About
Our Story
About
our story
AKASHI TRAVEL offers photographic tours by Tina Bagué and Toru Morimoto, professional photographers and specialists of Japan, respectively from Japan and Barcelona. Both have been traveling Japan together since 2002. Their photo project, The Japan Photo Project, started in 2010 when they decided to leave everything behind in Spain and spend a whole year of their life (365 days) photographing Japan from the northernmost island of Japan (Hokkaido) to the tropical islands of Okinawa, with a motorhome. As a result of this 42,000km-long road trip, they published their first co-authored book “Japan/日本“ and “Imperfect Utopia.
The fact that Toru Morimoto is Japanese and has lived half of his life in Japan and the other half abroad, and that Tina Bagué is Spanish and has traveled countless times to Japan makes them the perfect couple to guide and lead a small group of people who want to travel out of the beaten track in Japan.
Akashi Travel offers handmade private tours and photo tours directly created by Tina Bagué and Toru Morimoto. All tours are accompanied with Tina Bagué and Toru Morimoto. They live and work in Japan since 2020.
Tina Bagué
Tour Leader & Photographer
Being interested in photography since her youth, Tina Bagué studied photography in Barcelona and in the States. While in USA she documented the New York’s street life in black and white with her Lubitel. In 1998 she started working as a freelance photographer. At the same time, she started teaching black and white darkroom work. Getting inspired by the Japanese culture on her first trip to Japan in 2002, she decided to specialize in travel photography. She has travelled to more than 20 countries, producing travel reportages that have appeared in many Spanish magazines such as El Dominical del Periodico, Mujer 21, Woman, Viajar, Ronda Iberia, Iberia Excelente, El País Semanal, Rutas del Mundo, Altair, Yo Dona, Conde Nast Traveller, Spanair and in Italian magazines such as Panorama and Panorama Travel or Newsweek Japan among others. From 2002 to 2012 she was the chief editor of a Spanish photo magazine, Digitalfoto, published in Barcelona by MC Ediciones.
Toru Morimoto
Logistic Leader & Photographer
He started working as a photographer for The Daily Nation, Kenyan newspaper in Nairobi, while he was a master student of the photojournalism department in the School of Journalism, University of Missouri. In 1998, he documented the US Embassy bombing in Nairobi. After internships in Magnum Photos and The New York Times in New York, he moved to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and started freelancing to cover the West Africa. Later, he moved to Tokyo. Since 2004, when he moved to Barcelona, he has been focusing on various photographic documentary projects all over the world. His works have been published mostly in American and European publications such as Newsweek, the New York Times, Der Spiegel, Time Magazine, Los Angels Times, Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Courrier International, and so on. In 2007 he won an award of excellence from POYi and in 2009 he won the 10th Ueno Hikoma Award in Japan.
Featured Testimonials
Words from our clients
- "We had an absolutely fabulous time during our private photo tour to Hokkaido in winter arranged by Akashi Travel. Tina and Toru were amazing guides with very lovely generous personalities. They catered to our travel needs and worked at a pace we were very comfortable with. We had very intense photography moments in Hokkaido during the day and relaxing evenings at the various ryokan/onsen hotels. They knew exactly where to capture those picture-perfect shots and had the technical expertise to share with us. They designed the tour to cater to our love of photography as well as the pleasure of discovering new places and local culture."
Josephine & Toti Turalba
- "I had always wanted to travel to Japan to take pictures of the Cherry Blossoms. Searching through travel agency websites my results yielded itineraries that felt sterile and lack the photography needs for what I was looking for. Luckily my search led to Akashi Travel, their 'Tohoku Cherry Blossom & Hot Springs' itinerary sounded amazing and it WAS beyond amazing. Tina & Toru had created a perfect itinerary that not only took me on the "off beaten path" of Japan but also provided me the opportunity to capture the photos that I was seeking. They led me to many towns and locations that I would have never found on my own had I travelled alone to Japan, and their expertise in photography helped me sharpen my own skills. Afterwards, they created an itinerary for my solo travel to Kyoto and Tokyo. I am planning to join Akashi Travel again in my next visit to Japan. Highly recommend them."
