After graduating from the Nancy School of Fine Arts, she spent a year in Athens, Greece, where she discovered her first calling — teaching French to foreigners. This path led her to spend most of her adult life abroad, living in Albania, then Hong Kong, and finally Japan, where she has resided since 2010.

Her deep love for Japan began during a visit to Kyoto in 2001, when a Japanese friend’s kindness left a lasting impression. As she strolled through the city and wandered the serene, empty alleys of Fushimi Inari, she experienced the profound beauty, spirituality, and richness of Japanese culture.

Today, she lives in the peaceful countryside of Nara with her husband and family. When she’s not working as a guide or teaching French, Isabelle enjoys running her online kimono shop, creating pottery in her local workshop, or hiking in Japan’s scenic mountains. Her passion for the outdoors has even inspired her to walk the Nakasendo — the historic feudal road connecting Kyoto and Tokyo — four times!