Tokyo in One Day: Hyatt Regency & Sensoji Temple — Guide Danda

What's a Private Tokyo Shopping and Ramen Day Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a family visiting from North America. When we introduced ourselves, we happened to hit it off because of shared professional backgrounds. Beforehand, all I knew was that the guests enjoyed anime and wanted lunch at a place with a good ramen shop, so we decided the itinerary when we met. Since one of the guests suddenly said, "I'd like to buy some kitchen knives, and I also have to take a Shinkansen at 5:00 pm to Osaka for work, so I'd like to be back at the Hotel by 3:00 pm," we decided to start at Kappabashi. After purchasing several kitchen knives as souvenirs for themselves and their relatives, we went through Sensoji Temple quickly to save time. Even so, one of the guests liked it and kept asking, "What's the name of the first place we went to?" and said, "All right, let's come back to Asakusa again."

After crossing the intersection in Shibuya, we stopped by a One Piece shop, where, unexpectedly, we stayed for 30 minutes, and the whole group enjoyed it. After that we went into Onitsuka Tiger, but since it was crowded we gave up and went to a gaming space. This too was crowded even on a weekday, so the guests said, "Let's come back at 10:00 when it opens and is empty," gave up on shopping, and headed to the long-awaited ramen shop. When I shared photos and descriptions of four ramen options in Harajuku (Jangara, Ippudo, Oreryu Shio, and Afuri), they decided, "Let's go to Afuri," but since quite a few people were waiting in line, we went to Ippudo, which has more seating. It was their first time trying tonkotsu, but they found it delicious, and three of the five even drank up all the soup. At that point they encouraged me, "Let's have a beer," and when I said, "If I drink beer, my face turns bright red and my head stops working," they replied, "All you need to do is take us to the Hotel afterward, so it's fine," so I gratefully accepted.

And as expected, at Shinjuku Station on the Marunouchi Line, while I was explaining the way to the guest heading to Tokyo Station afterward, I realized we were about to board the wrong train, and everyone laughed. It might be more accurate to say I took them to the shopping places they wanted rather than gave a traditional guided tour, but it was still a very enjoyable day. The guests said, "Thank you for today. We had a great time. You introduced us to some good shops too. We'll write a review, and we'll send you the photos." But most of all, what made me happiest was when the guests asked at the end, "Can we take a photo together?" We had a photo taken with our arms around each other's shoulders. It reminded me of exactly a year earlier, when I said something wrong after drinking beer with guests and was laughed at in the same way, and since it was such a similarly fun day, I felt it was almost like déjà vu.

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Tour Report by Danda

Nice to meet you. I am delighted to introduce myself. My nickname is Danda. I live in Saitama prefecture next to Tokyo, but I was brought up in Kanazawa, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Japan. My favorite things are bonsai and hiking. Also, I have been a big fun of history and sumo since my childhood. As for the guide, I have enjoyed making communication with foreign visitors since 2019. I have taken more than 30 private groups to not only major scenic spots but also their favorite places such as tea ceremony, maid cafe, sumo tournament, bonsai village, fire ritual and so on. I can arrange the original tour based on your requests and curiosity. It will be only for you. I look forward to meeting you soon. Thank you.