Osaka Customized Private Tour in 1 Day — Guide Nori

**Title:** What's a Private Cruise Port Day Tour of Osaka Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Osaka Castle, Dotonbori, and Kuromon Market

The guests were a group visiting from North America, traveling by cruise ship and enjoying sightseeing at each port of call. Although each had their own personality, they were a cheerful and friendly group. Their main requests were: "We want to make the most of our limited time on shore to enjoy sightseeing. We're happy to use taxis if needed. For meals, we'd like to enjoy authentic Japanese cuisine rather than chain restaurants." Based on these wishes, the itinerary was set as (1) Osaka Castle, (2) Dotonbori and lunch, and (3) Kuromon Market. For lunch, I reserved a traditional Japanese restaurant in Dotonbori.

However, when we met at Tempozan on the day, the guests said, "The cruise ship's schedule has changed, and we need to be back by 2:00 PM," so a partial change to the itinerary was required. First, we traveled to Osaka Castle by two taxis and got off near Otemon Gate, the closest point to the castle keep. We also shortened the visit to the keep, wrapping it up in about 45 minutes. Since Dotonbori was only about 15 minutes away with one transfer, we used the subway. In Dotonbori, after explaining about the Minami district of Osaka, we strolled around while enjoying takoyaki. At times, the guests even had fun trying a shooting gallery game. Since the reserved restaurant opened at noon, we moved up the visit to Kuromon Market, which had originally been planned for after lunch (about a 15-minute walk from Dotonbori). As it was still before noon and not too crowded, we were able to enjoy a leisurely stroll and some shopping.

Finally came the highlight everyone had been looking forward to: an authentic Japanese lunch at the traditional restaurant. It was a small, intimate place with about 12 seats on each of its two floors, but it had a calm atmosphere, and above all, the appeal was that from the counter seats you could see everything the chef was preparing. The guests repeatedly exclaimed, "Wonderful!" and "Amazing!" and asked so many questions that I was kept busy answering them. The guests were truly satisfied with tasting authentic Japanese cuisine. In guiding, the question is always "How can I make the guests satisfied within limited time?" This time, even amid a sudden reduction in available time, I believe we achieved maximum satisfaction with the cooperation of the guests. It was a very pleasant tour to guide.

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Tour Report by Nori

Hi, everyone! I’m Norifumi Kamon, a government registered guide interpreter. Please call me “Nori”, or “Kamon-san”.
Let me introdece myself. I was born on April 17th in 1952 in Miyazaki prefecture in Kyushu island. I used to be an English teacher of Osaka Prefectural high school. When I retired from a teacher ten years ago, I decided to get a professional guide license. I wanted to play a role of the bridge between Japanese people and the people from all over the world as a second life of mine. After two years efforts, I finally got the guide license. Since then, I have guided several handreds of foreign people mainly in Kyoto and Nara for about five years except Corona Pandemic period. Almost all the tourists were deeply impressed by the beauty of nature, traditoin, culture, and art of Japan. I can surely help you enjoy and be satisfied with the sightseeing in Japan. And I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.