Tokyo: Shinjuku-nishiguchi Station & Shinjuku Station — Guide Masa

Title: What's a One-Day Private Tour of Tokyo Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Asakusa, Yanaka, Akihabara, Harajuku, and Shibuya

The guests were two groups visiting Japan for the first time from Europe. They had arrived at Narita Airport the previous evening and taken a taxi to their hotel. The purpose of this visit to Japan was to board a 12-day cruise departing from the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal starting the day after next. The previous night they had strolled around the area near their hotel and were surprised by how crowded it was. Today they wished to visit the main spots around Tokyo, and they also mentioned that they wanted to enjoy eating from street food stalls. Although the sky was cloudy, we were able to finish the tour without any rain.

Since they wanted to buy Suica cards, we first went to the travel concierge at Shinjuku Station. After that, we moved to Asakusa. Starting from the front of Kaminarimon Gate, I explained about "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 at Kaminarimon and various other spots, and slowly strolled through the packed Nakamise shopping street. There were questions such as "What are the major 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: "We see people wearing kimono within the temple grounds — why is that?"

They expressed a wish to see the old streets of Tokyo, so we went to the Yanesen area. Regarding Yanaka Ginza, they commented, "It's quiet and calm — this is the kind of place we wanted to come to." At a bakery, they purchased and tasted sandwiches. At Nezu Shrine, we passed through the torii gates of the Inari shrine and paid our respects. The azaleas were already past their season. They said, "Unlike Asakusa, it's quiet, and I prefer this area."

In accordance with their wishes, we went to Akihabara. I explained about "the origins and history of Akihabara." There were repeated questions about "maid cafes." Since they wanted to take a short break, we went to a nearby coffee shop.

We moved to Harajuku. Meiji Shrine was full of tourists. I explained about "Shinto," "torii gates," "Emperor Meiji," "why sake barrels are displayed," and "why wine barrels are displayed." There were questions such as "What kind of religion is Shinto?" and "How do Buddhism and Shinto differ?"

We moved to Shibuya and actually crossed the Scramble Crossing. There were questions such as "About how many people cross here?" and "Why did it become so famous?" We also took photos in front of the Hachiko statue. There were comments and questions such as "The city is clean and there's no litter on the ground," "There are no trash cans on the streets — why is that?", "Everyone is quiet on the trains," "The subway is far better designed than the London tube," and "There are vending machines everywhere."

I saw the guests off at Shinjuku Station, and we parted ways.

Click here for more details: Tokyo Customized Full-Day Private Tour 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.