Tokyo in One Day: Hiroo Station & Asakusa Station — Guide Masa

Title: What's a Full-Day Private Tour of Tokyo Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Tsukiji, Tokyo Tower, Akihabara, and Asakusa

The guests were a group visiting Japan from North America, all visiting Japan for the first time. They arrived at Haneda Airport via a connecting flight and took a taxi to their hotel. The day before, they had explored Harajuku and Shibuya and enjoyed yakiniku in the evening. They planned to stay in Japan for about two weeks, later visiting Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka before returning to Tokyo and heading home. They told me, "We want to have all sorts of experiences in Japan."

Although the sky was cloudy, we were able to run the tour without any rain.

First, we went to Tsukiji Market. I explained the history of the fish market dating back to the Edo period, as well as the differences between Toyosu Market and the Tsukiji Outer Market. The guests asked, "Why are there so many people here?" and "Do all Tokyo residents come here to buy fish?" We strolled around slowly, and they bought and sampled octopus crackers, strawberry mochi, fried sweet potato, and matcha ice cream. We also walked through the Tsukiji Uogashi building. One of the guests said, "This place is so interesting, I'll come back again early tomorrow morning."

Next, we moved to Tokyo Tower (at the guests' strong request that they absolutely wanted to go). They remarked, "Now we really understand how vast and spread out Tokyo is." They bought a magnet as a souvenir.

We then moved to Akihabara (at the request of one of the guests). We strolled through the electronics district, and they bought a large amount of character goods and building blocks.

The guests wanted to have lunch somewhere. Since some of the guests loved sushi while others did not eat fish, we ended up going to a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant. Some of the guests had nigiri sushi, while others had ramen, and others had tempura and fried potatoes.

After a short break, we headed to Asakusa. It was extremely crowded, and it was difficult to make our way forward. Starting from the front of Kaminarimon Gate, I explained the history of Sensoji Temple and the transition from Edo to Tokyo, the purpose of the five-story pagoda, an overview of Buddhism, and the differences between Buddhism and Shinto. We took commemorative photos many times in front of Kaminarimon and the five-story pagoda.

The guests asked questions such as, "How many Buddhists are there in Japan?" and "Besides Buddhism, what other religions do people follow here?" They also asked, "What kind of teaching is Shinto?", "When did Shinto originate?", and "How many shrines are there in Japan?"

They made comments and asked questions such as, "It's amazing that there is no trash on the streets," "Do people really never throw trash on the streets?", "This was our first time riding the subway, and it was very comfortable and convenient," and "Why are there no trash cans on the streets?"

The guests said, "We're tired and would like to head back to the hotel, but we don't know how to get there," so I saw them off at Hiroo Station, where we parted ways.

Click here for more details: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day 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.