Tokyo in Half a Day: Ginza Station & Shibuya Station — Guide Masa

# What's a Private Tokyo Sightseeing Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Asakusa, Tsukiji, and Shibuya

The guests were a group visiting Japan for the first time from Europe. This was an 18-day trip to Japan.

They had arrived at Haneda Airport the previous evening and taken a taxi to their hotel, then strolled around the neighborhood at night. They would stay in Tokyo for only two days. After that, they planned to enjoy Mount Fuji, Hida-Takayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Naoshima, and cycling along the Shimanami Kaido, before returning to Tokyo and then heading home.

English was not their strongest language, so communication required some effort. The tour took place under clear skies and warm weather.

Their request was to "visit the major spots in Tokyo."

First, we headed to Asakusa. We started from the front of the Kaminarimon Gate. I explained "Senso-ji Temple and the history from Edo to Tokyo," "what the five-story pagoda is for," "what Buddhism is," and "the difference between Buddhism and Shinto." We took commemorative photos at the Kaminarimon, in front of the five-story pagoda, and at various spots. We took our time strolling along the Nakamise shopping street.

There were questions such as "What are the major religions in Japan?" "How many Buddhists are there in Japan?" "Besides Buddhism, what other religions do people believe in?" and "Do people go to pray every week?"

Next, we went to Tsukiji. I explained "the history of Tokyo's fish market since the Edo period" and "the difference between Toyosu Market and the Tsukiji Outer Market." As always, it was very crowded.

There were questions and comments such as "Can we see tuna?" "Do all Tokyo residents come here to buy fish?" and "It's crowded, but it seems like there are a lot of tourists after all." There was also a question: "Why do they sell not only fish but also beef and other things?"

Here and there, they bought and sampled items such as beans, peanuts, tuna sashimi, and tamagoyaki (rolled omelette).

From here, we moved on to Shibuya. We actually crossed the Scramble Crossing. There were questions such as "Why do so many people gather here?" and "Why did it become famous?" We also took photos in front of the Hachiko statue.

There were comments such as "The city is so clean, with no litter on the ground," "I was surprised at how clean the public toilets are," "No one is making noise on the trains," "Are there no pickpockets or robberies?" "You don't see many people walking dogs around town," and "Few people are riding bicycles."

There was also a question: "Last night, when we ordered a meal at the hotel restaurant (soup, fish, meat, salad, and so on), all the dishes came out at once. We wanted to enjoy each dish one at a time, with some time in between — why did that happen?"

There was also a question: "Tomorrow we plan to sightsee around Tokyo on our own, so where should we go?"

I saw them off at Ginza Station, and we parted ways.

Click here for more details: Tokyo Customized Half-Day Tour with Licensed Local Guide

Tour Report by Masa

Guiding career:
Guide work started in July 2022. A guide focused on FIT compliance.
FY2022 results: 17 cases, FY2023 results: 97
Destinations: Various places in Tokyo, Hakone, Kamakura and Nikko
As a recent group travel record, in October 2023, we have a track record of guiding a group of 33 people from Singapore to Narita Airport transfer plus sightseeing in Tokyo.
Self-introduction:
In the past, I was stationed in Canada, the United States, and Mexico as an expatriate of a Japanese bank for over 11 years.
Since I have been mainly involved in the financing business in the United States for a long time, I think I am able to provide interpretation and translation services related to business and finance.
I am a certified CPA in the United States.
In addition, for three years from April 2016, I will be engaged in Japanese-English translation work (part-time), and I can also handle translation work.
Although I don’t have a qualification in Spanish, but I think I can handle day to day conversation in Spanish without any problems.
My hobby is trekking and from time to time, take a walk around mountains near Tokyo like Mt. Takao, Tanzawa, etc. I think it is possible to provide tourist information here as well.
Since April 2015, I have been working as a Tokyo Metropolitan Tourism Volunteer and Tokyo Metropolitan Disaster Prevention Volunteer.
One more, I have a separate house near Asuka Village, Nara prefecture, and I stay there for a total of about 30 days every year and have been enjoying sightseeing personally in the vicinity. Therefore, I think in the Kansai region, especially in Nara, Asuka, Yoshino, Koyasan, Kumano Kodo, etc., where I think I will be able to tour guide with confidence.