
Hi there! I’m Aya Satoh, a freelance Japanese-English bilingual writer, translator and editor based in Tokyo, Japan.
I’ve been running a blog titled “Life in Tokyo,” a Japanese-English bilingual blog where I write about my visits to various parts of not only Tokyo but all over Japan.
Recently though, I’ve been feeling I should set up an English only blog… and decided to use Medium for that purpose. Here, I’ll be writing mostly about my adventures/journeys throughout Japan — in particular about the things I do and the food I eat while traveling, as well as the history and culture associated with them.
In addition to traveling on my own or with family, I also regularly attend press tours organized by prefectural governments and tourism organizations — which means I often am able to visit places and see things that are usually only accessible/available to professional reporters, journalists and bloggers. I’ll be writing about all those special experiences in detail, so you’ll get to see/enjoy what Japan really is like! I’d be very happy if you read my articles, think Japan is a fabulous place and decide to pay a visit :)

Here’s a little bit more about myself:
- Spent approximately half of my life living abroad — 11 years in the U.S. and 5 years in Thailand — so I find myself having the eyes of a foreigner while wandering around Japan
- Graduated from UCLA with a B.S. degree in Environmental Science — meaning I love exploring nature!
- Ex-editor and reporter for “Mainichi Weekly,” a weekly magazine for English learners issued by the Mainichi Newspapers — one of Japan’s five national papers
- Visited and lived in 21 countries/regions — the U.S., Thailand, Puerto Rico, Canada, the Bahamas, England, France, Holland, Finland, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Monaco, Vatican City, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines
- Love taking photos — own and use two cameras right now, Canon 8000D and Sony Cyber-shot RX100
I’ll also be writing about…
- Theater (I’m in love with Takarazuka Revue!)
- Social issues (especially about the issues/obstacles faced by working women in Japan)
- Skincare products and cosmetics (I have an extremely sensitive skin and have had a history of skin problems, such as atopic dermatitis)
…and so on.

As for food…
I eat pretty much anything (apart from “hormone,” or Japanese cuisine featuring internal organs, and edible insects). I especially love cafes that serve great cakes, tarts, scones and other baked goods, as well as shops that feature authentic American-style hamburgers (not surprising considering the fact that I lived in the U.S. for 10+ years…). I also like pampering myself with lunch buffet and afternoon tea from time to time at various hotels around Tokyo. But, one thing I can surely eat any time — even when I’m ill — is “unagi,” or grilled eel.
As for translating…
I can do both Japanese to English and vice versa at pretty much the same speed and take on translation projects in various fields, including construction industry, IT, etc. But, my utmost interest lies in doing travel translation, and in particular, helping out projects that aim to promote Japan’s inbound tourism.

One of my recent projects was creating English contents for an iPhone app and a map of the Shiretoko Peninsula, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a popular destination for tourists in northeastern Hokkaido Prefecture. I was asked to translate the original Japanese contents into English, but I did a fair amount of research myself and supplemented the existing information so that people who are not familiar with Hokkaido’s history and culture can read, understand and appreciate its uniqueness. Both the app and map can be downloaded for free from the links below, so please check them out if you’re interested in visiting the Shiretoko area:
If you’d like me to do some freelance work — be it translation (Japanese to English and vice versa), writing, editing, proofreading, transcription, dubbing/voice recording and so on — please contact me. Thank you for reading, and hope you enjoy my articles!
