Alina Sasaki

Tokyo Guide

Let's get acquainted!

I discovered Japan when I was around 14-15 years old, when I first heard the Japanese language and fell in love with it. I was fortunate to find a course on Japanese culture and language, taught by a Japanese volunteer right in my hometown. During the Japanese culture classes, I discovered many Japanese traditions, such as origami, tea ceremony, or Japanese calligraphy, which made me aspire to live in Japan in the future.

I continued to study on my own, using books I found at the bookstore, and during high school, I moved to Bucharest to be closer to Japanese cultural events.

I arrived in Japan after college, in 2015, with a scholarship to Kobe University, and then moved to Tokyo to start a job at a Japanese company where I worked for 2.5 years.

In over 8 and a half years of living in Japan, I have visited 37 out of the 47 Japanese prefectures and have experienced the local traditions and landscapes offered by each place.

My favorites are the cities with hot springs (onsen), places with streets lined with traditional wooden buildings, such as those in Kanazawa, autumn landscapes, especially in the Tohoku region, and boat rides in areas with multiple small islands, such as Matsushima.

Finally, for over 6 years, I have been living a vegan lifestyle. I am very familiar with all aspects of this lifestyle in Japan, and I always enjoy guiding vegan or vegetarian tourists with my expertise.

Passionate about Japan:
since 2007
Lives in Japan:
since 2015
Japanese level:
N1
Accompanied tourists:
50+