Kurashiki Customized Half-Day Tour — Guide Sam

Title: What Is a Private 4-Hour Walking Tour of Kurashiki Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a group visiting from North America. When I heard that they would be traveling around Japan by rental car for about a month, I was amazed. They were experienced travelers and were staying in vacation rentals. Since the exact address of their rental in Kurashiki was unclear, we arranged to meet in front of the well-known Ohara Museum of Art. I was a little anxious about whether we would be able to meet successfully, but they appeared without any trouble. At first, I thought that art museums might not suit the interests of the group, but they told me that rather than shopping, they wanted to see cultural facilities for educational purposes. However, given the four-hour tour limit, we decided to skip the Ohara Museum of Art itself. Instead, we strolled around the museum's garden. I believe they were able to get at least a sense of the museum's atmosphere. After that, we moved to Kurashiki Kan to gather general information, and the group became interested in the "Kurashiki River Boat Ride," so we made a reservation for 14:30. It is very popular and reservations tend to fill up, but we were lucky today. They planned to have lunch after the tour with me and then take the river cruise. At the Japan Rural Toy Museum, the group thoroughly enjoyed themselves, taking in spinning tops, daruma dolls, kokeshi dolls, and papier-mâché tigers collected from all over Japan. At Kurashiki Ivy Square, among the usual spots, one of the guests became very excited about the masking tape display, running around cheerfully and even becoming friendly with local children, and everyone had a wonderful time. Here they purchased a lot of masking tape. At the last stop, Achi Shrine, one of the guests ran up the stairs, which surprised me. They were also familiar with proper shrine etiquette, which impressed me even more. Here, I strongly recommended the wisteria trellis, which is said to be the oldest in Japan at 400 years old. It was about the time of year for it to bloom, but when I checked with the shrine staff, they said it had not yet bloomed. However, when we actually went to see it, to our surprise about 30 percent of it was in bloom, giving off a fragrant scent, with bees flying around in search of nectar. It is located just about 40 meters from the shrine office, yet the shrine staff had truly overlooked what was right under their noses. Looking back, it was a delightful spring day, with the temperature rising above 22 degrees during the day and bright sunshine pouring down.

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Tour Report by Sam

My name is Susumu Hiramatsu. I am a national government licensed guide interpreter. I became a guide interpreter in 1992. My educational background started with a BA in law, then an MA in English language education, and completed a doctoral course without a degree in English language teaching. My occupational career began with a bank officer, then shifted to a translation and interpretation company, finally became a freelance translator, interpreter, and college teacher. I handle conference interpretation, namely simultaneous interpretation. As for the guide interpreter, my interest covers wide areas including politics and business, but I deem cultural aspects to be fundamental. I am always encouraging myself to be filled with Japanese hospitality.