Tokyo in One Day: Takanawa Gateway & Shibuya — Guide Masa

Title: What's a Rainy-Day Private Tour of Tokyo Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Asakusa, the Imperial Palace, Meiji Shrine, and Shibuya

The guests were a group visiting Japan for the first time from Europe. [Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.)](https://www.j-g-a.org/) arranged this private tour of Tokyo for the group.

The group had arrived at Kansai Airport some days earlier via connecting flights, then traveled through Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara before taking the Shinkansen to Tokyo the previous day. They planned to stay in Tokyo before flying home. The day before, they had strolled around the area near their hotel.

Conversation within the group was in their native language. They mentioned that while a second foreign language used to be French in their home country, English is now the main one.

It was a tour spent under the rain.

We first headed to Asakusa. Despite the rain, it was quite crowded. Starting from in front of Kaminarimon Gate, I explained "Senso-ji 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 and various spots, and slowly strolled through the packed Nakamise shopping street. The guests asked questions such as "What are the major religions in Japan?", "How many Buddhists are there in Japan?", and "Besides Buddhism, what other religions do people follow?" They also asked, "We see people in kimono around the temple grounds — why is that?"

We moved to the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace. There I explained "Japanese history from Edo to Meiji," "The Meiji Restoration," "Why Edo Castle became the Imperial Palace," "The history of the Imperial family," "World War II and the Tokyo air raids," and "How the stone walls were built." The guests asked and commented on things like "Does the current Emperor of Japan hold political power?", "Who is the next Emperor?", and "Can a woman become Emperor?" They remarked, "The pine trees are magnificent." We also visited Nijubashi Bridge.

We then moved to Harajuku. Meiji Shrine was full of tourists. There I explained "About Shinto," "About the torii gate," "About Emperor Meiji," "Why the sake barrels are displayed," and "Why the wine barrels are displayed." The guests asked "What kind of religion is Shinto?", "How do Buddhism and Shinto differ?", and "What is an Inari shrine?" On the shrine grounds we encountered a family doing their Shichi-Go-San visit and took photos. We took a break at Forest Terrace Meiji Jingu.

We moved to Shibuya. Looking out from Scramble Square, the guests asked "About how many people cross at once?" and "Why did it become so famous?" We also took photos in front of the Hachiko statue. The guests commented and asked things like "The city is so clean, with no litter on the ground," "There are no trash cans on the streets — why is that?", and "Everyone is so quiet on the train."

I saw them off at Takanawa Gateway 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.