed with jokes

I like to guide people while telling many jokes because I wanted to become a comedian when I was young. And it’s interesting that many jokes come back from my guests to my jokes. However there are some cases where I don’t know how to respond to them. For example, at the end of one bus tour, I called the guests’ attention not to leave anything behind. I added, “But don’t worry. If you leave your important thing on the bus, I am happy to take care of it.” And one male guest answered. “Then would you take care of my wife?” Excuse me, sir. A wife is not a thing!

3, Showing the true picture of Hiroshima to visitors

There are good and bad in all cultures and I want visitors to see Hiroshima as it is. It’s my pleasure to take guests to the local hot spots and let them know the everyday lives of Hiroshima people and our culture rooted in the local community. “What are the characteristics of Hiroshima people?” If asked this question, it’s hard to explain simply. I would like you to find your own answer through my tours.

I will try to do my best so that you can enjoy a one-of-a-kind trip.