Hiroshima has been my home since 1996, and I co-founded the international visitor and resident online magazine GetHiroshima in 1999. I then worked for many years at university teaching business, tourism and sustainability issues. Now, I also work as a sustainably focused inbound travel consultant, tour guide trainer, writer & content creator of the Seek Sustainable Japan show. And since COVID, I have been also offering international visitors guided tours in Hiroshima as a tour guide.

Book Hiroshima tours with me directly via email: inboundambassador =at= gmail.com 

I really enjoy showing visitors around Hiroshima and learning from them – they bring interesting perspectives from around the world, and see things in Japan with fresh eyes.

But I want to offer tours beyond the most typical. I want to give visitors a deeper, more meaningful experience in the Hiroshima area. Each tour I give is a little different each time as they are catered to the individual or private groups I guide.

I love to tell the important historical stories, but it’s fascinating to also connect it to modern stories of people, products, services and businesses in Hiroshima now.

How can we keep the traditional Japanese designs, culture and ideas alive, but also add modern relevance, to find a better balance between the needs of people and planet with profits.

It’s wonderful to share insights and stories with visitors looking to make the most of their visit to Hiroshima city, Miyajima island, Kure, Onomichi, Kintaikyo and many of the great destinations in this area of Japan.

Hiring a good local guide connects visitors to a place on a more meaningful and memorable level. Good guides also allow visitors to engage with friendly locals and by highlighting more sustainable practices – can help both locals and visitors alike.

Visitors, if possible, please bring a refillable water bottle (find free fill ups with MyMizu), a little towel to dry your hands, and your own chopsticks (or utensil set), as well as your own shopping bag. These little sustainable travel habits in Japan can help reduce waste while enhancing your visit as a responsible traveler.

These are the most popular tours, but happy to customize:

• Full-day (8H) Hiroshima’s top-2 UNESCO sites Miyajima island and Hiroshima city center

Traveler tip: stay 2 nights in Hiroshima city to break these two sights across 2-3 days, half-day tours with more free time is always a more rewarding plan for travelers who are blown away by the beauty and interesting people and places in the Hiroshima area.

• Half-day (4H) Hiroshima city highlight tour
• 6-8 hr Hiroshima city deep A-bomb focus tour
• 6-8 hr Miyajima slow & deep-focus highlights tour
• 6hr Sustainable Miyajima Tour – book with JTB
• 8hr Onomichi to Setoda cycle tour
• 4hr Onomichi history & entrepreneurship tour

Hiroshima city tours can be personalized to include 7-lucky god shrines & temples with beautiful A-bomb survivor trees, MOCA wanderings in the museum of contemporary art museum grounds (also interesting to go in), the Museum of Garbage incinerator, backstreet gems, artisan workshops and studio shops, great sweets & snacks..

Other off-the-beaten-track tours include the naval town of KURE, the port town of ONOMICHI and cycle tours along the SHIMANAMI route, TAKEHARA & SAIJO sake tours, and KINTAIKYO bridge area. Please ask me about creating a specialty tour to suit your group’s interests.  

November 2025 – Top Rating: 5

Review: “Joy J. was our fabulous guide and made our day in Hiroshima memorable this November 2025. She adapted the tour to meet our needs including one in a wheelchair. I rang the peace bell. We went to a Japanese restaurant where we watched the owners prepare our delicious meals. We were escorted with her knowledge around where we saw the beauty and grace of the Japanese culture and the sites we were most interested in. We went to Miyajima and saw the famous floating Torii Gate. We had tea and traditional Japanese dessert. I would highly recommend Joy as your guide and this tour. We were comfortable with Joy and appreciated her skills and talents. Joy is magnificent! Karen I.

Please get in touch for bookings at inboundambassador (on gmail.com) or via one of my social media links. If I am already booked, I have a wonderful network of great local Hiroshima guides who I can recommend.

I also do Hiroshima tour bookings for these great Japan travel planning businesses:

Context Travel | Tours By Locals | Inside Japan Tours

Boutique Japan | Espirit Travel | Be Here Asia

Okuni Japan | The Real Japan | TokioTours