Adeline Kuroki

What places and activities do you specialize in?

"I specialize in Japan as a whole, but I do have a lot of very local knowledge of northern Kyushu Island, having lived there for 4 years. When I travel around Japan, I am always most interested in enjoying the local hot springs, food, and shrines, and I love to hike and cycle. As a mom of 2, I have a lot of experience traveling with young kids, and of finding ways to make your trip enjoyable and relaxing for the adults, while also being fun for the kids! "

How did you get involved in travel?

"My first experience working in travel was as a hiking guide when I lived in Fukuoka, Japan full-time between 2014 and 2018. I led hikes each weekend to a mix of locals, expats, and tourists, and it was so much fun! When I moved back to the US in 2018, I started working for InsideJapan Tours, where I learned how to design itineraries, as well as more about the travel industry as a whole. "

Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.

"I will never forget my first time staying in a traditional Japanese inn, or ryokan. I went for the weekend with a couple of friends to the hot springs town of Yufuin. Everything at the ryokan was a completely new experience for me, starting from the moment we entered the property and left our shoes by the door to pad in our socks on the tatami flooring to our room. We dressed in yukata, light summer kimonos, to walk down to the hot springs for a soak before dinner. Each pool was a different temperature and had different mineral contents, and we spent several hours going from one to another. At dinner, we were presented with 10 courses, full of foods I had never seen or heard of before, and many courses were paired with a different sake or plum wine. Returning to our room, we found that the low table and chairs had been replaced with the fluffiest futon mattresses for the night. From the first ryokan trip, I was hooked."