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

Title: What's a Full-Day Private Tokyo Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Nezu Shrine, Asakusa, and Shinjuku

The guests were a group visiting from North America. It was everyone's first visit to Japan.

They were staying at a hotel in the Tsukiji area.

They had arrived at Narita Airport in the evening in late December and taken a taxi from the airport to the hotel.

They planned to stay in Japan for about two weeks. After spending several days in Tokyo, they would visit Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima, then return to Tokyo before heading home.

The next day, they were planning a day trip to Mount Fuji.

The tour took place under clear skies, though the weather was rather chilly.

First, at the guests' request, we headed to Nezu Shrine.

Within the grounds, preparations for the New Year visits were underway, and there were many worshippers.

I explained "About Shinto," "About torii gates," and "The history of Edo and Tokyo," and we also visited an Inari shrine. While passing through the torii gates, I also explained "About Inari shrines."

There were questions such as "What kind of religion is Shinto?" and "Why did Shinto arise?"

We then moved to Asakusa.

We started from the front of the Kaminarimon Gate. I explained "Sensoji Temple and the history from Edo to Tokyo," "What is the purpose of the five-story pagoda," "What is Buddhism," and "The difference between Buddhism and Shinto."

We took commemorative photos at the Kaminarimon Gate, in front of the five-story pagoda, and at various other spots, and strolled leisurely through the Nakamise shopping street.

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 follow?"

From here, at the guests' request, we headed to Shinjuku.

They very much wanted to see the "Godzilla Head" and the "3D cat billboard."

I explained "The origins of Shinjuku," "The difference between the east and west sides of Shinjuku," and "The history of Kabukicho."

There were comments and questions such as "The streets are clean and there is no litter. It's very clean," "I was surprised at how clean the public restrooms are," and "There are no trash cans on the streets. Why is that?"

I saw them off at Ginza Station, where 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.