⚔️ About Blue Eyed Samurai Tours

A quiet, small-group retreat on Japan’s Izu Peninsula, guided by a British samurai at heart.

Blue Eyed Samurai Tours was born from a simple idea:

That a journey through Japan can be more than sightseeing – it can be a turning point.

These retreats are designed for people who feel a pull toward Japan, samurai stories, and a slower, more intentional way of living… and who are ready to step out of “normal life” for a couple of days to listen to what their own life is really asking for.

⚔️ “Who I am” (Shin Anjin voice)

Meet Your Guide – Kevin / “Shin Anjin”

My name is Kevin, and for over 23 years I’ve called Japan home.
I’m originally from the UK, but Japan changed the course of my life.

I’ve guided hundreds of guests through Osaka’s backstreets, izakaya, live houses and hidden food alleys. I’ve watched people light up when they taste real local food, share stories with strangers, or stand in front of a tiny shrine they’d never have found on their own.

Somewhere along the way, Japan stopped being a place I lived… and became the place that shaped who I am.

The name “Blue Eyed Samurai” comes from the true story of William Adams – Miura Anjin, the first Englishman to become a samurai in Japan. His path – between two countries, two cultures, two identities – has always resonated with me.

Friends started jokingly calling me “Shin Anjin” – the “new Anjin” – and over time I realised they were pointing at something real:
I’m most alive when I’m guiding people through Japan in a way that is honest, respectful, and quietly transformative.

These retreats are my way of honouring that.

⚔️ Why I created these retreats

Why Blue-Eyed Samurai Exists

For years I’ve watched guests fall in love with Japan – but always in flashes:

A powerful moment at a shrine.
A conversation with a local.
A sunset over the sea.

Then, just as something deeper begins to open, the trip is over and they’re back on a plane.
I wanted to create something different:

  • A slow, spacious 2-day journey where you’re not rushing from spot to spot.

  • Time to actually feel the land – the cliffs, the ocean, the shrines, the hot springs.

  • Space for real conversations about courage, crossroads, purpose and the next chapter of your life.

Blue Eyed Samurai Tours brings together:

  • The story and spirit of Miura Anjin

  • My years of guiding guests in Japan

  • And my own path of rebuilding my life between Osaka and Cambridge

It’s not a package tour. It’s a small, hand-crafted experience for people who resonate with this story and feel called to be part of it.

⚔️ The spirit of Miura Anjin

Walking in the Footsteps of Miura Anjin

In the early 1600s, an English navigator named William Adams washed up on the shores of Japan.
Against all odds, he learned the language, earned the trust of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and eventually became a samurai known as Miura Anjin.

His life was about:

  • Bridging worlds

  • Loyalty and courage

  • And choosing an honest path, even when it meant stepping into the unknown

These retreats are inspired by that same spirit.

We travel the Izu Peninsula – the coast where land, sea and destiny once converged – not as history students, but as people who are also standing at a threshold in our own lives.

⚔️ What you can expect (values & vibe)

What You’ll Find on This Journey

On a Blue Eyed Samurai retreat, you can expect:

  • Small groups
    Intimate groups only – so you’re not lost in a crowd and the experience stays deep and personal.

  • Slow travel, not ticking boxes
    Fewer stops, more presence. Time to breathe, notice details, and actually arrive in each place.

  • Respect for Japan’s spirit
    Shrines, hot springs, ryokan and local spots are treated with care. This is about connection, not consumption.

  • Honest conversation
    We talk about real-life things – transitions, courage, family, purpose – in a relaxed, human way, never forced.

  • Space to just be
    Moments of quiet: the sound of the ocean at Jogasaki, steam rising from the onsen, the stillness of a morning walk.

    If you’re looking for shopping malls and checklists, this probably isn’t for you.
    If you’re looking for a reset – even a subtle one – you might be exactly where you need to be.

⚔️ Soft personal close / invitation

A Note From Me to You

I don’t believe in “fixing” people or promising that two days in Japan will magically solve everything.

What I do believe in is this:

Put yourself in the right place, with the right people, at the right time –
and something shifts.

For some guests it’s a sense of calm they haven’t felt in years.
For others it’s clarity about what needs to change when they go home.

Sometimes it’s simply a deep gratitude that they finally listened to that inner voice that said:

“Go.”

If you feel a tug in your chest reading this, pay attention. That’s how it starts.

You’re warmly invited to explore the Spring Sakura Edition on the Home page, and – if it resonates – to request an invitation and step into the next part of your story.

— Kevin
(Shin Anjin)