Hiroshima & Miyajima: History, Peace & Island Beauty

We can’t rank Alex highly enough. He was an excellent guide in every way. His warm and friendly attitude made the day feel like meeting with an old friend instead of following yet another guide through local highlights. We booked him because of reviews describing his flexibility with scheduling and transportation, attention to tides for an optimal Miyajima visit, and his sensitivity to mobility variations within a group, all of which he fulfilled most thoughtfully. His life experience in Hiroshima adds particular local insight to everything he shows his guests. He scrambled to fulfill our specific lunch requests, checking many options before settling on a place he enjoys with his family. His experience as a parent and teacher shows as he is especially good with children, greeting school groups who loved joking with him. He would be an exceptional guide for families with young people, but was kindly accommodating for the not so young as well. We were so pleased with his tour we recommended him to friends who were coming through the following week, but he was already booked on all of their available days. Take one of his tours if you can.

Jim M.United States

Alex was simply amazing! He is knowledgeable, kind, took the time to really go at our pace. 100% highly recommend!

We had a fun filled day with Alex exploring Miyajima and a delicious lunch at the ferry terminal before heading back to Hiroshima to visit the Peace Park and museum. Highly recommend Alex and this tour!

We had the pleasure of sharing a day with Alex in Miyajima and Hiroshima, and he was exceptional from first contact to even after our tour ended, when he still kindly helped us plan a day on our own for the following day. With very little notice, Alex created a wheelchair accessible tour, ensuring every destination was inclusive and even arranging for an accessible private car and a motorized chair rental at our request. A lot of time, effort and detail went into the plan and Alex did it with care and a positive attitude. The tour itself was exceptional. He was well organized, adjusting plans based on weather when needed, and customized the tour for our interests and even while we were out, enabling us to spend more time doing the things we most enjoyed. Alex is extremely knowledgeable and having lived in Hiroshima for decades, the tour felt personal and heartfelt beyond being informative. Through Alex’s eyes, we felt the weight of Hiroshima's history but also the strength and beauty of her resilience. We were especially impressed that Alex managed to accommodate the member of our group with limited mobility without making her feel called out, while also ensuring those with full mobility didn’t miss anything. He made the day seamless and stress-free, and everyone felt comfortable and cared for, despite our different abilities, interests, and needs. Alex is warm, funny, kind, organized, knowledgeable, and extremely responsive. He took fantastic photos which he immediately sent to us at the end of the day, and included a series of links to places we’d expressed interest in visiting on our own. I’ve taken many Tours by Locals with a variety of guides, and I can honestly say Alex is the best of the best. I only regret he was booked on our second day in the area because we would have loved more time with him. When we coincidentally bumped into him while we were out on our own, he was so warm and friendly it was like seeing an old friend. I’ve utilized many guides who are knowledgeable and others who are personable, but to get both in one guide who is also an excellent communicator and planner is really special. Thank you, Alex for an incredible day. Sharing such a meaningful and touching place with you is something we’ll always cherish.

We had a wondeful day with Alex. Ultimately, we decided to concentrate on Miyajama where we spent the entire day. Alex was very attentive as one of the people in our group had somewhat of a mobility issue. Alex was quick to adapt and he gave us plenty of options that made our day very enjoyable. Alex was extremely knowledgeable and was happy to share the details of what it is like for an ex pat to be living in Japan. I would highly recommend Alex for anyone who is considering a day trip in and around Hiroshima. What a pleasure he was. John

Alexander put together a nice tour of Hiroshima. He was very articulate, knowledgeable and funny. He gave us a great overview of Hiroshima and even though some aspects of the history are very sad, we were glad we got to see as much of the city as we could in the one day we had off of the cruise ship. The museum was a very sobering experience but a must see if you are there. We definitely recommend Alexander and would book with him again if we return.