- TEAM LEADER
Alexandra Baranyi
Managing partner Romania
Let's get acquainted!
It all started with a piece of paper.
Origami, the art of paper folding, was what guided me on my path from the tender age of seven. Fascinated by the limitless possibilities that a simple sheet of paper offered, I spent hours every day studying everything I could. A few years later, I became completely absorbed in everything related to Japan, from the spoken language to the lesser-known aspects of this culture.
Today, Japanese culture is a part of my daily life: I am a member of the Japan by Myself team in Bucharest, a Japanese language teacher at the Romanian-Japanese Studies Centre “Angela Hondru,” an origami artist (Origami Friends), and a PhD candidate in Japanese business philosophy.
I first arrived in Japan as a student and volunteer at the CSRJ (where I am now part of the team) as part of the Cultural Program in 2016, and since then, I have lost count of my travels. I knew even then that I would return. Interning at the Laguna Garden Hotel in Okinawa, the Erasmus+ scholarship at Ritsumeikan University in Osaka, along with many other awards, delegations, and guided tourist groups, were experiences that facilitated my understanding of the Japanese mentality, working there as a research assistant (Ritsumeikan University), in services (café; hotel reception and restaurant), fukumusume (Imamiya Jinja), and also with children in kindergartens and schools teaching origami.
Although I have discovered so much about Japan (which I love), every day I am curious to learn as much as possible about this country. My passion, curiosity, and love for the Japanese land are what I want to transmit to the tourists I guide, whether on-site or from afar.
Passionate about Japan:
since 2004
Lived in Japan:
6 months
Japanese level:
N1
Accompanied tourists:
100+
