Tokyo in One Day: Tochomae & Shinjuku West Exit — Guide Masa

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

The guests were a group visiting Japan for the first time from North America. They had originally come from another region and moved to North America some time ago. They arrived at Haneda Airport the previous evening and took a taxi to their hotel. The night before, they had strolled around the hotel area and enjoyed grilled meat for dinner. On this occasion, they were on a 12-day visit to Japan, planning to stay in Tokyo for three days before visiting Hakone, Kyoto, and Osaka, then returning to Tokyo before heading home. They said, "In Japan, we want to visit as many places as possible," and also, "We want to try and enjoy many different kinds of Japanese food." Although the sky was cloudy, we were able to get through the tour without any rain.

First, we went to Asakusa. As always, there was a huge crowd, with many foreign tour groups and school excursion students in particular. We started in 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, what Buddhism is, and the difference between Buddhism and Shinto. We took many commemorative photos in front of Kaminarimon and the five-story pagoda. One of the guests drew an omikuji fortune and was disappointed to pull a "bad luck" result. One of the guests also purchased an omamori charm. There were questions such as, "What are the main religions in Japan?" "How many Buddhists are there in Japan?" and "Besides Buddhism, what other religions do people believe in?" There was also a question, "Do you go to the temple every week?"

We then moved to Akihabara, where I explained its history. Video game software was also purchased.

Next, we moved to Harajuku and visited Meiji Shrine. I explained about Shinto, the torii gate, Emperor Meiji, and why wine barrels are displayed there. There were questions such as, "What kind of teachings does Shinto have?" "When did Shinto originate?" "How many shrines are there in Japan?" and "What is the difference between Buddhism and Shinto?"

From here we moved to Shibuya. First, we took photos at the scramble crossing. There was a question, "Why do so many people gather here?" We also took photos in front of the Hachiko statue.

Since they wanted to purchase tickets for their upcoming travels, we went to Shinjuku Station. At JR Shinjuku Station they purchased round-trip Shinkansen tickets between Tokyo and the Kansai area, and at the Odakyu Travel Center they also purchased tickets from Shinjuku to Hakone (the guests insisted they had already purchased them in advance on a website, but for some reason the QR code did not appear on the screen, causing a bit of trouble).

After this, we walked around the east exit of Shinjuku and explored the underground shopping area of a department store. There were comments and questions such as, "It's surprising that there is no litter on the streets," "Doesn't anyone throw trash on the streets?" "Kabukicho isn't very clean, but it feels far cleaner and safer than cities in North America," and "Why are there no trash cans on the streets?"

I saw them off at Tochomae Station, and 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.