Kanagawa in Half a Day: Yokohama Minato Mirai & Yokohama — Guide Masa

What Is a Private Yokohama Day Tour Like Before a Cruise? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a group visiting from North America, all visiting Japan for the first time. The main purpose of this trip was a cruise departing the next day from Yokohama Port and arriving in Singapore. They had arrived at Narita Airport the previous day and taken a taxi to their hotel. Due to traffic congestion, they reached the hotel around 9:00 PM. The cruise ship was scheduled to depart Yokohama Port in the afternoon of the following day. The guests are all now retired and enjoy an overseas trip together once every year.

It was a tour under clear skies, with a slightly cold feel in the air. One of the group had a knee condition and walked slowly, and mentioned, "Stairs and escalators are difficult, so I would like to use elevators whenever possible," so we proceeded at a slow pace.

First, in line with their wishes, we headed to the Cup Noodles Museum near the hotel. As it was a holiday, the museum was almost full of visitors, many with children. After going around the museum, they bought souvenirs for their grandchildren at the shop. They said, "We often eat Cup Noodles at home too."

I explained about the history of Yokohama, the Meiji Restoration, and the movements before and after it. They commented, "This is a pleasant port town."

From here we moved west. We strolled around Yamashita Park and inside the New Grand Hotel. We entered "Mega Don Quijote" near the entrance of Harbor View Park, and here again they bought a large amount of souvenirs for their grandchildren, such as T-shirts and cosmetics.

We moved on to Chinatown. As it was a national holiday, the streets were very crowded. They said, "We haven't had breakfast and would like to enjoy dim sum," so after searching here and there, we finally entered a Chinese restaurant tucked away in a quiet corner. Everyone ordered various dim sum and enjoyed a relaxed meal while chatting. They remarked, "This is far larger and more crowded than the Chinatown back home."

They also had questions and comments such as, "The whole town is clean and there is no litter on the ground," and "Unlike back home, no one throws trash out onto the streets."

They said, "We would like to do some shopping at a Yokohama department store," so I saw them off at Yokohama Station and we parted ways.

Click here for more details: Yokohama 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.