I have loved wild birds since I was a child and joined the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) to work in an African national park. In Senegal, West Africa, I was involved in promoting ecotourism, which aims to promote regional development through tourism while coexisting with nature, by producing bird books and national park brochures. I decided that to learn more about Senegal, I needed to study the social system of France, which was the suzerain state of Senegal, so I studied at a graduate school in France and did research on the environment and tourism. After earning my Ph.D., I worked on natural resource management projects in West Africa and Indonesia until I developed cancer of the tongue. After completing my Ph.D., I was forced to suspend my research activities.
It was during this time that I became aware of the many problems associated with private accommodation in Kyoto. How to resolve conflicts between tourists and local residents has become a major issue in both Asia and Africa. I decided to open a guesthouse in order to achieve a new goal: how we, as tourism operators, should interact with the local community.
I also run a guide business as a National Interpreter Guide (French), using my many years of experience working in French speaking countries.
I am also a member of the NGO Tufted Puffin Foundation, which continues to protect seabirds in eastern Hokkaido, and I am committed to the coexistence of wildlife and local residents.