Hiroshima: Hilton & Negian — Guide miki

What Is a Private Hiroshima Walking Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were visiting from Europe and had arrived in Hiroshima the day before. There was no advance notice, but one of the guests seemed to have foot pain and appeared to have difficulty walking.

Since there was a request to eat okonomiyaki, I consulted with the guests and we decided on a restaurant where reservations could be made. As I had not realized beforehand that walking would be difficult for one of the guests, I had booked a semi-basement restaurant accessed by stairs. I had reserved a private room with a sunken kotatsu-style seating area, which was greatly appreciated, but there was some concern about whether sitting would be possible. I said, "You can stretch your legs inside," but it seemed the real issue was that sitting on a low chair was difficult. The okonomiyaki seemed to be very much enjoyed.

When we boarded the streetcar, I recommended a priority seat that was available, but the response was that the seat was too low to sit in. Today I learned well that for guests from abroad, simply having a chair is not always enough.

This group always stopped when listening to explanations, which I first thought might be because of the foot pain, but it may have been done out of courtesy. Since I usually talk while walking and adjust the timing, stopping to talk meant we could not move forward as much, and as a result today also ended about 20 minutes over time.

Near the Atomic Bomb Dome, one of the guests said, "Oh, what a cute dog!" while looking at a dog being walked. It seemed impossible to resist, and the guest hurried over to the owner and was allowed to pet it. The guest returned very satisfied, so I said, "I think the local person was also happy to be able to interact with visitors." I often hear news raising concerns about the behavior of inbound tourists. The head of the interpreter guide association in Hiroshima says, "What you value is not only your guests. Please also value the local people, the people here in Japan. If you cannot build good relationships with local people, that is not good guiding." I truly believe this is right. Since hearing those words, whenever my guests sit on train or bus seats, I make a point of saying a word to those already seated. Rather than valuing only my own guests, I try to say a word to those around us and create an atmosphere in which visitors from abroad are welcomed.

From the guests who went to Orizuru Tower, I received photos showing everyone enjoying themselves at Orizuru Tower. I was glad that everyone seemed very pleased.

One thing I noticed was that the taxi from the Hotel to the front of the Peace Memorial Museum cost the guests the base fare of 670 yen, but the taxi from beside Orizuru Tower to the Hotel cost 990 yen. In particular, the meter jumped from 750 yen to over 800 yen in less than a second, which I found puzzling.

That is all.

Click here for more details: Hiroshima Peace Park Customized Tour with Licensed Guide

Tour Report by miki

Dear guests,
Hello! My name is Miki. I was born and brought up in Hiroshima. I enjoy traveling around Inland Sea areas and I enjoy chatting with guests from overseas!

In Hiroshima, you can see many beautiful rivers and old bridges. Lately, I often take photos of Hiroshima city including bridges and rivers. There are not many tall buildings here, but I know some places you can visit and see the view for free. By the atomic bomb dome, there is a building called Orizuru(paper crane) Tower. You need to pay to go up to the top floor but you can see the view of Hiroshima city and the Miyajima Island(Itsukushima).

Many tourists from overseas as well as Japan want to visit Miyajima Island. You can see a beautiful shrine from Heian Period which is around 12th century and a huge Torii gate in front of the shrine and it is in the water. There are several ways to visit the island from Hiroshima city. If you are going to stay near JR Hiroshima Station, we will visit the island by JR train and JR ferry. If you are staying in the city area, we can go there by streetcar and ferry, or there is a high-speed boat from Peace Memorial Park pier directly to the island and vise versa.

Hoping to see you in the near future!

Miki
Your tour guide in Hiroshima