Osaka: Sightseeing ①: Osaka & Sightseeing ③: Kuromon — Guide Nori

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

The guests on this tour were a group visiting Japan from North America and staying at a hotel in Kyoto. Prior communication and itinerary planning were handled mainly with one member of the group. They seemed to have a strong interest in Japanese culture and history, and said they definitely wanted to visit Osaka Castle, Dotonbori, and Shinsaibashi. In the end, we finalized a 6-hour course (9:30–15:30) running "Osaka Castle → Dotonbori → Namba Yasaka Shrine → shopping at Shinsaibashi." However, the day before the tour, I received a message saying that since they had already visited many temples and shrines in Tokyo, Kamakura, and Kyoto, they did not need to visit shrines or temples in Osaka. So we made a last-minute change, replacing "Namba Yasaka Shrine" with "Kuromon Market."

According to the weather forecast, the morning would be cloudy and rain would begin in the afternoon, so I was prepared for poor conditions. First, at the meeting point at Shin-Osaka Station, I was able to meet the guests smoothly, roughly on schedule, and at their request we took a taxi to Osaka Castle. Since they had expressed interest in history, I gave a somewhat detailed explanation, carefully introducing each floor as we came down from the observation deck on the 8th floor of Osaka Castle. We moved to Dotonbori by transferring between subway lines, and I explained and showed them the features that make Dotonbori distinctive as a lively downtown area. However, at this point a light rain began to fall, so we skipped the lunch we had planned in Dotonbori and hurried on to the next stop, Kuromon Market. At Kuromon Market, there were many shops offering a glimpse into the everyday food culture of Osaka, and the guests looked around with great interest.

As the rain grew a little heavier, we moved by taxi to the Shinsaibashi shopping arcade, where the focus turned to shopping, especially for a favorite type of handbag one of the guests was hoping to find. They could not easily find what they were looking for, and after visiting several shops the rain became intense. At this point, the guests said they would look at a few more shops but were also feeling tired and wished to return to their hotel in Kyoto earlier than planned, so the guiding ended more than two hours ahead of schedule.

Click here for more details: Osaka Instagram Spots Customized Tour with Licensed Guide

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.