Tokyo: Shopping on Nakamise Street — Guide Minoruasai

What Can You See on a 6-Hour Private Tokyo Tour Covering Asakusa, Kappabashi, and Yanaka? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests had been walking around Tokyo with the same [Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.)](https://www.j-g-a.org/) guide, NOBU, on the previous two days, so I first checked which places they had already visited. Based on that, I addressed the inquiry they had sent by email the day before, asking whether it would be possible to visit Nishi-Sando, Kappabashi Street, Yanaka, and Shibamata within six hours. After I explained what kind of place each of the four was, they said, "Then we don't need to go to Shibamata." Next, regarding their request for Nishi-Sando and Kappabashi, I asked, "You've already been to Sensoji Temple, right?" They replied that they had not yet been to Sensoji, so we agreed to also visit Sensoji on the way to Nishi-Sando and Kappabashi Street, and we started the tour.

So first I took them along the Sumida River bank, then to Kaminarimon, and then to Nakamise Street. Just past Kaminarimon, at "Yoroshi Keshodo," they bought lip balm, hand cream, and other items as souvenirs for their friends and family, and they suddenly seemed to be in a shopping mood (laugh). After that, at "Kiyosumi Seika," they tried a sample of a new type of kaminari-okoshi and liked the taste so much that they bought two bags of okoshi there. Then, after passing through the Hozomon gate and finishing at the main hall, when we entered Nishi-Sando, they bought a hair band with a cat design. It turned out they keep two cats and tend to buy items featuring cats. After that, on Kappabashi Street, I took them to their target food-sample shop, "Tokyo Biken," where they again bought about five key holders modeled on sample foods such as sushi and parfaits.

At that point they said, "I'm hungry, let's have lunch," so I asked whether there were any dietary restrictions, and it turned out they don't eat seafood at all—including when it's used in broth (not an allergy, but a matter of preference). We went around to an okonomiyaki place on Kannon-dori, two soba shops, and a chicken-broth ramen shop, but all of them used some fish extract or bonito stock, even if only a small or trace amount, so all were no-go. In the end, we went to Fuji Soba and finished lunch with chicken curry.

After that, we moved to Nippori via Ueno and went to the Yanaka shopping street. Thinking they would surely like it, I took them to "Nunofusen," a shop selling handmade goods with cat designs, and the shopping switch was flipped again—they bought about fifteen small items (all with cat designs) and were very pleased (laugh). After that, they said, "I want to see Yanaka Cemetery," so we strolled through the cemetery and returned to Nippori Station. From there I had intended to take the Yamanote Line to Shinagawa Station and see them to their Hotel, but we had already gone twenty minutes over the six hours, so they said, "I can get back on my own, so this is fine here. It was a very fun day, thank you." Since we had already exceeded the six hours, I took them up on their kind offer and we said goodbye.

Click here for more details: Tokyo Hidden Gems Off the Beaten Path Tour, Licensed Guide

Tour Report by MINORUASAI

I acquired national guide license in 2014, and I have been doing guide work full fledged since 2016. In my career before starting guide work, I was a business man and made more than 1,000 business trips both abroad and in Japan, and that experience is my foundation as a guide because I came to know so many places both abroad and in Japan. I have been taking care of both group and individual tourists, and the number of foreign guests I have taken care is close to 2,500 so far. I am based in Tokyo, but I can cover guide work in many prefectures throughout Japan. When I take care of foreign guests, my major concern is to listen attentively to them, find out what they want to know and do in Japan, and give them appropriate guiding in accordance with what I heard from my guests. I would like to provide tailor made tour as much as possible for every precious guest who kindly chose Japan as the tour destination.