Tour guide in Nagasaki Rikako O.

Hello, I’m Rikako, but you can call me "Coco" a National Government Licensed Guide and Interpreter, born and raised in Nagasaki and one of the finalists of Japan Guide Awards 2025. I very much appreciate that you came across my profile and are taking the time to read it. I'd love to learn from you too once you come visit! When I was a child, I was a performer in the Nagasaki Kunchi Festival, which made me be very interested in local history and culture. This was actually what led me to obtain a guide license in university and become a tour guide. I also majored in Intercultural Studies. As for my hobbies, I would say my main one is soccer, so if you're also a fan, I'd love to talk about it as I take you to visit the Nagasaki Stadium City, which also has a shopping mall, restaurants and even a hotel! As far as my guiding experience goes, my first job was when I was still a University student, and consisted in accompanying an Ambassador attending the Nagasaki Peace Ceremony. To this day, I have proudly escorted ambassadors of Finland, France, New Zealand, Ethiopia and Poland. Although these commitments were very challenging, it was all definitely worth it, because I learned a lot about accommodating the needs of high end travelers from different parts of the world. I have actually guided many international guests from different countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Mexico, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, New Zealand & Australia, among others. Nagasaki has lots of Catholic churches but also missionary schools and I went to one of them! But then, am I a Christian? If you want to know, I talk about my beliefs on my tours, discussing Nagasaki's culture and history through my local point of view. By the end of WW2, Nagasaki famously experienced indescribable damage from the atomic bomb, which heavily impacted its culture, now being a city where people strongly advocate for peace. Being born and raised in Nagasaki, as well as having visited other war impacted sites in the world, I'd also really want to speak about how war is seen through different perspectives. I think International Tourism has the ability to contribute to global peace by bringing different perspectives together and fostering mutual understanding and empathy. Thank you for reading until the end of the profile. If you come to Nagasaki, I will cherish our time together will do my best to help you make nice memories here. I’m looking forward to seeing you soon!