Karin Tompkins

How did you get involved in travel?

"I have grandparents to thank for an early interest in Japan. My Grandpa served as an army neurosurgeon during the Vietnam War, uprooting my mother's side of the family to Yokohama, and my paternal grandparents took no less than 14 trips to Japan.
Growing up in Santa Rosa, California, my life was shaped by the tales, books and souvenirs they returned with, and as I got older, I became more interested in Japanese cuisine, history, and language, and anime.

Curiosity eventually got the better of me, and I spent two happy years in Kahoku, Ishikawa Prefecture to teach. After moving back to the US to embark on a Masters in Japanese Studies, I finally followed in my family's footsteps by spending a year in Yokohama to attend language school.

Returning home, I worked as a preschool teacher in a in the Detroit Metro Area and a Japanese instructor at a summer language school before joining InsideJapan Tours. Teaching others about Japan and helping them to experience their travel dreams there is the culmination of a lifelong passion.

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Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.

"I went sea kayaking on the Ogasawara Islands, about 1000km south of Tokyo. Although technically a part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, these remote islands are only accessible by ferry, and it takes 25 hours to get there. If anyone reading this is willing to make the trip, it's an unforgettable destination.

The water is amazingly blue and clear, and there are countless colourful and beautiful fish, as well as wild dolphins. My kayak guide, Ryo, helped us catch fish and prepared a fresh sushi lunch for us right on the beach."