About Us
Rina Nagamatsu,
Founder of Hitamichi
Hitamichi is led by Rina Nagamatsu — born in Tokyo, raised across the UAE, Belgium, South Africa, and Japan, and fluent in both English and Japanese culture in the deepest sense.
Growing up between worlds gave Rina a rare perspective: an outsider's curiosity and an insider's access. The more she learned about her own culture, the more she saw how much of it was quietly fading — not from lack of worth, but from lack of visibility.
Selected by the Ibaraki Prefectural Government to support the revitalisation of northern Ibaraki, Rina founded Hitamichi as a bridge between the people who carry these traditions and the travellers who are ready to truly receive them.
"I don't like tourist traps or fake things. I want people to experience the real Japan — and I believe the most meaningful travel memories always come from real interactions with real people." — Rina
What Makes Hitamichi Different:
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We work with groups of 2 to 8 guests. Small enough for real conversation. Intimate enough for real connection.
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Every tour is designed as a narrative — each encounter building on the last, each person you meet adding another layer of understanding. We don't just translate language. We translate philosophy, values, and the quiet meaning behind what you are witnessing.
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Every tour directly benefits the artisans, farmers, and craftspeople you meet. Fair compensation for their time. Visibility for their work. And something harder to measure but perhaps more important — the knowledge that what they do matters to people beyond their own community.