Osaka in Half a Day: Sightseeing ①: Kuromon Market — Guide Nori

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

The guests were a group visiting Japan from Oceania. At the time of booking the reservation was for seven people, but one of the guests ended up not participating due to scheduling reasons. After I was assigned in mid-August, the person I coordinated with beforehand changed frequently — first one of the guests, then a local travel agency, and finally another of the guests — but we managed to finalize the itinerary by early September. As I have mentioned in a previous report, when a local travel agency acts as an intermediary between the guide and the guests, accurate communication becomes difficult and takes too much time, so I would appreciate it if [Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.)](https://www.j-g-a.org/) could raise awareness about this.

The guests were more interested in seeing "the real, present-day face of Osaka" than in historical or cultural sites, so we settled on the plan of Kuromon Market → Dotonbori → lunch → karaoke. The hotel was very close to Kuromon Market, and Dotonbori was a 10-minute walk away, so the itinerary effectively became a four-hour walking tour of Osaka Minami. On the day of the tour, the rain that had continued for two days had cleared, and although the heat returned a little, it turned out to be a comfortable day for a walking tour. At Kuromon Market, we stopped at shops that caught their interest and I gave explanations along the way, and the guests seemed particularly interested in Japanese eating habits. In Dotonbori, I explained that Osaka developed as a commercial city located next to Kyoto, "the thousand-year-old capital," and touched on the differences in local character compared with Tokyo and Kyoto. They showed great appreciation especially for the humorous shop signs and the little anecdotes associated with them.

After lunch, when I suggested "next is karaoke," opinions were divided within the group, and after discussion they concluded that they would rather skip karaoke and continue exploring the town, so I canceled the karaoke reservation. After that, on the way back from Dotonbori toward the hotel, we strolled through Sennichimae and Doguyasuji, and I gave explanations at each spot as we went. They seemed especially fascinated by the shops displaying "sample" dishes for eateries and restaurants, and were amazed by how beautiful and finely crafted they were. This time, as with the previous tour, some of the guests were younger, and I was able to get along very well with them and enjoy the tour together.

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.