Tokyo: teamLab Planets entrance & Ginza — Guide Masa

Title: What's a Private One-Day Tokyo Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Meiji Shrine, the Imperial Palace, Asakusa, and Akihabara

The guests were a group visiting Japan from Europe, all traveling to Japan for the first time. One of the guests was fluent in English, while the others in the group spoke mainly their own language.

This time, they came to Japan during a holiday period, staying for a total of ten days. A week earlier, they had flown from Europe via a connecting city to Kansai Airport. After staying in Osaka and Kyoto, they had traveled to Tokyo by Shinkansen the previous day.

Tomorrow they were planning a day trip to Hakone. The day after next, they were going to Disneyland, and after that they planned to return home.

They said, "We were able to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom in Kyoto, so we are very satisfied," and "Japanese food is all healthy and delicious."

The tour took place under clear skies, warm enough to feel almost hot, making for a very pleasant day.

First, we headed to Meiji Shrine.

One of the guests was interested in architecture and art, and was absorbed in taking photographs here and there along the way.

We started in Harajuku and went to Meiji Shrine.

I explained about "Shinto and Buddhism," "torii gates," "Emperor Meiji," "the history of Edo and Tokyo," "the Meiji Restoration," and "why wine barrels are displayed there."

There were also questions such as "When did Shinto originate?" and "About how many Buddhists are there in Japan?"

We took a short break at the café at Meiji Shrine. Everyone in the group seemed to enjoy the matcha ice cream.

We moved to the Imperial Palace.

We strolled through the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace. The cherry blossoms had almost entirely fallen, which was a bit disappointing.

I explained about "the history from the Edo period to the Meiji era," "the Meiji Restoration," "why Edo Castle became the Imperial Palace," and "an overview of the current Imperial family."

They commented, "The pine trees are beautiful, like bonsai," "They are completely different from the pine trees in our country," and "Our country is dry all over and lacks lush green scenery, so we envy Japan." They also asked, "Does the Japanese Emperor have political power?" and mentioned, "We once had a king too, but he was exiled and there is no monarchy now."

We moved to Asakusa.

As always, it was very crowded. I once again explained about "Senso-ji Temple and the history from Edo to Tokyo," "what the five-story pagoda is," and "the difference between Buddhism and Shinto."

There was a question about "What percentage of people in Japan are Christian?"

One of the guests drew an omikuji fortune and got "great blessing," and was delighted.

We slowly strolled through the Nakamise shopping street amid the crowds.

From here, we went to Akihabara (at the request of some of the guests).

They bought game software at an electronics store. When they spotted a maid café, they asked, "What kind of café is that?"

We took a break at a coffee shop. After this, they said, "We are tired and would like to return to the hotel early," so we wrapped up a bit earlier and headed to their accommodation.

We parted ways in front of the hotel entrance.

Click here for more details: Tokyo Customized Private Tour by Car with Licensed 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.