Tokyo in One Day: Shibuya & Meiji-jingumae — Guide Masa

What Is a Private One-Day Tokyo Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Asakusa, Tsukiji, Harajuku, and Shibuya

The guests were a group visiting from North America. It was their first visit to Japan for all of them.

They arrived at Haneda Airport the previous evening (they mentioned a policy of always flying with a particular airline). This time they were staying in Japan for two weeks. After Tokyo, they planned to visit Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Hiroshima, then return to Tokyo before heading home.

The previous evening, they strolled around the area near their hotel and enjoyed a "shabu-shabu" dinner at the hotel. They also expressed some wishes: "We'd like to enjoy the cherry blossoms if possible," and "One of us wants to buy a high-end camera, so we'd like a shop recommendation."

It was a tour under clear skies.

First, we headed to Asakusa.

We started in front of Kaminarimon Gate. I explained "Sensoji Temple and the history from Edo to Tokyo," "what the five-story pagoda is for," "what Buddhism is," and "the difference between Buddhism and Shinto."

We took commemorative photos at Kaminarimon, in front of the five-story pagoda, and at various spots. The weeping cherry blossoms on the temple grounds had mostly fallen. We slowly strolled through the crowded Nakamise shopping street.

There were questions such as "What are the main religions in Japan?", "How many Buddhists are there in Japan?", and "Besides Buddhism, what religions do people follow?"

There was also a question: "We see many people wearing kimono on the temple grounds—why is that? Are they all Japanese?"

We headed to Tsukiji. As always, it was crowded. After a quick look around Tsukiji Uogashi, we slowly strolled through the outer market area. I explained "the history of the fish market since the Edo period" and "the difference between Toyosu Market and the Tsukiji outer market."

There were questions and comments such as "Do all Tokyo residents come here to buy fish?" and "It's crowded, but it seems there are many tourists after all."

They wanted to try some food, so they sampled "tuna sushi" and "grilled Kobe beef skewers topped with sea urchin."

One of the guests loves Japanese food, and mentioned being especially fond of a restaurant called "NOBU."

We moved to Harajuku.

Meiji Shrine was full of tourists.

I explained "about Shinto," "about the torii gate," "about Emperor Meiji," "why sake barrels are displayed," and "why wine barrels are displayed."

There were questions such as "What kind of religion is Shinto?" and "How do Buddhism and Shinto differ?"

We came across a wedding procession, which they eagerly photographed. We also encountered a family celebrating "Shichi-Go-San," and with permission, they photographed that as well.

We also strolled through the very crowded "Takeshita Street" and "Cat Street."

We took a short break at a nearby restaurant.

We moved to Shibuya. We actually crossed the Scramble Square. There were questions such as "About how many people cross here?" and "Why did it become famous?"

We also took photos in front of the Hachiko statue, and strolled through Shibuya Center Street.

There were comments and questions such as "The streets are clean and there's no litter," "The public restrooms are clean," "There are no trash cans on the streets—why?", "Everyone is quiet on the trains," and "There are vending machines everywhere."

We parted ways at Shibuya Station.

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.