Uncharted Nakasendo is a team of multilingual guides living in the Kiso valley. Our focus is on providing sustainable tours that introduce our guests to the hidden gems of the Nakasendo—especially the Kiso-ji area in southern Nagano prefecture.
中山道木曽路沿線を拠点に、インバウンド標準対応地域ガイド（半日〜複数日程）、翻訳・通訳、英語記事作成、多言語化支援等の各種インバウンドサービスを承っております。
Nick Keirle
Guide/Translator
Writer/Consultant
@kiso_valley_hermit
Hi, I’m Nick! I’m originally from the UK, and have been living in Japan since 2014. I’m a Japanese-English translator, and in the past few years I’ve been working as a tour guide and tourism consultant.
In 2019, after living all our lives in big cities, my wife Eiko and I decided to pack it in and try our hand at life in the country. It’s been a huge change, but I haven’t regretted it once (all right, I may have experienced some regret that first winter night I saw the thermometer hit -15 °C).
Shortly after that Covid hit, and the number of tourists visiting the area dropped to almost nothing, threatening the livelihood of many in the area. Then my wife and I had a baby, and we started to think more and more about how to help build a more sustainable future—both for our family and for the Kiso area as a whole.
So I decided that I wanted to spend less time translating quarterly earnings reports for big corporations, and more time introducing the world to Kiso’s fascinating nature, history, culture, food, and (most importantly) passionate, hard-working people. Taking customers along the trails and introducing them to the skilled craftspeople along the Kiso valley has been absolutely wonderful so far, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds.
If you’d like to contact me concerning translation or tourism consulting work, you can find more information here
Eiko Keirle-Hatano
Manager/Coms Officer
French Correspondent
Hi there, I’m Eiko. I’m from Nagoya in Aichi prefecture, and I’ve been living in the Kiso area with Nick since 2019 (and with our son since 2022!). The Kiso valley is a really special place, and we’ve been so lucky to meet so many kind and interesting people here.
I’ve always loved travelling and meeting new people. In 2013 I moved to Paris for a year to work at a small fashion brand. I still do sewing and knitting work for them, and make clothes and accessories for my family and friends whenever I have time. I also spent several years before we moved here working in customer-facing management positions, so I’ll do my best to use those skill to make sure we offer reliable, one-of-a-kind tours for all our customers.
We’ve learned a lot about the Nakasendo and the Kiso area in the past few years, and we’re excited to share as much as we can with you!
Uncharted Nakasendo 