Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day — Guide Akey

What's a Private Tokyo Tour Like for First-Time Visitors? A Licensed Guide's Report on Asakusa and Skytree

The guests were a group of friends from Oceania, most of whom were visiting Japan for the first time. They had only just arrived the day before. Having previously worked in advertising and been involved for many years in promoting outbound tourism and travel campaigns related to Oceania, I felt a natural affinity with the guests, and we enjoyed the sightseeing together while chatting warmly about all sorts of topics. Since Tokyo is a large metropolis compared to where they were from, they felt some anxiety about the geography and transportation, but everyone had already loaded SUICA onto their smartphones, so there was no need to buy tickets and we were able to get on and off the trains smoothly. Because it was a large group, I prepared a flag and led the way holding it up as we visited the sights. Even so, one of the guests got separated in the Nakamise shopping street at Sensoji Temple, having gone ahead, but we managed to reunite. At Tokyo Skytree, one of the guests had a fear of heights and chose to wait at the entrance, so I went up to the observation deck with the others and, after the visit, we regrouped and moved on to Asakusa. When I asked what they would like to eat, they said Japanese food, and sushi was fine too. Since finding a restaurant for a large party of nine including the guide would be difficult, I looked into a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant near the Sumida River boat pier, found there were seats, and we split up along the counter to enjoy sushi. There was a sushi chef inside the counter, so it was possible to order directly by voice in addition to taking sushi from the conveyor belt. I handed out a document I had prepared, an English-Japanese reference guide to Japanese foods listing all the sushi toppings, and told them to use it to order in Japanese. The restaurant offered better ingredients than an ordinary conveyor-belt sushi place, and they were satisfied. I always prepare documents explaining the difference between Buddhism and Shinto, the Japanese view of religion and their practical use of it, an explanation of kabuki, an overview of Japanese history, events from the Heian period to the Kamakura period, the process leading to the birth of the Tokugawa shoguns, and the difference between the emperor and the shogun, so I handed these over for them to read on the bullet train. After visiting Sensoji Temple, they enjoyed matcha ice cream, and I explained how to board the bullet train at Tokyo Station and where to activate the Japan Rail Pass at the ticket office. I advised them to always exit from the south gate at JR Shinjuku Station, and had them take photos of the platform for trains to Tokyo Station and the Yamanote Line platform toward Harajuku and Shibuya, so they would be prepared to travel independently from the next day. In the end we all shook hands and parted. As I was the oldest in the group, my secret to staying youthful and the youthfulness of Japanese people became a topic of conversation, tied in with current affairs, with them saying Japan should export that to their country. I had also once met members of the championship-winning rugby team from their country, and since I feel a familiarity with people from Oceania, we all enjoyed the sightseeing together cheerfully to the very end.

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Tour Report by Akey

Hello, new friends! I’m Akio Yasui. I was born in Kyoto City and graduated from Doshisha University in Kyoto and moved to Tokyo for working. I used to work for international companies as a marketing advertising specialist. I have been to fourty five different countries until now and been to all prefectures in Japan.
I have deep knowledge of both traditional and modern culture of Japan based on my experience in Kyoto, Tokyo and their surrounding areas such as Kamakura, Nikko, Nara, Osaka. I can design exclusive and the optinum itineray for you and guide you not only to ordinary tour courses but also casual or hidden locations. My task is making you enjoy Japan and like our culture and people. Let me guide you any where you want to visit and enjoy Japan together.