Tokyo in One Day: Courtyard by Hotel & Golden Gai — Guide Danda

What Can You See on a Private Tsukiji, Nezu, and Meiji Shrine Walking Tour in Tokyo? A Licensed Guide's Report

I guided a group visiting from North America. Through email exchanges beforehand, we settled on visiting Tsukiji, Nezu Shrine, Yanaka, Meiji Shrine, and Shinjuku Kabukicho, and after confirming once more in the morning we began the tour. What the guests enjoyed most today was being able to see wedding brides and grooms three times in a row — at Tsukiji Honganji, Nezu Shrine (where we could even take photos of colorful uchikake wedding kimono), and Meiji Shrine. Since we had already seen weddings at Tsukiji and Nezu, I said "You are very lucky, and good things may come in threes," and it turned out exactly that way, which delighted the guests. At Tsukiji Honganji, other visitors seemed to be holding back and not approaching the altar because of the wedding preparations, but when I asked the temple staff, they said "The ceremony itself hasn't started yet, so it's perfectly fine. Photos are welcome too," so we were able to go all the way inside. At the market they enjoyed tuna nigiri and mitarashi dango, and the mitarashi sauce was a particular favorite. Unusually for guests, they had not experienced "matcha" or "sake," so one of them tried matcha at Nezu and sake in Golden Gai, both of which received high praise. At Nezu Shrine, both of them bumped their heads on the red torii gates while passing through, but had fun and took photos. For lunch, there were five groups waiting at a restaurant, but we were told the terrace seats were immediately available, and since the weather was fine and warm we decided right away, and both of them finished the ginger pork set meal that I recommended. Finally, a bar in Golden Gai that I occasionally visit (on the second floor of the fourth street) happened to be open, so we stopped by. They serve customers without a table charge from Thursday to Sunday between 15:00 and 18:00 (today there was a complimentary Japanese tea service), which may be useful for future guiding. Thinking it was the end of the day, I decided to have a beer, and since I have a low tolerance for alcohol my face turned bright red, which made the guests laugh as always — perhaps it is unusual. We were able to talk about a wide range of topics, including education-related matters, employment prospects for university students, and running a bar in Shinjuku, and at the end the guests said, "Today was a lot of fun. Thank you," and we parted at the ticket gate of Shinjuku Station on the Marunouchi Line. Blessed with good weather, it was a delightful day.

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Tour Report by Danda

Nice to meet you. I am delighted to introduce myself. My nickname is Danda. I live in Saitama prefecture next to Tokyo, but I was brought up in Kanazawa, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Japan. My favorite things are bonsai and hiking. Also, I have been a big fun of history and sumo since my childhood. As for the guide, I have enjoyed making communication with foreign visitors since 2019. I have taken more than 30 private groups to not only major scenic spots but also their favorite places such as tea ceremony, maid cafe, sumo tournament, bonsai village, fire ritual and so on. I can arrange the original tour based on your requests and curiosity. It will be only for you. I look forward to meeting you soon. Thank you.