This is a private guided tour report by Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.), a network of 1,000+ government-licensed, English-speaking local guides across all 47 prefectures of Japan. Not affiliated with the Japan Guide Association.

Tour Itinerary

  • 7:20 Gracery Shinjuku Meet 7:36 Depart Shinjuku by JR 8:42 Arrive Kamakura After that, by train, bus, and on foot as mentioned 9:20 Goryo Shrine 9:50 Hasedera Temple and the Hydrangea Festival within the grounds 11:00 Great Buddha of Kamakura 11:45 Lunch (near Hasedera Temple) 13:00 Hokokuji Temple 13:50 Hachimangu Shrine 14:20 Komachi Street 15:00 Kamakura Station 15:16 Depart Kamakura by JR 15:41 Disband at Yokohama The customer will then proceed to Akihabara (mentioned they had also gone two days prior)

Title: What's a Private Kamakura Day Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were visitors from North America. As usual, I prepared a celebration board for them. The guests were interested in history and Buddhism, so at each place we visited I spoke about the history of Kamakura and about Shinto and Buddhism, which they listened to with great interest. They were also interested in nature, and I was able to introduce the hydrangea festival at Hasedera Temple at just the right time. Because the Hotel was near Kabukicho in Shinjuku, the streets were littered with trash the morning after Sunday; however, the guests were amazed that everywhere else we went was completely clean. For lunch, I asked the restaurant to reserve a tatami room, and the guests enjoyed their first experience of dining on tatami mats.

Transportation cost per person

No.TransportationRouteFare
Section 1TrainShinjuku~Kamakura950JPY
Section 2TrainKamakura~Hase200JPY
Section 3TrainHase~Kamakura200JPY
Section 4BusKamakura~Jomyoji220JPY
Section 5BusJomyoji~Hachimangu220JPY
Section 6TrainKamakura~Yokohama360JPY
Total2,150JPY

I am Hiroki Morikawa :Hiro:, English guide living with my wife ,just a hop skip and jump from Hakone, Kamakura, Tokyo and the Mt. Fuji.
I am a friendly grandfather of 4 grandchildren.
I would love to help you enjoy Japan, using my 3 strong points.
First: I am used to dealing with any kind of matters. I have experienced various situations in the 40 years of my working life.
Second: I am good at making a friendly atmosphere between you and local people to help you enjoy Japan. I was raised in western Japan, studied in northern Japan and now live in central Japan. So I know various local cultures and dialects to communicate with a wide variety of people.
Third: I can explain things from a technical point of view.
For example, how the Great Buddha was constructed, because I am a master of engineering graduated from Hokkaido University.
Please enjoy Japan with me. See you soon!!
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