Tokyo in Half a Day: Shimbashi Station & Ginza Station — Guide Masa

Can You Do a Private One-Day Tour of Tokyo Covering Asakusa, Akihabara, and Shibuya? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were friends from North America, both visiting Japan for the first time. This trip was a 10-day visit to Japan. They had arrived the previous day on a direct flight to Haneda Airport, then taken a taxi from Haneda to their hotel. They would stay in Tokyo for three days, then continue to Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka, before flying from Kansai Airport to Shanghai. After staying five days in China, they planned to return home. They said, "We want to learn how to use the subway and trains before we go home." It was a tour under fine, almost hot, weather. About half of the guiding was done partly in Spanish.

First, they said, "We want to buy a SUICA card," so we went to JR Shimbashi Station. They also said, "We want to exchange our JR PASS for tickets and reserve the Shinkansen to the Kansai area in advance," so we went to the travel concierge at Ueno Station.

After this, we headed to Asakusa. Here too they said, "First, we want to exchange US dollars into Japanese yen," so we went to the currency exchange inside the Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center. There were huge crowds, especially many foreign tour groups and school excursion students.

We started from in front of the Kaminarimon Gate. I explained "Senso-ji Temple and the history from Edo to Tokyo," "what the five-story pagoda is for," "what Buddhism is," and "the difference between Buddhism and Shinto." We took commemorative photos in front of the Kaminarimon Gate and the five-story pagoda. The guests both bought omikuji fortunes, and both drew "good luck," to their great delight.

There were questions such as "What are the main religions in Japan?", "How many Buddhists are there in Japan?", and "Besides Buddhism, what other religions do people believe in?" There was also a question about "how often do people go to temples?"

From here, they said, "We want to buy souvenirs for family," so we went to Akihabara. They bought many character goods.

We moved on to the Imperial Palace and strolled through the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace. There was a question: "It's a shame we can't see the cherry blossoms. When is the best time to see them?" I explained "the history of Edo," "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 "What happened to the shoguns and samurai after the Meiji Restoration?" and "Does the current Emperor of Japan hold political power?"

We went to Shibuya. First, we took photos at the Scramble Crossing. There was also a question: "Why do so many people gather here?" We also took photos in front of the Hachiko statue. There were comments and questions such as "It's amazing there's no litter on the streets," "Doesn't anyone throw trash on the streets?", and "It was my first time on the subway, but it was very comfortable and convenient."

They said, "We'd like to walk around Ginza, so please take us to Ginza Station," so I saw them off at Ginza Station and we parted ways.

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