Volunteer tour guide Tokyo-tourism

An opening ceremony was held on 19th June at the Tokyo

Metropolitan office hall and that kicked off Sightseeing Guides

in the street. At the ceremony Mr.Masuzoe said when he went

sightseeing in Seoul, Korea he was guided by a tour guide. He

was very impressed by her manner and spoken English that he

really wanted to bring that to Tokyo. 

The next day on the 20th, I was in the Ueno Area. From 2 o'clock

in the afternoon, I and another tour guide walked a decided tour

route wearing our uniform which displayed on big writing [Tokyo

Omotenashi] on the back of our shirts and on our hats.

Omotenashi shirt

  

As we were walking, a few tourists asked us some touring questions.

(Where is the Ueno Park?)

(Where is the Hato Bus?)

We led them to the JR Ueno station and showed them which line led

to Tokyo station.

(I'd like to go to the Narita Airport.)

The tourist said. He had a ticket from Joumou Kougen (in Gunma) to

Narita Airport by JR. He was in front of the Keisei Skyliner's Station.

I said that with this ticket, you can't get on this line. Only two minutes

remained before his train departed, so he quickly bought the correct

ticket and got on the skyliner.

These days, at lest once a month, I guide tourists in Ueno area.

Sometimes I feel like a consultant rather than a guide.

I don't know what kind of unexpected questions I will encounter but

I do my best to prepare for anything.

I'm a member of Ueno Area sightseeing guide in the street.　by M.S

Would you like to stroll sightseeing spots or food stalls at downtown in Tokyo ?

If so, please join our free walking tours!

Sumo stable tour this Thursday

We well have a sumo stable tour to watch their practice in the morning of this Thursday, June 11, in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa area, Koto-ku, Tokyo. 

We have room for up to 3 people for this tour. If you want to join us, please send us a request by e-mail, under the subject of "sumo tour on June 11". Please include your name, number of participants, nationality, gender, age and your contact number*. Request must be sent by 8:00pm, June 10, Wednesday.
Our e-mail address: koto.guide@gmail.com

We will take your request on a first come, first served basis and send the detailed information to the person / people who can join us.

If you will not get reply from us by midnight Wednesday, it means that we can not meet your request this time. Please wait for the next chance.
Good luck!

*We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service. We will never sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties.

Let's take a walk around Fukagawa area !

Spring is one of the best seasons to do something in Japan since it’s neither too hot nor too cold. Why don’t you take a walk in best season in Japan? Well, I highly recommend that you take a walk around Fukagawa area, Koto-Ward, Tokyo. 

These days this area turned cool spot! Former warehouses were reborn as cool shops, restaurants, cafes and the like. 

Stylish ones opened one after another in this area recently. Actually, since the early 17th century, this area has developed as a warehouse district and residential area of common people, and flourished well. 

Nowadays, these shops and cafes quietly have been popular among Tokyoites. So it must be fun to make a tour of cool ones in comfortable climate in Japan!

Also, I recommend that you visit Fukagawa Edo Mueum if you would like to experience the atmosphere of this area 200 years ago. You can enjoy cool spots now and the past, and must be able to get good memories of Tokyo. So let’s take a walk around Fukagawa area!                   by K.E








It is almost rainy season in Japan.
Would you like to take a walk to visit cool spots in Koto city ?
If so, please join our  free walking tours!

Wisteria Festival at Kameido Tenjin shrine

Wisteria Festival at Kameido Tenjin shrine is very popular.  It is held from late April to the early May (around "Golden Week").  There will be full of Lavender colored flowers at the shrine, and it is really beautiful especially when they are dangled from wisteria trellises.

At the pond, you can also find many small tortoises.  "Kameido" means  "the door of tortoises," so they keep tortoises there.

You can enjoy the view of wisteria with Tokyo Skytree! 

The nearest stations are Tokyo Metro Hanzomon line "Kinsicho," JR Sobu line "Kinshicho" and "Kameido."  From Tokyo or Akihabara, I recommend you to get off at Kinshicho since you can watch Tokyo Skytree while walking to Kameido Tenjin shrine. 

by M.G

Early summer is the best season to visit Japan.
Would you like to enjoy flower blooming ?
If so, please join our  free walking tours!

Local guides showed around “insider” places in Tokyo

Guests from the Netherlands, who wanted to experience how Tokyo citizens live, enjoyed KEV tour visiting places not shown on a guidebook. 

The tour started from Monzen-Nakacho station on Tokyo Metro Tozai line, included a visit to Fukagawa Fudo-do temple to see “Goma” holy fire ritual, 

Fukagawa Fudo-do

an alley of very small restaurants and bars retaining an atmosphere of black-market stalls,

Retaining black-market stalls

a restaurant where ordinary office workers have lunch, and ended at a liquor shop with fantastic assortment of Sake.

by N.T

Enjoying Sake together.

With tour participants from Netherlandｓ

Spring is the best season to visit Japan.
Would you like to enjoy flower blooming season and Sake in Japan ?
If so, please join our  free walking tours!

Another Flower Festival

Long-awaited spring has come! 
Everyone must enjoy viewing cherry blossoms and drinking-dancing under the trees all over Japan. But, there is another celebration in April. Do you know that April 8th is the birthday of Oshaka sama, a.k.a. Gautama Buddha? 
Gautama Buddha is the founder of Buddhism. Oshaka sama was born at Lumbini Garden in India two thousand and five hundred years ago. Miraculously, right after birth, he walked seven steps ahead as he stood up. Then he declared, as he pointed heaven with his right finger and ground with his left, “Holy am I alone throughout heaven and earth.” According to the myth that a dragon flew down from the heaven and poured the sweet tea (beverage of prolonging life) over baby Gautama’s head, it has become a custom to decant tea over the statue of Oshaka sama for his birthday celebration. 

After enjoying full-blown cherry blossom, would you like to stroll around your neighbor temples to develop an understanding of Buddhism?

by K.T

Spring is the best season to visit Japan.
Would you like to enjoy flower blooming season in Japan ?
If so, please join our  free walking tours!

"Kameido Tenjin Plum Blossom Festival Tour on March 3, 2015"

We, 2 Swedish ladies and 3 Japanese guides, enjoyed the special walking tour.

There are various kinds of plum trees in Kameido Tenjin Shrine.

Some are in full bloom, and others are still in half bloom.  All of them present their beautiful and elegant scenery.

Though it’s a chilly and cloudy day, quite a few flower lovers visited the shrine and seemed to be pleased with its ambience.

In this neighborhood, we could also stop by old stores of clogs, tortoiseshell work, antiques, etc.
At the end of the tour, we had a toast with beer in "Kameido Gyoza” restaurant !

Why don’t you join our walking tour next time?  
Please feel free to contact us: 

koto.guide@gmail.com

(by YokoN)