Eric Daza
- "I traveled with Akashi Travel Tohoku Photo Tour on the Cherry Blossom & Hot Spring tour 2018. And I have to say I feel like I had won the lottery with this trip. The trip exceeded my expectations on every level. It was my first trip to Japan and the itinerary was so interesting with great opportunities to take beautiful pictures and learn about the culture and history too. the hotels where high class and beautifully situated and were a great addition to the already amazing tour. Another great part of the tour was the traditional Japanese food and the chance to get acquitted with the culture through the local cuisine. Every day was a new experience and I enjoyed every minute of it. A big part of the success of the trip were our guides Tina and Toru who were so welcoming professional and I feel I made friends for life!"
Israel Litvak
- We signed up for the photo tour, Tohoku Cherry Blossom & Hot Springs 2018 to photograph the cherry blossom. The trip was very interesting, specially for the way it was designed: visiting various locations, discovering rural and unknown Japan, and enjoying good meals and traditional accomodations! Although I brought only my smartphone to take pictures, I could enjoy a lot and make many wonderful pictures!! We will repeat to travel to Japan with Akashi Travel in the future for sure!
Rosa & Pepon García
- "We were interested in doing a trip to Japan for the first time. Since we are amateur photographers, we looked for a private photo tour to Japan to do the classic route to photograph cherry blossom trees. Then, we found Akashi Travel, Tina and Toru's travel agency! We found them thanks to the photography book of Japan they published a few years ago, 'Japan/日本'. The private tour they organized for us turned out to be an unforgettable experience. Everything was very well organized. They were kind and always accepted our requests. They were always willing to instruct us and gave us tips on how to get the best picture. We did enjoy the trip as much as we could thanks to them".
Mario & Diana Peri
- "It was a great trip! For us an unforgettable one!! We are very happy with the professionalism of TINA and TORU, the warm friendship of the group and the beauty of Japan that we saw and experienced. We got to know Japan, its landscapes and its people from another perspective. CONGRATULATIONS TO AKASHI TRAVEL !!!!!!!!"
Eugenio y Elena Marinano
- "Japan in its purest state! There is no better way to know the country, its customs, culture, and spectacular food than doing it with Akashi Travel!! 100% recommended!"
Marta García
- "The first half of April , I traveled to Japan to visit Kyoto, Shikoku and the islands of Setouchi. One of the main attractions that motivated me to do this trip was to see the Cherry Blossoms and it really was one of the most beautiful and exciting things that I have ever experienced. Visiting the Islands of the Inland Sea of Japan as well as its temples is a pilgrimage that must be done. But when you do it, you must do it with an organization such as AKASHI TRAVEL. They know perfectly Japan and its traditions since one of the tour leaders, Toru, is Japanese. Toru and the other tour leader, Tina, are experts in organizing dream trips. Toru and Tina are very careful and always look for the enjoyment and well-being of the client. I RECOMMEND IT TO YOU VERY MUCH!"
Anna Minguell
- "Having already been to Japan before, we were looking for a different way to get to know better this country of contrasts, out of beaten track. We opted for Kyoto-Tohoku: Autumn Leaves and Hot Springs, expanded to visit of Nikko and Mt. Fuji area. The tailor-made tour offered by Tina and Toru was more than our expectations. They led us to meet charming and even magical places in the fall to see the best beauty of the season. They brought us to the places where we could have hardly visited; a varied route in all concepts with relaxing hot springs and pleasantly surprising gastronomy. It has been a great experience for us who like to capture those moments with our cameras. Tina and Toru offered us their advice and very good companionship through the tour. Highly recommended!"
Isabel, Anna M ,& Anna M