Contributors

I am a Hiroshima-based food influencer with over 500,000 followers, operating the largest gourmet account in the region. Through my platform, I introduce Hiroshima’s vibrant culinary scene — from the city’s most popular dining destinations to hidden local gems. My mission is to share the rich flavors and unique food culture of Hiroshima with both local residents and visitors from around the world.

I am Yudai Aomatsu, the manager of the Hiroshima Gourmet project. Born in 1998, I started this account in 2022. Currently I have accounts on multiple SNS platforms including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. I was born and raised in Hiroshima and have been surrounded by delicious food all throughout my childhood. I realized that there are many famous restaurants and fascinating foods that even the locals do not know about. It is my mission to showcase to others a “Truly Delicious Hiroshima” from a genuine and friendly perspective. I hope you will take this opportunity to discover what the real taste of Hiroshima is all about. Enjoy your trip to Hiroshima.

Coming from a mid-sized city in the United States, I lived once near Tokyo and the sheer number of people made me crazy. Then I came to Hiroshima. City enough to have everything, but small town enough that I constantly bump into people I know. I’ve been in love with this place every since. And I have lived here for over 22 years now.
I love okonomiyaki — Hiroshima style (the other kind doesn’t even count in my book). I love Hiroshima castle sitting there in the middle of the city. I love the rivers; six of them if you’d care to count, and nearly every one of them lined with trees and benches. I’ve spent many hours lunching or reading books on those benches. Hiroshima is called the Peace City because of it’s history related to the war. But I think for me, and for most residents, there’s just a peaceful, calm that comes from living here.
I’m a father and a teacher. I’ve raised four children in this city. It’s a wonderful place to be.

Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai’i. My mother was born and raised in Hiroshima so I have had a connection with Hiroshima since I was a child. I moved to Hiroshima 6 years ago and participated on the JET program as an ALT at a senior high school for 5 years. After my contract expired, I attended a culinary school in Hiroshima for 1 year and I plan to open my own restaurant in Hiroshima in the near future.

I currently run a volunteering organization called FROGs that travels around Japan to bring English speaking opportunities to students in local high schools (frogstokyo.jp). Our main objective is to bring people from all over the world together and work towards achieving a common goal, but we also enjoy introducing people to “hidden gems” around Japan; beautiful and amazing places in this country that are worth visiting, but not yet well known. As a result, I’ve seen a lot of places in Japan and I’ve taken lots of people around! However, Hiroshima is still one of my favorite prefectures and a lot of people seem to agree; I don’t think I know a place with food this good, a city this beautiful, people this kind, and nature this flourishing. And on an even better note, my grandmother has lived in Hiroshima for her whole life, so I am aware of all the best places here – I am excited and grateful to have this opportunity to share these places with you!

I came to Japan as a French exchange student, to study one year in Tokyo, but due to the current situation, I started living in Hiroshima from February 2020. I obviously knew the city because of what happened during the war, but I discovered that it is so much more than it seems! I’ve explored quite a bit of the city and its neighbourings, and I hope I can share my discoveries, and my love for Hiroshima with you!

I’m Netanya, a wife and mother of two who’s been living in Hiroshima since 2016. Out of all the places I’ve called home, from the United States to South Korea and Costa Rica, Hiroshima is my favorite. I love this city with its rivers, history of rising from the ashes, and focus on peace. I feel blessed to live here and am happy to have the opportunity to share pieces of this beautiful city with you all.

My name’s Julien Lamberto. I’ve been working in Hiroshima on various projects for the past two and a half years. I have recently started venturing into travel blogging. Please feel free to follow me on instagram!  https://www.instagram.com/without_fear

I’m a Canadian writer, English teacher, photographer, and content creator who has been living in Hiroshima since 2019. I came to Japan in 2017, and after two years of living in Osaka I moved to Hiroshima and am loving it! I spend much of my free (and working) time exploring new places and experiencing new things in the city and surrounding area.

Even though Hiroshima is smaller than some other cities in Japan, there is so much to do here and I spend much of my time documenting the great things I’ve discovered in Hiroshima on YouTube and Instagram. Living in western Hiroshima City makes it easy to go to such amazing places as Miyajima, so I’ve really grown to love living in this city.

My wife is from a small island town in Hiroshima Prefecture, which means I’ve also had many opportunities to discover smaller, yet truly fantastic places outside of Hiroshima City that are well worth visiting but can be easily missed because they’re more “local.” I love to be able to share some of these places with others so that they can be discovered and enjoyed by more than just the locals.

I hope my experiences will inspire you to explore and discover more of what Hiroshima has to offer.

“Musician from UK, moved to Hiroshima 2011, opened Hiroshima Guesthouse 2014.
My moments of joy come from the local nature, like the rivers and mountains in Hiroshima.”

Sage Panter is a freelance writer, the author of the webcomic Faith in the West, and an English teacher. She was born in Socorro, New Mexico, U.S.A but she has lived in several other states and countries throughout her life, thus instilling a love for travel. Hiroshima has been home for over two years now but Sage has come and gone from this city for over 10 years, it is a place very near and dear to her heart. She has a Master’s in post conflict societies from Josef Korbel School of International Studies which was the subject that first sparked her interest in Hiroshima. In her spare time, she enjoys movies, drawing, and eating.

Sage’s Hiroshima Recommendations: Peace Memorial Park/Museum and Miyajima’s Itsukushima Shrine are two of the most popular tourist destinations in Hiroshima for both Japanese and foreign travelers alike. As a result, they can be very crowded, but they are a must see, at least once in your life. The Mitaki Shrine/hike and Kagura, a traditional performance art unique to this part of Japan, are highly recommended as lesser known destinations and activities.

I am from the USA originally. I studied psychology in college; served as a Russian linguist in the U.S. Navy; worked as a college administrator/counselor; ran a computer learning center; worked as an editor; and also worked as an international relations specialist for the U.S. Government. I have lived in Japan for over 21 years, and traveled the country from top to bottom. I have been to Hiroshima many times and love the people, food, and atmosphere. I recently moved to the area and am looking forward to exploring Hiroshima, all the interesting and exciting places it has to offer.

Hi! My name’s Regina Yamada, and I’m a Psychology graduate from the University of the Philippines. After graduating, I moved to Hiroshima to study Nihongo, so I’m a student on the weekdays and an adventurer and photographer on weekends!

As an active individual, I love exploring the outdoors. I always try out different outdoor sports such as surfing and snowboarding, but among everything I’ve done, I love hiking and diving the most. I also love volunteering for different causes. My philosophy is that if I’m spending money, I’m spending it on experience.

These experiences made me a better individual today, and as I transition to a new life in Japan, I am extremely grateful to be learning from different people from different cultures every day.

Join me in my journey as I get to know Hiroshima! You can visit my Instagram account (@regendary_). You can also check out my travel photos around Japan and the Philippines in my Shutterstock profile at https://www.shutterstock.com/g/regendary

Charlie first came to Japan in 1996, and has been living here, on and off, ever since. He moved to Hiroshima in August 2020, in order to enrol his son in the fantastic Hiroshima International School. After the last few years spent deep in the Yamaguchi countryside, he is happy to be around people again. As an ardent pacifist, he feels a deep sense of connection with Hiroshima and her ongoing project of spreading peace worldwide.