TOUR MANAGER/TOUR GUIDE

A native Japanese Haruyo comfortably straddles both East and West having lived in Australia for more than forty years. On the tour, as well as managing the day-to-day logistics, Haruyo will provide insights about the culture that only one with an intimate knowledge can.

Haruyo was born in a coastal town on the island of Shikoku. Later her family moved to the island of Kyushu where she completed her high school studies. Her undergraduate degree in nutrition was completed at Doshisha Women’s University in Kyoto where she lived for many years. It is there that she first met Gary. After their marriage Haruyo moved to Australia where she completed a second degree in science at the University of Melbourne. She worked as a research scientist for eighteen years at Melbourne University and later at the Australian National University, Canberra.

Haruyo has a keen interest in Japanese history and when in Japan takes the opportunity to continue her studies in Ikebana and Japanese ink painting.

TOUR LEADER/TOUR GUIDE

Gary has both a Masters and PhD in Japanese art history and continues to publish, lecture and curate major exhibitions of Japanese art. As your tour leader Gary will provide talks and tours that will ensure a fuller understanding and appreciation of this fascinating country.

Gary’s first visit to Japan in 1975 awakened a passion for its culture and traditions. He subsequently lived there studying traditional Japanese woodblock printmaking and calligraphy before returning to Australia to further his academic studies. He has thirty-two years’ experience working in Australia’s leading cultural and educational institutions. As a senior curator of Japanese art at the National Gallery of Australia and later at the National Library of Australia he curated major exhibitions of Japanese art. He has published widely on Japanese art history and taught the same at The University of Melbourne, The University of Queensland and Kwansei Gakuin University in Japan. He is a Research Fellow at both the Kyoto-based International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken) and the National Library of Australia.

Further, over a period of more than forty years Gary has pursued his interest in the philosophical traditions of Asia with a particular focus on Zen Buddhism and Yoga. He has taught both subjects at university and is certified to teach Iyengar Yoga having studied on numerous occasions in India with B.K.S.Iyengar. He has taught Iyengar Yoga at schools he established in both Australia and Japan.

TOUR GUIDE

Angie was born in Kamakura, Japan. Growing up in a Japanese/English bilingual household, she is well-versed in both cultures.

Her first University Degree was a Bachelor of Applied Science (Ecotourism). Angie spent a number of years working in the Eco-Tourism sector on the Great Barrier Reef as a Japanese Interpreter and as a consultant in Byron Bay, NSW.

She is currently undertaking a second degree in Architecture and is passionate about the architectural and design traditions of Japan. Angie explores this through her studies and involvement in the Japanese language, and food as well as her participation as a drummer in a traditional Japanese drumming troupe known as Byron Taiko, based in Byron Bay, Australia.