Tokyo Tour Guide?

[McMer]

Hi All,

We will be on Shadow this fall embarking in Tokyo. As we have never been to Tokyo, we will arrive a few days early to sightsee. Since there is a distinct language issue and we also don't read Japanese, we think we would see much more by hiring a guide. We tried the Asia forum and Trip Advisor without much luck. Can anyone recommend a private tour company? Any ideas are appreciated.

[duct tape]

Your TA should have some contacts/referrals for you.

[Stevanb]

Here is what we have used in the past

 

http://www.toursbylocals.com/find_tour&area=23

 

When you look the price is for the tour not per person

[McMer]

Thanks so much, Stevanb. That sight gives us lots of interesting choices!:)

[elb]

McMer

Will you be on the Silver Shadow September 23rd traveling from Tokyo to

Beijing?

[Bobblsc]

Hi All,

We will be on Shadow this fall embarking in Tokyo. As we have never been to Tokyo, we will arrive a few days early to sightsee. Since there is a distinct language issue and we also don't read Japanese, we think we would see much more by hiring a guide. We tried the Asia forum and Trip Advisor without much luck. Can anyone recommend a private tour company? Any ideas are appreciated.

 

We were in Japan in 2007 for 10 nights following a China tour. After six nights in Kyoto, the last four were in Tokyo at the Palace Hotel. A couple of months prior to our trip I contacted Goodwill Guides in Tokyo. We were provided contact with a 39 year old new grandmother whom I deemed "the prettiest grandmother in all Japan." She lived in a Tokyo suburb with her family and taught dance and English to Japanese.

 

She met us at the appointed time in our hotel lobby, and we had about a six hour tour of several places in the city. We had corresponded by e-mail several times before our trip, and the tour generally followed our requests.

 

While her English was not perfect, errors were mostly related to the nuances of American English. We never had any problem in communication.

 

Goodwill Guides are Japanese who want to refine their language skills, and I believe also truly want to be of help to tourists. They ask only for expenses. We paid for our lady's travel into Tokyo and return, and took her to dinner. She selected a very reasonable place for dinner.

 

Obviously, I recommend Goodwill Guides. You should be able to locate their site on the web.

 

Another bit. Especially since our hotel was essentially just across the street from the Imperial Palace, we toured those grounds on our own.

 

You will find that Japan is still a special place, like no other in the world. I had been there before, in 1952 while serving with the USAF in Korea. And in 2007 Japan had obviously changed, but had also kept some of the old traditional ways. Do note that the only ones you tip are the taxi drivers. Of course hotel people, etc. are covered by service charges.

 

While the Japanese tradition of honor was highly skewed during WWII, they have retained the honor related to honesty in these times.

 

You can see that I am from Missouri originally. I earned two degrees at MU in Columbia, having grown up ion Jeff City. I later worked in both St. Louis and Kansas City. Our DD earned a music degree (violin) at the UMKC Conservatory of Music.

 

We have a reservation on the Shadow for the trans-pacific in May, 2013. We wonder about the music and other activities on the ship. Any info you can provide after your cruise will be appreciated.

 

This has been way more than I had intended to write. But you are Missourians, so you must be good people. If you care, you may also reach me at bobe at uark dot edu. Be sure to indicate that you are writing regarding Silversea cruises.

 

Bob :cool:

[McMer]

Hi Bobblsc,

Thank you for the information and for your good recommendation. We're really looking forward to Tokyo and the interesting cultural and historical sights. Wish we had more time for Kyoto and to explore further out - maybe next time.

We're from the St. Louis area, not originally but we've been here a long time, so sorry we missed you when you worked here.

It's been several years since we've been on Shadow so I'm not sure I can tell you much about the music today. We took her to the Baltics and it was a lovely cruise, so we're looking forward to another one. I really appreciate your information and I'll be glad to fill you in when we return. :)

[McMer]

Hi Elb,

Yes we are on that cruise. Are we going to see you there too? It should be great!

[elb]

We are also arriving early in Tokyo since we have never been there.We hope to arrange tours for September 21 & 22 before boarding the ship on the 23rd.[/i]We will be staying at the Hyatt Regency from the 20th to the 23rd. Looks like you are getting great info from this board. I started looking at the tours by locals. Would you be interested in sharing tours since the cost is per tour not per person. You can respond on this board or email me at ellenb65@msn.com Looking forward to this trip. Ellen