Osaka Local Food & Culture Tour in 1 Day — Guide Nori

Title: What's a Private Osaka Food Tour Like in Dotonbori, Kuromon Market, and Shinsekai? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were visitors from North America touring Japan. Prior communication and coordination were handled through one of the guests. A reply came promptly the day after my first message, but the hotel near Shin-Osaka Station listed as the "meeting point" was not their actual accommodation; it appeared to have been chosen simply as a temporary meeting place. The guests were staying in Kyoto, and on the day of the tour they planned to visit Saihoji Temple in the morning, then come to Osaka for a "one-day Osaka sightseeing and food tour" featuring local food such as okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and kushikatsu. After discussing with the guests, we settled on three destinations: Dotonbori, Kuromon Market, and Shinsekai. Because of this, the meeting point was set as the Central Gate of the Shinkansen at Shin-Osaka Station. In my past experience, there have occasionally been cases where a hotel was designated as the meeting point even though the guests were not actually staying there. This time, because the guests explained the situation in detail in their reply, there was no problem at all, but without such an explanation, one can mistakenly assume that the guests are staying at the hotel. Recently, even when I inquire in advance whether guests are staying at a particular hotel, the hotel will not tell me, citing "privacy protection," so it has become increasingly difficult for a guide to confirm. I feel it would be better for guests to simply write honestly, "I will select it later."

On the day of the tour, fortunately the guests approached me before the scheduled meeting time, so we were able to meet right away and get off to a smooth start. All of the destinations were in the "Minami" area, which is well served by transportation, so the tour proceeded smoothly. Throughout the tour, the guests were able to fully enjoy the distinctive downtown atmosphere of Osaka, the flashy signboards, the taste of the flour-based dishes, the temperament of Osaka locals, and the charm of Osaka as a commercial city. As the sun was setting earlier and the guests were also getting a bit tired, at the guests' request the end time was moved up by about one hour, concluding at 6:00 p.m.

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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.