Tokyo in Half a Day: Tsukiji Station & Hibiya Station — Guide Masa

Title: What Is a Private Full-Day Tour of Tokyo's Tsukiji, Asakusa, and Kappabashi Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a group visiting from North America. Some of the guests had visited Japan once about 25 years earlier, but the others were visiting Japan for the first time. This was a trip of about three weeks. After finishing their time in Tokyo, they planned to travel around Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Hiroshima before returning to Tokyo and then heading home.

They had arrived at Haneda Airport two days earlier and taken a taxi to their hotel. The previous day they had strolled around Harajuku, Roppongi, and Ginza. The night before, the whole group had gone out to a sushi restaurant in Ginza (they were all big fans of sushi).

It was a clear day, and the tour took place under pleasant weather.

First, we headed to Tsukiji Market. Everyone said, "We plan to eat sushi for breakfast at Tsukiji, so we didn't have breakfast at the hotel."

We first went to a well-known eatery. We waited in line for a short while and were seated. Everyone appeared very satisfied.

After that, we went to Tsukiji Uogashi. 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 also questions such as "Why are there so many people here?" and "Do all the people of Tokyo come here to buy fish?"

We strolled around slowly. They purchased and sampled grilled eel (unagi kabayaki), grilled snow crab, matcha ice cream, strawberry mochi, fried sweet potato, and more. ("We just want to try everything," they said.)

Next, we went to Asakusa. As always, it was very crowded. I explained "the history of Sensoji Temple and the development from Edo to Tokyo," "what the five-story pagoda is," "what Buddhism is," and "the difference between Buddhism and Shinto." We took commemorative photos in front of Kaminarimon Gate and the five-story pagoda.

There were questions such as "How many Buddhists are there in Japan?" "What other religions do people believe in?" and "How often do people who believe in Buddhism go to temples? Do they worship every week?"

We strolled slowly through Nakamise shopping street. One of the guests bought a hat, saying it was hot. However, it took quite a while to decide before finally settling on one.

We then moved to Kappabashi Kitchenware Street. One of the guests enjoys cooking and very much wanted to buy a kitchen knife. They were indeed interested in the knives, and after entering several shops and comparing various options, they purchased one. They also seemed to love the food samples and bought a small magnetic sushi sample.

There were comments and questions such as "It's amazing that there's no litter on the streets. Is the cleaning that thorough? It's so clean, completely different from home." "I rode the subway for the first time, and it was very comfortable and convenient." "It's strange that there are no trash bins on the streets. Why is that?"

Since the guests said they were a bit tired and wanted to return to the hotel, I saw them off at Hibiya Station and we parted ways.

Click here for more details: Tsukiji Local Food & Culture Half-Day Tour, 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.