Tatsuya was born and raised in Hiroshima, he spent seven years traveling the world, from Australia to Portugal to Guatemala, fully immersing himself in local life, tasting the food, learning the languages, working, and connecting with people. His mission was clear: to experience what no book, teacher, or school could teach, and to live boldly while doing it.
Back home, Tatsuya works as a tour guide in Hiroshima and Miyajima, and his talent, curiosity, and fearless attitude have earned him global recognition. In 2025, his tour was named one of the best tours in Asia, and also earned a Freetour.com Award nomination, thanks to glowing reviews from travelers worldwide.
Behind his journey, what was going on in his mind, the curiosity, the drive, and the motivations that led him to leave the comforts of one of the most successful and beautiful countries in the world to experience life fully roots in a desire to see, feel, and live the world on his own terms.
“Who Are You Today?”
GRM: Can you tell us who you are, where you live, and what you’re doing now?
Tatsuya: I’m Tatsuya Okawa. I live in Hiroshima, Japan, and I work as a tour guide for foreign travelers in Hiroshima and Miyajima.
“When Did the World Call You?”
GRM: When did the idea of exploring the world first come to your mind?
Tatsuya: It began about 10 years ago when I met foreign travelers in Japan. I wanted to communicate with them and learn about their cultures. At that time, I couldn’t speak English at all, but I tried, and that was how it started.
GRM: What was your driver?
Tatsuya: I got bored with working in Japan. I was young, had a lot of energy, and wanted to explore the world. At that time, I worked in a sushi restaurant in Hiroshima. I heard about a sushi chef from Hiroshima who moved to Hawaii and was doing well, and that inspired me.
At that time, I met a lot of travelers, as you know, Hiroshima has its history and is a destination for foreign travelers to study. I became interested in what they thought about Japan’s history, so I started talking to them on the street, randomly. Then, people recommended that I travel abroad.
“First Country, First Reality Check”
GRM: Do you remember how you felt when you first arrived in your first country outside Japan?
Tatsuya: Of course, I remember. The first country I lived in was Australia.
I thought I was confident in English, but when I arrived, I realized native speakers talked much faster than I expected. It was exciting every day, but also overwhelming. It was impactful, I realized the foreign travelers I met in Japan spoke slowly to me because my English wasn’t very good, so Australia was a challenge.
“Learning Languages by Jumping In”
GRM: We know you speak many languages, English, Spanish, French and Japanese. How were you able to learn them? And what is the purpose of it?
Tatsuya: I just try. I don’t care about making mistakes. That’s the most important thing in anything you want to learn, for example, music or art, everything is the same. I’m not hesitant to speak to random people in the street.
In Canada, I worked with Mexican and Latin American people, so I tried to speak Spanish. I moved to Mexico and tried not to use English at all and communicate with people in Spanish at the stores or the restaurants. That’s how I learned, well, in Australia I was not confident at all hahaha, they speak too fast.
GRM: And I have noticed that you have repeated this word so many times during the interview: “Just try-Just do it-Just go and try it” and I think that is really important. If you have that in your mind, you have no limits, you have no boundaries, and I think that is something that totally reflects who you are.
“How Many Countries?”
GRM: How many countries have you lived in, and what were you doing?
Tatsuya: The countries I lived in were Australia, Portugal, Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala, five countries. In each country, I worked in restaurants. Sometimes as a cook, sometimes washing dishes or as a busboy, but mostly working in the kitchen as a cook.
“Why the Kitchen?”
GRM: Why did you choose to work as a cook?
Tatsuya: My background in Japan, I worked in a sushi restaurant in Hiroshima made it easier to get kitchen jobs while traveling since I had experience. But the main purpose was to learn more about the cultures, such as food, which connects directly to societies.
“Food That Tells a Story”
GRM: Do you have a favorite food?
Tatsuya: My favorite food is “Chile en Nogada” from Puebla, Mexico. It represents the Mexican flag with its seasonal ingredients. I love the taste, the presentation, and the history behind it—it’s both amazing and beautiful. I’ve tried it in many places across Mexico, and it remains my favorite dish in the world.
