ABOUT ROB

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I’m a British author and writer based in Tokyo, writing about travel and Japan across a variety of mediums and genres.

Whether feature length or short, I like to tell stories. In the past that has meant spending time with farmers on the remote Oki Islands to learn about bull sumo for Roads & Kingdoms, looking into Okinawan longevity, traditional washi and the old Tokaido road for National Geographic, and attempting to interview the cat that saved a Japanese railway for the BBC. I also enjoy more in-depth projects. That’s included a long-form piece of historical writing for Narratively/Smithsonian about the island of Dejima during Japan’s isolationist era: the only story I’ll likely ever write that begins with a mass crucifixion and ends with a family torn apart by scandal!

Beyond the above, I’ve authored and co-authored a dozen books, including The Japanese Inn, several Lonely Planet guides, and the 2018 NATJA Gold Awarding-winning Japan Traveler’s Companion. I’ve also updated and contributed to another 30 books on Japan for Lonely Planet, Fodors and others. Occasionally, I work with companies such as National Geographic Creativeworks and CNN Create on branded content and content marketing projects. I’m also half of a virtual agency called Untold Japan Media, which aims to tell stories from less-known corners of Japan with short videos like this look at the city of Hachinohe’s food culture.

Besides the constant search for a good story, my current long-term projects include a collection of haiku and haibun and a book documenting small town Japan. I’ve started writing scripts too. My short Nine to Death (I promise it isn’t a straight-to-DVD Seagal movie) has been nominated at several international film festivals.

Selected List of Publications

  • National Geographic
  • BBC Travel
  • National Geographic Traveler
  • Lonely Planet
  • Afar
  • The Independent
  • Departures
  • CNBC Global Traveler
  • Business Traveller
  • Economist 1843
  • Time
  • Discovery (Cathay Pacific)
  • U.S. Airways Magazine
  • British Airways Business Life
  • Roads & Kingdoms
  • Morning Calm (Korean Air)
  • Escape
  • The Tonic
  • Four Seasons
  • Voyeur (Virgin Australia)
  • Delta Sky Magazine
  • Omega Lifetime
  • The National
  • South China Morning Post

Books (author/co-author)

  • Lonely Planet, Best Bike Rides Japan, 1st ed, 2025 (co-author)
  • Lonely Planet, Kyoto City Guide, 2024 (co-author)
  • Lonely Planet, Kyoto and Osaka Pocket Guide, 2024 (co-author)
  • Lonely Planet, Japan, 2024 (co-author)
  • Tokyo: From Islands to Mountains, IBC Publishing, 2019 (author, with photographer Akihiko Seki)
  • The Japanese Inn, Tuttle, 2017 (author, with photographer Akihiko Seki)
  • Japan Traveler’s Companion, Tuttle, 2017 (author)
  • Travel Pack Kyoto and Nara, Tuttle, 2016 (author)
  • Tokyo: Capital of Cool, Tuttle, 2015 (author)
  • Travel Pack Tokyo, Tuttle, 2014 (author)
  • Travel Pack Japan, Tuttle, 2013 (author)

Books (contributor/updater)

  • Fodor’s Essential Japan, 3rd ed, 2025 (contributor)
  • Fodor’s Tokyo, 8th ed, 2025 (contributor)
  • Fodor’s Essential Japan, 2nd ed, 2022 (contributor)
  • Fodor’s Tokyo, 7th ed, 2022 (contributor)
  • DK Eyewitness Japan, Dorling Kindersley, 2022 (contributor)
  • DK Eyewitness Japan, Dorling Kindersley, 2020 (contributor)
  • Be More Japan, Dorling Kindersley, 2019 (contributor)
  • Fodor’s Essential Japan, 1st ed, 2019 (contributor)
  • Fodor’s Japan, 22nd ed, 2016 (contributor)
  • Fodor’s Tokyo, 6th ed, 2016 (contributor)
  • Fodor’s Japan, 21st ed, 2014 (contributor)
  • Fodor’s Tokyo, 5th ed, 2013 (contributor)
  • Insight City Guide Tokyo, 2013 (full update)
  • Insight Guide to Japan, 2012 (full update)
  • Fodor’s Japan, 20th ed, 2011 (contributor)
  • Rough Guide to Japan, 5th ed, 2011 (contributor)

