Tokyo in One Day: Shibuya Station & Shinjuku Station — Guide Masa

Can You Do a Private One-Day Tour of Tokyo in the Rain? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a young group visiting Japan for the first time from North America. All of them were staying at a bed & breakfast near a hotel in Shibuya.

They arrived at Narita two days earlier via a connecting flight, then took the Narita Express to Shibuya. On this occasion, they were staying in Japan for two weeks. They planned to spend a few days in Tokyo, then travel to Magome for a walk, Kyoto, and Osaka before returning home. The day before, they had visited Ginza and Meiji Shrine and enjoyed strolling around Shibuya.

The tour took place in the rain all day long. Nevertheless, as it was the last day of a holiday period, everywhere was extremely crowded.

We first headed to the Imperial Palace.

We strolled through the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace. There were comments such as "It's a shame we can't see the cherry blossoms" and questions like "When do the cherry blossoms reach full bloom?"

I explained topics such as "the history from the Edo period to the Meiji era," "the Meiji Restoration," "why Edo Castle became the Imperial Palace," and "why the capital moved from Kyoto to Tokyo."

There were questions such as "Does the Emperor of Japan hold political power?", "How were the stone walls built?", and "Are there no more samurai?"

We moved to Ueno and visited the Tokyo National Museum. Perhaps because of the rainy weather, it was packed with visitors.

Everyone was interested in Japanese history, and they especially loved the "swords" and "ceramics," taking photo after photo.

There were questions such as "When did the samurai first appear?" and "What was the balance of power between the Emperor and the samurai?" They also mentioned they planned to experience a tea ceremony in Kyoto.

We moved to Rikugien Garden. Perhaps because of the rain, there were hardly any other visitors to be seen.

They took photos here and there, saying "The Japanese garden is wonderful."

We then moved to Shinjuku.

We strolled through Shinjuku Golden Gai, Kabukicho, Omoide Yokocho, and other areas.

They commented, "The atmosphere of the town feels different from Shibuya," and "I'd like to come back here again at night."

There were also comments and questions such as "There's no litter on the streets and it's so clean. Does no one throw away trash?", "I don't see any homeless people," "It's so quiet inside the subway," and "Why are there no trash cans on the streets?"

I saw them off at Shibuya, where we parted ways.

Click here for more details: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide

Tour Report by Masa

Guiding career:
Guide work started in July 2022. A guide focused on FIT compliance.
FY2022 results: 17 cases, FY2023 results: 97
Destinations: Various places in Tokyo, Hakone, Kamakura and Nikko
As a recent group travel record, in October 2023, we have a track record of guiding a group of 33 people from Singapore to Narita Airport transfer plus sightseeing in Tokyo.
Self-introduction:
In the past, I was stationed in Canada, the United States, and Mexico as an expatriate of a Japanese bank for over 11 years.
Since I have been mainly involved in the financing business in the United States for a long time, I think I am able to provide interpretation and translation services related to business and finance.
I am a certified CPA in the United States.
In addition, for three years from April 2016, I will be engaged in Japanese-English translation work (part-time), and I can also handle translation work.
Although I don’t have a qualification in Spanish, but I think I can handle day to day conversation in Spanish without any problems.
My hobby is trekking and from time to time, take a walk around mountains near Tokyo like Mt. Takao, Tanzawa, etc. I think it is possible to provide tourist information here as well.
Since April 2015, I have been working as a Tokyo Metropolitan Tourism Volunteer and Tokyo Metropolitan Disaster Prevention Volunteer.
One more, I have a separate house near Asuka Village, Nara prefecture, and I stay there for a total of about 30 days every year and have been enjoying sightseeing personally in the vicinity. Therefore, I think in the Kansai region, especially in Nara, Asuka, Yoshino, Koyasan, Kumano Kodo, etc., where I think I will be able to tour guide with confidence.