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

What Is a Private One-Day Tokyo Cruise Port Tour Like for a Solo Guest? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guest was a solo traveler from North America, visiting Japan for the first time. This trip was a retirement celebration. The guest had boarded a cruise ship in Asia, spent 12 days traveling around various parts of Japan, and arrived this morning at the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal. After this, the day after next, the ship would call at various ports in Japan again before returning to a port in Asia, from which the guest planned to fly home.

The guest had mobility limitations that made fast walking difficult and found being in crowds for long periods stressful. Because of this, we arranged the tour to use elevators and escalators as much as possible.

The cruise ship docked earlier than scheduled. The guest expressed a wish to buy various souvenirs for family members during the tour.

The tour took place under cloudy skies, with some rain along the way.

First, we headed to Asakusa. As usual, it was very crowded, especially with large foreign tour groups and school excursion students. We started from in front of Kaminarimon Gate. I explained about Sensoji Temple and the history from Edo to Tokyo, what the five-story pagoda is for, what Buddhism is, and the differences between Buddhism and Shinto. We took a commemorative photo in front of Kaminarimon Gate. Along Nakamise shopping street, the guest bought chopsticks and a T-shirt as souvenirs. Because of the dislike of crowds, we did not enter the main hall.

There were questions such as "What are Japan's main religions?", "How many Buddhists are there in Japan?", and "Besides Buddhism, what other religions do people follow?" There was also a question about whether people go to temples every week.

We then moved to Akihabara. I explained about the history of Akihabara. The guest bought several character figures as souvenirs for family. The guest also wanted to buy a digital camera for personal use, but gave up because the price was not right.

We moved to the Imperial Palace and strolled through the East Gardens. There was a question about when the cherry blossoms are at their best. I explained about the history of Edo, the history from the Edo period to the Meiji era, the Meiji Restoration, why Edo Castle became the Imperial Palace, and why the capital moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. There were questions such as "What happened to the shoguns and samurai after the Meiji Restoration?" and "Does the current Emperor of Japan hold political power?" At the shop, the guest bought a small accessory case as a souvenir for family.

From here we moved to Shibuya. Since the guest wanted to eat ramen, we went to a ramen restaurant for lunch.

At this point the rain began. We took photos at the Scramble Crossing. The guest said, "I don't want to walk into the middle of the crossing," and also asked, "Why do so many people gather here?" We also took photos in front of the Hachiko statue.

Mentioning a friend who collects Irish Pub T-shirts from around the world, the guest wanted to visit an Irish Pub near the top of Dogenzaka, so we went there.

The guest made comments and asked questions such as, "It's strange that there's no litter on the streets," "Doesn't anyone throw trash on the streets?", and "Why are there no trash cans on the streets?" The guest also remarked that the Tokyo subway is hard to understand.

I saw the guest off at the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal Station on the Yurikamome line, 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.