Our team at Inside Japan Tours

The sun never sets on the InsideJapan Tours team (well, maybe on Sundays) as we have offices in Bristol (UK), Broomfield, (USA), Brisbane (Australia) and Nagoya (Japan). On this page you can meet the people behind our Japan holidays and tours.

We have a wide range of backgrounds and interests, but you can be sure that the one thing that ties us all together is a love of Japan, Japanese culture and a passionate desire to share that with other people.

From the accounts department, through the travel consultant teams to the tour leaders and guides on the ground, you can rest assured that everything we do is to make sure you have the best possible experience of Japan.

Aya Davies
Senior Sales Support Administrator
Email: [email protected]
Call: UK 0117 244 3460
Location (Bristol, UK)

Originally from Tsukuba, in Ibaraki Prefecture, Aya lived in Tokyo, Okinawa and Hokkaido before making her home in Bristol, UK.

Aya's love of travel began, somewhat unusually, with her love for the Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna. After his fatal crash in 1994, Aya made a pilgrimage to his gravesite in Brazil - and was immediately bitten by the travel bug. She loved experiencing the culture, people and foods of Brazil so much that she's never stopped travelling since, having visited over 20 countries and counting.

In addition to her international adventures, Aya is very well-travelled in Japan, and has worked in all kinds of roles - from being a carer in both Japan and the UK, to working for an IT company, a marine paint company, and as a massage therapist in Bristol. These days, as a sales support administrator in our Bristol office, Aya is part of the team working behind the scenes to ensure your Japan trips are the very best they can be.

Aya's favourite place in Japan is Suwa, in Nagano Prefecture, where they hold nomiaruki (walking and drinking) festivals twice a year, where you can drink as much sake as you like while exploring the sake breweries and enjoying the festivities.

What would you say to persuade someone to visit Japan?

I have met people who told me "someday I want to go to Japan, but..." They have many reasons not to go: Japan is expensive, they don't understand the language, etc. But I would say, if you want to go there someday, just go now! You will be surprised how much people are willing to help you, and if you don't go to very posh restaurants every night, it'll be cheaper than dinner out in the UK!

Relive a favourite moment in Japan...

Soaking in a hot spring in Shiretoko

One of my favourite memories of Japan is of visiting Shiretoko, Hokkaido, with my mum. We were staying at a hot-spring hotel in winter, and having a bath outside (rotenburo). It was snowing over our faces but bodies were so warm in hot spring. It was so special, as it was just mum and me in the bath seeing the sunrise over the horizon. It was beautiful.