For the most part of last year I was working as a consultant and guide in tourism and hospitality. The nature of that work was not new to me. Starting from my time as a student when I was planning adventures and trips across all of Japan to see remote Hokkaido regions in winter or to welcome New Year on the top of Mount Aso, I was always personally interested in exploring Japan and in sharing this experience with others. Throughout my career this has been part of my job at all the places I worked, especially so when I was stationed in the Trade Delegation Office–practically half of my work time was devoted to accompanying visiting officials and businessmen and helping them as a consultant, interpreter and guide.

But it was for the first time in 2025 that this became my main occupation, and I cannot be happier with it. Apart from the obvious things like being able to control when and how much you work and of course the pleasure of traveling to the best locations in Japan, there were two things I learned from this experience.

The first was how much I still did not know about Japan or have not done even after living here for 10 years and actively studying its culture and language for more than 15 years. There were many places I visited for the first time, for example the amazing Kagoshima prefecture or beautiful Kamikochi (I usually preferred less crowded hiking tracks, yet Kamikochi was not as bad in that regard as well). First time I saw performance by geisha in a genuine Kyoto teahouse. Countless encounters with Japanese craftsmen and artisans practicing traditional monozukuri (crafts) that I did not know much about.

And the next best thing is not just discovering it all, but sharing it with others. That was the second biggest learning for me: how much energy you get from working directly with people and how much you learn from them too. As we know from the tea ceremony, each moment is unique and when you approach it like that, phenomenologically, each day of work gets larger and bigger for both you and people around you.

So that is where I am at the moment and what I am planning to focus on in 2026, hope I will have more time to write here and on my other website.