Osaka in One Day: @ Osaka Castle & @ Kuromon Market — Guide Yama

Title: What Is a Private Osaka Day Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Osaka Castle, Kuromon Market, and Shinsekai

The guests were visitors to Japan. Even at the 09:00 meeting time, we were unable to meet, and when I called, they said they were still having breakfast. About 30 minutes later, the guests contacted me to say they had come to the lobby where we were supposed to meet but could not find the guide. When I checked with the hotel, it turned out to be a completely different hotel from the one that had been confirmed. Fortunately, it was only about a 10-minute walk away, so I rushed over to that hotel, and the tour started roughly 45 minutes late. Both of the guests seemed to have a strong interest in Japan and had a wealth of historical knowledge. According to the original confirmation, Osaka Castle was to be viewed only from the outside, but they said they had never heard that and very much wished to see the interior as well. On the spot, I was able to reserve entrance tickets through the Osaka Castle website, and we were able to enter. Inside the castle, the guests enjoyed taking photos while wearing a kimono and a helmet. At Kuromon Market, they enjoyed various tastings, and at a seafood shop they ate pufferfish, eel, and ark shell, and were very satisfied. After that, as time was running short, we cut the originally planned Dotonbori and headed to the final spot, Shinsekai and Tsutenkaku, where we parted ways in front of Tsutenkaku. Afterward, the guests planned to visit U.S.J. Since they had not purchased entrance tickets in advance, I tried to confirm by phone, but reaching an operator took too long, so I gave up.

Special note: As described above, on this occasion the content that the guide communicated and confirmed had, according to the guests' own explanation, hardly been conveyed from the local agency to the guests. This included the meeting place (incidentally, the actual accommodation was the one listed in the confirmation document and was changed during communication with the guide), the note that Osaka Castle would be viewed only from the outside, and that advance entrance tickets should be purchased if entering the interior, and so on. However, the guide had definitely conveyed the meeting time and place (the hotel name where the guide was mistakenly waiting this time) to the guests via a messaging app two days earlier, so it seems quite questionable that the guests had heard nothing at all. This time I repeatedly asked for the guests' email address but for some reason could not obtain it, and finally received contact from the guests via a messaging app two days before. I refrained from inquiring in detail about the communication between the guests and the agency. The guests were the first visitors to Japan I had guided from that region (currently residing in the Middle East), and it was a great benefit and something I was grateful for as a guide to hear very interesting stories about their region and to be shown local photos. I was reminded once again that making minimum confirmations (meeting place and time) just before the tour day is extremely important.

Click here for more details: Osaka Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide

Tour Report by Yama

Dear my guests,

This is (Mr.) Yama, greeting from Kobe, Japan.
I would like to warmly welcome you to Japan this time. I am from the city of Kobe, which is of course, well-known for very tasty Kobe Beef . You can taste
real genuine Kobe Beef here. Kobe is also called “Home of Japanese Sake” with lots of Sake breweries, and I recommend you would visit those breweries
if you have any interest in Japanese Sake as well as one aspect of Japanese cultures. Of course, you can have tastings of various kinds of Sake there.

Whenever during the tour, I always try to make it safe, pleasant and comfortable for all of the guests, which is my first priority. I am very much confident
that you can have a pleasant and unforgettable experience in Japan. Just tell me about your preference; what you would like to like to see, have, know
and eat and so on. Particularly, I hold the license for cooking qualified by the government here and maybe, I can reply you for questions related to the
foods here. In this respect, I strongly recommend you would try not only famous Japanese cuisine such as Sushi, Tempura or Suki-yaki but some
Japanese traditional local foods, like Tako-yaki, Okonomi-yaki and Kushkatsu. They are sometimes called the soul foods of Japan. Here is the brief
explanation for these three foods.

1) Tako-yaki
Tako-yaki is a snack filled with pieces of octopus in a batter of flour , egg and soup stock. You can call them octopus dumplings or balls. “Tako” means
octopus and “yaki” means grilled or broiled.
2) Okonomi-yaki
This word Okonomi-yaki means “cook just as you like” and you can use whatever you like as toppings, such as beef, pork, shrimp, squid and octopus.
Okonomi-yaki is round shape and just like pancakes or pizza in shape mainly made from egg, flour and water.
3) Kushi-katsu
Kushi-katsu is skewered cutlet or deep-fried foods on a stick. “Kushi” means skewer and “katsu” means cutlet. Various kinds of foods are used for
ingredients such as beef, pork, chicken, shrimp, squid, octopus and lots of kinds of vegetables.

Actually, the western Japan including Osaka, Kobe and Himeji is called as “Home of such local soul foods”. You should give it a try and I am sure
that you like them very much.

I sincerely hope that I can be your tour guide this time in Kobe, Osaka and Himeji. If my guests said to me after the tour, “I have had a very good
and pleasant time with you today. I hope I can come here again and name you as our guide”, which is my great pleasure. Moreover, I would be
great honored if they say “I like Japan now thanks to you”.

Looking forward to meeting you soon here.
Doomo Arigato Gozaimasu!
Yama