Osaka in One Day: Osaka Castle — Guide Nori

Title: What's a Private Day Tour of Osaka Like with a Licensed Guide? Osaka Castle, Shitenno-ji, and Dotonbori

The guests were visitors from North America, currently traveling in Japan. They had arrived in Tokyo about a week earlier, passed through Hakone and other areas, and planned to tour Osaka and Kyoto. Prior communication was handled through one of the guests. On the day of the tour, the plan was to meet at the Hotel at 14:30, since the guests would leave Hakone in the morning and arrive at Shin-Osaka around noon. However, when I drafted a proposed itinerary, there was a possibility that we would not make it in time before the closing of one of the sites (Shitenno-ji Temple). I therefore asked the guests whether we could start about an hour earlier. The reply was that they would be leaving Hakone in the morning and arriving at Shin-Osaka around noon, but if they bought a boxed lunch and ate on the Shinkansen, it could work.

On the day, the guests made the effort to rush over by taxi from Shin-Osaka, and we were able to meet up around 13:15. To save travel time, we hailed taxis on the spot for the moves between sites (Hotel ⇒ Osaka Castle ⇒ Doguyasuji). Thanks to this, we were able to see not only Osaka Castle but also Shitenno-ji Temple thoroughly. After that, at the request of a cooking enthusiast among the guests, we carefully browsed through the many shops of the Doguyasuji shopping street, enjoyed the lively atmosphere of Dotonbori, and from there also enjoyed shopping along Shinsaibashi. In the end, the guests seemed tired from the shopping and strolling in the latter half, so we finished an hour earlier than planned.

A notable stop on the tour was Shitenno-ji Temple. Shitenno-ji is one of the oldest officially administered temples in Japan, founded in 593 by Prince Shotoku, and it is considered one of the first Buddhist temples ever built in the country. The temple grounds feature a five-story pagoda and a central gate laid out in a style known as the Shitenno-ji garan arrangement, reflecting early Japanese temple architecture influenced by continental Asia.

Click here for more details: Osaka Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide

Tour Report by Nori

Hi, everyone! I’m Norifumi Kamon, a government registered guide interpreter. Please call me “Nori”, or “Kamon-san”.
Let me introdece myself. I was born on April 17th in 1952 in Miyazaki prefecture in Kyushu island. I used to be an English teacher of Osaka Prefectural high school. When I retired from a teacher ten years ago, I decided to get a professional guide license. I wanted to play a role of the bridge between Japanese people and the people from all over the world as a second life of mine. After two years efforts, I finally got the guide license. Since then, I have guided several handreds of foreign people mainly in Kyoto and Nara for about five years except Corona Pandemic period. Almost all the tourists were deeply impressed by the beauty of nature, traditoin, culture, and art of Japan. I can surely help you enjoy and be satisfied with the sightseeing in Japan. And I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.