Kanagawa: Gora Station & Kowakien Bus — Guide Masa

What Is a Private Hakone Day Tour Like on a Rainy Day? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a group visiting Japan from North America. The group consisted of the visiting family, who had immigrated from Asia ten years earlier, together with friends living nearby. For the family it was their first visit to Japan, while the friends had visited Japan several times before.

Everyone had arrived in Japan the day before yesterday. The previous evening, they had moved from Tokyo to Hakone. After this, the whole group planned to return to Tokyo the next day, then fly from Narita Airport to another destination in Asia for a four-day stay, followed by another destination for a further four-day stay, before flying home. This time, travel to those other destinations was the main purpose of the trip.

They mentioned, "Last night was the first time we slept on tatami and futon. We slept well and it was wonderful." They also said, "In Hakone, we wanted to see Mount Fuji."

Before departure the weather occasionally showed some sunshine, but just before leaving the Hotel, it began to rain. We walked from the Hotel to Gora Station. When we checked there, we found that due to strong winds and heavy fog, the Hakone Ropeway and the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise were suspended. After consulting with the guests, we quickly changed the original plan.

First we went to the Hakone Open-Air Museum. In the light rain, we strolled slowly through the grounds with umbrellas. I explained the history and current state of the Hakone Open-Air Museum. As one of the guests loves Picasso, they viewed the sculptures with great enthusiasm and took many photographs. Despite the rain, they said, "We would like to try the foot bath too." At the shop, they purchased T-shirts as souvenirs.

From here, we took the Hakone Tozan Railway and then the mountain bus to Hakonemachi Port and the site of the Hakone Checkpoint. I explained "What was the Hakone Checkpoint?", the Five Highways of the Edo period, and the Edo period and the Meiji Restoration.

From here, we moved to Motohakone. In the light rain, we first visited Hakone Shrine. Despite the poor weather, there was a long line of tourists waiting to take photographs in front of the torii gate.

We returned to the port and took a rest at the Narukawa Art Museum. Afterwards, at their request for "Japanese soba for lunch," we went to a soba restaurant.

From here, we took the bus to the Okada Museum of Art. As one of the guests loves art museums, they viewed the works with great enthusiasm. In particular, they said, "I really liked the ceramics."

They also commented, "Everywhere in Japan the towns are clean. There is no litter on the ground," "There are no trash cans," and "This year many typhoons have come to our home region and relatives are having a hard time."

We managed to make it back to Gora Station, where the tour concluded.

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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.