Russ Hewick
Director / Tour Leader

Russ has been living in Japan since 2002.

After working as an architectural technician in Aberdeen, UK, he set out on a global quest for adventure in 1994.  Starting in North America, he found himself travelling all over South America.  In time Hong Kong found use of his skills in the construction business, and Asia slowly tightened its grip.  

Soon after moving to Japan his parents came to visit him.  Russ did the research, drew up an itinerary, booked the hotels and arranged the transport.  Except for accidentally ordering a bowl of raw beef for his dad on one occasion, it ran more smoothly than he had ever expected.  Bar a few modifications with hotels and timings the Heartland Tour is pretty much that tour.  It had been his parents’ first visit to Japan, and showing them as many of the classical must-see sights, while having fun experiencing Japan, was paramount.

Within a few months he guided friends of the family on a similar tour.  The following year news had spread and friends of friends of the family came over.  Modifying the itinerary to suit he guided them around the country.  On one of those tours, while leading a trek up a local mountain, he was tailing a dragonfly with a camera and the idea for Dragonfly Tours Japan was spawned!  So with the help of a local guide and friend, Akiko, Dragonfly was born.

Ai Hewick
Marketing and Research

Ai spent 3 years in New Zealand learning Kiwi before returning to her native city of Osaka and a career in the hotel industry. Her inside knowledge of the somewhat peculiar workings of the trade has been golden within the Dragonfly team. She is an invaluable help with research and translation, loves travelling and often helps out with tours.

Ai's an avid taiko drummer in the summer between visits to the beach and she is a rather graceful snowboarder in the winter too.

Ai and Russ got married in 2008 and are now living by the mountains somewhere between Osaka and Kyoto beside a large paddy field full of frogs.

Akiko Haruyama
Head Guide / The Shepherd

Akiko has been guiding in Japan since 1999, initially for one of the big Japanese tour companies catering for Japanese tourists.  But for her it just didn’t cut it; she was never keen on the large groups, intense itineraries and what she called “sheep pushing.�?

When the unofficial tours were a growing success, Russ mentioned it to Akiko over beers one night back in 2005.  She jumped at it and has been a driving force in its development ever since.  Now she’s in her element and loves sharing the deeper and darker sides to Japan.

Elegant as she is sharp, with her magnetic aura, dry humour and taste for all things with chocolate, she’s a treasure.  Her favourite place is the trendy city of Kobe sandwiched between the mountains and the sea and her favourite thing is going to hot springs where she can catch up with gossip.

Yayoi Yamashita
Guide / Philosopher

Yayoi Yamashita has been guiding in
Japan for three years and is an invaluable help not only in guiding but also with research.
She has ways of making people talk and can, and does get away with anything
she likes,  those big doe eyes make it so,
but it’s her down to earth and fun-loving personality that’s impossible to resist.
She’s a natural problem solver, knowledgeable, and a dream to be around. Her favourite place is the mountainous
region of Nagano where she pursues her passion for mountain biking. 

Mary Miyamoto

Guide / Ronin

At the age of 40 Mary sold her house in Bristol and travelled to Japan in search of her childhood hero Lin Chung, the long-haired, sword-wielding, horseback-riding hero from the Japanese television series ‘The Water Margin’ (Sister series to ‘Monkey’).
She finally tracked him down to Tokyo’s Diet building where, now doubly her hero, he had become a member of parliament, having started the first Green Party in Japan. Persistence led her to meet him and, four years later, marry a man who looks uncannily like him.
Mary has lived in Osaka since 2004 and in her spare time, when she is not correcting the nation’s grammar, she studies the Miyamoto Musashi style of Iaido and has become a specialist on ninja in the Kansai area.
If you want a guide who will lead you away from the well-trod tourist routes to a lesser known Japan, then Mary will do it.

Zen Hewick

akaThe Destroyer

Zen is the newest member of the team; not only is he an adventurer and explorer, he can destroy all things known to man. If you have something that you would like found and destroyed, let us know