Hey! My name’s Ana Costa and I’m the lead author and owner of Japanhorizon.com.
My goal is to help people discover Japan’s culture and uniqueness, and help them plan their ideal trip to Japan without spending weeks on research like I did.
If you want to follow me on social media, please use the icons on the left. Notice that these are my personal profiles where I share my normal life with my family and friends. You won’t find anything useful, it’s just me sharing random things
My Passion
My passion for Japan started when I was a little girl, but I didn’t realize it was my passion until later. At the age of 7, I started drawing anime for fun. I was in love with all the Japanese anime I saw every day. This passion drove my parents crazy because I used to pause our old VHS recorder during anime to capture the image and make a drawing at the same time 🙂
I continued drawing for a decade or so, but the rush of my active life made me stop this hobby for a while.
Reading books about Japan, though, has always been a pleasure. I read everything I can about Japan, from books to specialized blogs, and I also watch every documentary I come across about Japan. I follow dozens of YouTube channels about Japan, and I spend my TV time watching NHK World.
Now, my passion has evolved, and I’m also trying to learn Japanese by myself. I’m using some mobile apps and cool websites to make it easier, but it is still a huge challenge.
I started Japanhorizon.com in 2019 when a good friend told me to share my passion to help others. He was right. A passion deserves to be shared and if you can help others along the way, it is even better!
My Story
I was born in Portugal and spent all my youth there, and in Spain too. In 2006, I decided to travel and see other countries. I’ve been to several countries in Europe like Ireland, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Hungary, and Croatia, but Japan was the only country I visited outside Europe for now. After seeing lots of countries, I ended up in France, where I’m living at the present moment, but it’s not impossible that I move to another country in the future 🙂
I have my small family with me: a loving husband and a wonderful 6-year-old boy, the best thing that ever happened to me. Together, we decided that exploring and seeing other countries and cultures was the best form of teaching our boy to be kind and respectful of others.
When I finally could show Japan to my little boy, it was one of the best moments of my life. And now, I have even more reasons to return to Japan, because my kid loved the experience! Who doesn’t anyway?
I used to spend a lot of my time at work (believe it or not, I was a System and Network Administrator), but recently I decided to dedicate my full time to this website and to the people who need help planning their trip to Japan.
My next big project is to organize a one-month trip to Japan! Two-week trips are definitely not enough for me! 😉
