Carmen Roberts, 45, is a travel writer and TV presenter. As one of the hosts of the BBC¡¯s ¡°,¡± she has won awards for her work and filmed in more than 70 countries. She currently lives in Tokyo, a base that helps her explore all that Japan has to offer.

1. What is your earliest travel memory? It¡¯s probably traveling on a plane from Singapore to Australia. My Dad was a smoker and they still had smoking on planes, it was horrendous!

2. What led you to become a travel journalist? I¡¯ve always loved traveling, and I took my first flight by myself when I was 9 years old, from Australia to visit my grandmother in New Zealand. I think I was hooked from then on. But to be honest, I got my job by being in the right place at the right time.