Osaka in Half a Day: Sightseeing ②: Osaka Castle — Guide Nori

Title: What Is a 4-Hour Private Osaka Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Umeda Sky Building and Osaka Castle

The guests were part of a group visiting Japan while traveling by cruise ship from North America. All prior communication and itinerary discussions were handled through one member of the group. For the 4-hour course, the guests left the planning almost entirely up to me as the guide, and they readily agreed to my initial proposal of Umeda Sky Building, Osaka Castle, and Dotonbori with lunch. This was the group with whom the itinerary was finalized in the shortest amount of time in my entire career as a guide.

On the day of the tour in September, it was the second day after the weather had suddenly begun to cool, making the climate far more comfortable than before. Our morning meeting went perfectly in terms of timing, and we met right away in front of the giant Ferris wheel. The guests were a very pleasant group, close in age to me, and we quickly warmed up to one another and enjoyed conversation. We had planned to use public transportation as a rule, but before departing we confirmed that taxis might also be used depending on the guests' needs. To reach our first destination, Umeda Sky Building, we transferred between the subway and JR lines, got off at Osaka Station, and walked to the building that towers right in front of the station. From the observation area on the top floor, we looked out over the whole city of Osaka while I explained the city's geographical features, its development as a commercial and industrial hub, and its history. Both of the guests asked many questions and deepened their understanding of Osaka.

For the trip to the next stop, Osaka Castle, one of the guests was not feeling well due to back discomfort, so we decided to take a taxi. When we arrived at Osaka Castle, the elevator in the main keep unfortunately happened to be out of order, so we had to climb the stairs from the lower floors. Keeping an eye on the guest's condition, we proceeded by going up one floor at a time and viewing and explaining that floor. However, reaching the very top proved difficult, and we concluded our visit to Osaka Castle after seeing up to the third floor.

After leaving Osaka Castle, the three of us discussed whether to proceed to the final stop, Dotonbori, and one of the guests candidly expressed a wish to end the day there and return to the ship. Naturally, respecting that wish, we decided to stop the tour and head back to the ship. The guest's physical condition had not been raised during our prior communication, but I was reminded once again how extremely important it is to make on-the-spot judgments when guiding older guests. It was a shame that they could not enjoy the final part of the itinerary, but being able to make the correct decision that "the guests' health comes first" was an important lesson. Also, during the train and taxi rides, we spent an enjoyable time talking about our families and our respective work, and it was a very pleasant guiding experience.

Click here for more details: Osaka Customized Half-Day Tour with Licensed Local 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.