Poetry and Fiction

  • Asahi Shimbun
  • 101 Words
  • 50-Word Stories
  • Haiku Journal
  • 50 Haikus magazine

Branded content

  • National Geographic Creativeworks
  • CNN Create
  • Jiji Press
  • Reuters Plus

Broadcast work

  • BBC 5 Live
  • BBC Radio Wales
  • Sky TV News
  • SABC

I specialize in the following areas

  • Travel writing (articles and books; with a focus on Japan)
  • Features on topics ranging from sustainability to the arts
  • Tourism- and culture-related branded content projects
  • Haiku, haibun and short-form storytelling (micro fiction)

Associations and Societies

  • North American Travel Journalists Association (2012 to present)
  • British Guild of Travel Writers (former member: 2014 to 2024)

Awards and Nominations (Individual)

  • NATJA 2024 Awards: Honorable Mention, Cultural Travel category (story about haiku, National Geographic)
  • NATJA 2022 Awards: Gold Prize Winner, Cultural Travel category (story about the historic Tokaido road, National Geographic)
  • NATJA 2022 Awards: Bronze Prize Winner, Destination Travel category (story about the Michinoku Coastal Trail, BBC Travel)
  • December 2022 International Cosmopolitan Film Festival, Tokyo: Semi-Finalist for Best Unproduced Short Script
  • November 2021 Stockholm Short Festival: Semi-Finalist for Best Unproduced Short Script
  • October 2021 Phoenix Shorts: Semi-Finalist for Best Unproduced Short Script
  • October 2021 Berlin Shorts Award: Semi-Finalist for Best Unproduced Short Script
  • July 2021 San Francisco Indie Short Festival: Nominee for Best Unproduced Short Script
  • 2020 GTMA Global Travel Writer: Finalist
  • NATJA 2019 Awards: Silver Prize Winner, Cultural Travel category (for Model Citizens, RONDA, Iberia Air)
  • NATJA 2018 Awards: Gold Prize Winner, Travel Guide or Book category (for Japan Travelers Companion)
  • NATJA 2018 Awards: Finalist, Long-form Narrative category (for “Night Train to Izumo“, Japan Visitor)
  • NATJA 2018 Awards: Finalist, Culinary Travel category (for “Last Days of Tsukiji“, DestinAsian)
  • NATJA 2018 Awards: Finalist, Travel Guide or Book category (for The Japanese Inn)
  • NATJA 2017 Awards: Finalist, Travel Trade Article category (for “Lights, Action…Tokyo”, MIX Meetings)
  • NATJA 2017 Awards: Finalist, Travel Guide or Book category (for Travel Pack Kyoto & Nara)
  • NATJA 2016 Awards: Finalist, Destination Travel Feature International (for “Tokyo by Design”, Omega Lifestyle)
  • NATJA 2015 Awards: Silver Prize Winner, Travel Guide or Book category (for Tokyo: Capital of Cool)
  • NATJA 2013 Awards: Gold Prize Winner, Travel Guide or Book category (for Travel Pack Japan)
  • Tripbase’s 100 Favorite Travel Writers

Awards and Nominations (Projects)

  • NATJA 2017 Awards: Silver Prize Winner, Travel Series (print) category (for “Mini Guides” series, National Geographic Traveler)
  • IAA Brilliance Awards 2017: Nominated, Best Content (with Dentsu, Economist & TCVB for Tokyo: Modern, Traditional
  • IAA Brilliance Awards 2017: Nominated, Best Mobile (with Dentsu, Economist & TCVB for Tokyo: Modern, Traditional)