Your Guide

Hi, I'm Misae.
Your friend in Japan.

MIE Navigator certified guide, Certified Domestic Travel Supervisor, and someone who genuinely loves showing people this part of the country.

Misae — your guide
MIE Navigators Certified

Meet Your Guide

Misae
Horiguchi

MIE Navigator · Certified Domestic Travel Supervisor · 旅サポTAKETOMBO

When I travel abroad, I always feel more at ease when I have a friend there — someone who knows the food, the customs, the hidden spots that never make it into guidebooks. That's exactly the experience I want to give you in Japan.

I grew up in Okinawa, studied in Hawaii, and have called Nagoya home for 16 years. I've spent that time getting to know this region deeply — and I'm always looking for new reasons to love it.

MIE Navigator Certified Certified Domestic Travel Supervisor English · BYU–Hawaii 🗣 English · Japanese
View LinkedIn Profile

What I bring to every tour

Three things I believe
make a day truly memorable.

01

Friend

A tour shouldn't feel like a transaction. My favourite moment is when a guest says, "contact me if you ever come to my country!" — that's when I know the day went right. I want you to feel like Japan has a friend waiting for you.

02

Passionate

I fell in love with guiding as a student in Hawaii, and that feeling has never left. I love learning about your country as much as I love sharing mine. Every tour is different — because every group of people is different. That energy, that curiosity, is what makes this work feel less like a job and more like the best part of my day.

03

Reliable

From the first email to the moment I drop you back at your hotel, everything is handled. I'm a MIE Navigator certified guide and a Certified Domestic Travel Supervisor, and I've been doing this long enough to know how to make a day flow — even when it doesn't go to plan.

Background

The road that brought me
to this work.

Okinawa — where Misae grew up

Chapter 01 · Okinawa & Hawaii

Growing up between
two worlds.

I grew up in Okinawa, where large US military bases meant that American culture was always part of daily life. My aunt married a serviceman, so my cousins were American. From a young age, I was curious about the world beyond Japan — and that curiosity never went away.

At Brigham Young University–Hawaii, I worked as a guide at the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was the most fulfilling job I had ever done — connecting people, sharing culture, watching strangers light up. I didn't know it then, but that job set the direction for everything that followed.

Misae guiding guests through the ninja museum

Chapter 02 · Nagoya & The Gap I Noticed

The places nobody
knew about.

After years devoted to raising my family — waiting at the door when my children came home from school each day — I returned to work when my daughter started middle school. I joined an inbound rental car service, and it was there that something clicked.

The Nagoya region is full of extraordinary destinations — but so many are hard to reach without a car, under-known to international visitors, and often without English support. I saw guests missing out. I wanted to fix that. The guide job I had loved in Hawaii was waiting for me right here.

Misae laughing with a guest at Shirakawa-go viewpoint

Chapter 03 · Why It Matters

Chapter 03 · Why It Matters

Small moments,
bigger meaning.

Once, after joining guests at a traditional Bon Odori dance festival, one of them turned to me and said: "We have a dance like this back home in the UK — everyone does it together." And right there in a car park, they taught me the Hokey Pokey. We were all laughing and dancing, completely unselfconscious.

That moment stays with me. We had just shared something from each other's culture — not as tourists and guide, but as people. Language didn't matter. The dance didn't need translation. It connected us.

The world has plenty of conflict. But when a guest from another country goes home loving Japan a little more — and I know a little more about their world — I feel like I've contributed something small but real. That's why I do this.

Misae with guests at maneki-neko workshop Misae sharing mitarashi dango with guests in Takayama Misae with guests in Takayama restaurant Misae with guests in the forest at Ise

Off Duty

The guide when
nobody's watching.

At home, I live with my husband and two middle schoolers — a daughter and a son. Family is everything to me. I spent years waiting at the door when they came home from school, and I don't take a single ordinary moment for granted.

My daughter is deep into K-pop — we go to concerts together and yes, I've learned some of the dances. My son is a Pokémon master; he organises tournaments for his friends and loves video games. As for me, my favourite Pokémon are Tsareena and Lopunny.

On weekends we explore the Chubu region together — always looking for the next hidden gem. And I'm always dreaming about the next trip abroad. If you want to tell me about your country, I'm genuinely all ears.

Misae laughing at Shirakawa-go
旅

Ready to explore with a friend?

Send an inquiry with your travel dates and group size. I'll get back to you within 24 hours.

View Our Tours Inquire About a Tour