Rod Walters

I've lived in Japan for over 35 years, working as a teacher, translator, and tour operator. Through my work, I've learned much about Japan, its people, and its culture. As a long-term resident fluent in Japanese, people take me into their confidence and show me interesting things. They take me into the hills to see hidden Christian statues and offer me their hornets-in-shōchū beverage to try (it’s perfectly vile, but bee larvae over rice is nice). At small rural festivals, I drink with the locals and hear how events that happened five hundred years ago still resonate today.

I live on Japan’s smallest main island, Shikoku where I founded Shikoku Tours which I ran for over ten years. Today I operate Japan Adventurer, a company offering distinctive, adventurous tours all over Japan. Our tours invite you to discover aspects of Japan you didn’t know exist. I hope you enjoy my take on the Japan that I present through these VoiceMap tours.