Osaka in Half a Day: Sightseeing ①: Osaka Castle — Guide Nori

What Is a 4-Hour Private Osaka Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Osaka Castle, Dotonbori, and Kuromon Market

The guests this time were visitors from Europe who were sightseeing in Japan. They ran a small travel agency and had come to Japan to prepare a "Japan travel" plan they would begin offering the following year. Prior communication and itinerary coordination were done in advance with one of the guests. Their requests were: (1) help obtaining tickets using a Japan Rail voucher, along with other assistance, and (2) a tour of Osaka's representative sightseeing spots such as Dotonbori. After some discussion, the itinerary (a 4-hour course) was set as "Osaka Station (ticket arrangement) ⇒ Osaka Castle ⇒ Dotonbori" (with Kuromon Market added on the spot).

On the day, we were able to meet about 15 minutes earlier than the scheduled meeting time (9:00), and after confirming the plan we set off right away. At the start it was rather cloudy and a little chilly, but the sun came out from time to time, making for fairly good conditions. At the "Midori no Madoguchi" ticket office at Osaka Station, since we arrived before it opened (9:30), we had to wait about 10 minutes, but the procedure went smoothly and finished quickly, and we headed to our first stop, Osaka Castle.

At Osaka Castle, I explained that "the exterior of Osaka Castle is a faithful reproduction, but the interior is a museum." The response was, "the scenery is wonderful, but there's no need to go inside," so we only viewed the exterior and moved on to Dotonbori. At Dotonbori, I explained the history and culture of Osaka as a "merchant city" and a "city of ordinary people" (especially its food culture), and had them try "takoyaki" for lunch.

By the time we finished at Dotonbori, there was still nearly an hour of guiding time left, so I suggested, "Let me show you the nearby Kuromon Market," and we walked around Kuromon Market. The guests commented, "Dotonbori feels like a festival every day, but at Kuromon Market you can sense the daily life of ordinary people. I prefer this over Dotonbori." At the final parting, when I asked, "Was today's Osaka tour helpful for planning your Japan travel?" the answer was, "It was very helpful, and I'm grateful for the guidance." They said that tomorrow they would visit the "Expo," and afterward would travel to Nara, Kyoto, and Tokyo, spending two weeks in all.

Click here for more details: Osaka Customized Half-Day Tour with Licensed Local 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.