Tim Supplitt

How did you get involved in travel?

"I have always been interested in different cultures, but it was during a Japanese history lesson that I really found my calling. Inspired by Japanese social constructs (and anime), I went on to study Japanese Anthropology, spending my senior year living like the locals at a homestay while attending Tokyo International University. Returning to the US, I continued my Japanese studies with a Master's at the University of Arizona. I wanted to help spread a love of Japan."

Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.

"My favourite experience in Japan took place in southern Tokyo at a wheelchair tennis tournament. On the first day of the tournament, one of the players came up to me and introduced himself.

He said he recognized me from a previous wheelchair tennis tournament I attended and asked why I was attending these tournaments. I told him about how I was researching disability athletics in Japan.

Delighted about my research topic he introduced me to his friends, then invited me to use his sports wheelchair and play against them. This opportunity to advance my research considerably only happened due to the friendliness of the Japanese people"