“What Japan Taught Me, What Travel Showed Me”
GRM: How did your culture and identity interact with new environments?
Tatsuya: My Japanese background gave me discipline and patience and living abroad pushed me to be more open, expressive, and adaptable. Every country was a challenge that forced me to adjust my mindset and learn new ways to connect with people.
“Human Connection”
GRM: How do you usually connect with people while traveling?
Tatsuya: I go to local places—restaurants, bars, markets. I talk to people and listen to them, and I try to catch phrases they use when they’re happy, joking, emotional, or even swearing. I try to remember those catchy phrases every city has and I use them in front of local locals; sometimes it’s funny and they laugh, sometimes they’re impressed, sometimes they’re upset (hahahaha).
For example, in Mexico, people called me Chino; for them, it is an expression used to refer to Asian people. So, when I was walking on the street, people used to call me Chino, and suddenly I started talking to them in Spanish, saying “Chino come Perro, ¿dónde está el taco de perro?” meaning “Chino eats dog, so where is my dog taco?” and they started laughing. That is my favorite phrase to say in front of people from Mexico—they love it.
“Lessons No Classroom Can Teach”
GRM: What did you learn during your travels that no book or teacher could teach you?
Tatsuya: Ok, I learned to communicate with all kinds of people I met while traveling. And I learned how to blend into totally different societies. When I was walking on the streets, well, life, you know—life itself taught me things no classroom ever could, like empathy, resilience, reading the atmosphere of a place. I learned from the people I met and talked to face to face.
“A Conversation That Changed You”
GRM: Is there an experience that stayed deeply with you? Something that you learned from someone in all the travels you have done?
Tatsuya: Yeah, many things. Your question is really interesting. What impacted me during traveling was in Montreal, I met a random guy in a bar. He asked why I came from Japan to the coldest city in the world, and I said, well, I was interested in knowing why so many people live in this cold city, and he said, “Montreal is like a jail, people are stuck here, they have no choice.”
For context, Montreal is like an island city surrounded by rivers, and somehow the government created the way so people can live there. Then, that taught me different perspectives of cities and towns. Every time I go to a new place and see different people, it makes me think, why do people live here? Do they really love this town or country? Or are they just stuck for a reason or no reason, comfortably or uncomfortably?
“Coming Back Home”
GRM: How did it feel to return to Japan?
Tatsuya: I think it was surprisingly natural. I realized that meeting new people became much easier, and I came back with a broader perspective and more flexibility of thinking, which makes it easy to be a tour guide who interacts with people with different nationalities and backgrounds, that is my strong point as a tour guide.
“Advice for the Hesitant”
GRM: What advice would you give to someone afraid to take their first big journey?
Tatsuya: Just do it. Step into the world. You’ll discover good things and bad things about any place you visit. No one and no place is perfect. The experience is real, and it will change you in ways you can’t imagine.
“One Song for the Whole Journey”
GRM: If one song represents your experience, what would it be?
Tatsuya: I don’t often listen to music, but I would like to choose the song “Society” from the movie Into the Wild.
I watched the film during a road trip in Australia, far away from everything, and the story really resonated with me. The story is about a young guy stepping away from expectations and choosing a simple, honest life, real freedom in the film.
The song talks about how society pushes us to want more than we need. But while traveling, I felt the same message in my experience: that true happiness comes from people, moments, and discovering the world, not material things. Because of that, the song became the song of my journey.
GRM: Totally agree with you that sometimes we want more. Thank you. You know, more things than what we need. And we forget to pay attention to the real valuable things that we have, such as human connection, memories, love, and friendship.
“Last Words”
GRM: Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Tatsuya: Yes, I would like to share my advice to people who are hesitating to take their first journey: make mistakes, do stupid things in front of random people, and somehow over time, that will become a story, a funny story every time you make a mistake. Just do it.
[End of the Interview]
This conversation took place at 4:00 AM Hiroshima time, every minute was worth it. We learned so much from Tatsuya, about his approach to life, the power of human connection, and the lessons only the world can teach. Thank you, Tatsuya, for sharing your journey.
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