Hi! As some of you might know, we are 4 catalans visiting Japan from the 4th-19th August. We have been so warned about the difficulties of the first days in Japan that we have thought that it could be a good idea having a tourist guide the first days. Does anyone know any volunteers to help us? or even if there aren't 'volunteers', do you know any agency with English speakers tourist guides?
Thanks a lot!!
Laia

I am currently flying somewhere over Northern Canada on JAL 10 to Chicago using their internet on board trial service. We were in Tokyo last week and used a private guide named Junko Matsuda. She was great for our family and showed us for two days Tokyo in a very efficient manner. If you PM me I will provide her email address.
GB

http://www.tokyofreeguide.com is an organisation which provides tourists with guides - you'll need to email them two weeks in advance with information about yourselves so they can help plan an itinerary. (Weekends only with few exceptions)

Also here's a page with services provided by the Japanese Tourist Organisation:

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/es...o-z.html#tokyo


This is a tricky question to ask because of the politics of speaking Castillian for some Catalan people (I've met a great many who'd rather chew their own leg off first than say anything in Castillian or use the word 'Spanish') but Polri - does everyone in your group speak fluent English?

While it might be nice to think that all the volunteers are comitted to offering their services out of the goodness of their hearts, the truth is that most of them get some real benefit out of providing this service as it provides a useful way to practice their language skills ( ^ ). It is entirely possible that the volunteer networks I've provided links to have some Spanish students who would love to practice Castillian (or even Catalan - unlikely, but also possible). Translating what the guide is saying to someone else in your party can be tiring, and even frustrating, for everybody. I'm suggesting that you may want to consider requesting a 'Spanish' speaking guide in case there is one available.

Hi!
Thanks for your help. It will be really helpful !! was it very expensive?
What about your visit? anything to recommend? What about the heat?
Thanks a lot!
polri

Just curious who "warned" you and what difficulties.

I remember the first time I visited Japan, I didn't have much difficulties getting around, in fact I thought it was much easier getting around than some other places I've been too.

I think a goodguide book and some research before arrival is good basis without the need for hiring a guide to show someone how to get around town, etc.

Now if you are just looking for a tourist guide to places thats a different story, but from my interpretation you're looking for someone to help you get around etc so you can get used to traveling alone at a later point?

It's easy to get lost, but getting lost in Tokyo is fantastic. It's awesome to be able to just wander a huge city without ever having to worry about wandering into a bad neighborhood.

I am planning a trip to Tokyo and would like to hire a guide to take me around the city. I have not had much luck finding a guide online and was hoping some of you may be able to help me.

I don't care as much if the person has a car/driver, just that they can speak English and know Tokyo very well. So far the only one I've found is $500/day - I have no idea if this is a fair price, but it seems a bit high.

An unrelated question ... I booked a room at the Tokyo Strings by IC and thought it sounded pretty nice. I was told today by someone else that it's actually in the suburbs (Shinagawa?) and not a good choice. Any thoughts?

As well, I tried searching the forum for this ... apologies if the info is already on here.

Thanks very much.

Hi,

I live in Tokyo. Shinagawa isn't the suburbs, but its not the noisy, clangy, bright center either. Which is probably a good thing. Shinagawa is on the JR line, which is the main line that circles the city. You won't have a problem getting anywhere from there.

500/day seems really steep to me, but it depends on the level of service and personalization, I guess. Don't worry about the car, you don't want to be driving and parking. Take the subway,and Tokyo is a great walking town. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions. I've lived here for 6 years, so I don't really have a tourist perspective, but I can tell you if you're getting ripped off.

my earlier post showing sources for volunteer guides still seems relevant.

500 dollars seems a normal fee for a jtb approved guide + vehicle. to bring this cost down you may want to approach the places you are particularly interested in learning about to find out if they offer tours. if they only offer tours in japanese, contact a volunteer association and enquire whether a member will be willing to help with translation.

this could put everyone in a win-win situation, your guide can focus on what is probably their main motivation to volunteer - improving their language skills - and through him/her you have access to expert, hopefully, knowledge on your interests, probably superior to that a jtb guide can provide.

as to shinagawa, as pjxf99 - /welcome to you/ - has said, shinagawa is no suburb of tokyo. and the strings makes an excellent base.

unlike other cities with just one or two centres with suburbs radiating outward, tokyo has many city centres and shinagawa is one of them, in fact, shinagawa makes an important nexus point with thousands of commuters alighting there every day. this gives it a healthy, vibrant bus until about 11:30pm. if you are a night owl, ginza or roppongi are just a 15 or 20 dollar cab ride away.

http://tokyorealtime.com/

I recommend the service at http://www.motorsports-japan.com.

They primarily deal with car enthusiast for racing events, but it is possible to arrange a daily tour in Tokyo with them.

They charge around 500 US dollars (50,000 yen) and a native-level tour guide will take you around. If you have an idea of where you would like to go, they can plan out the itenerary for you, or you can leave it completely up to them by listing your interests (temples, shopping, "red-light district", etc.).

Or you can just do the tourist guide book thing and go at it yourself. Many people can speak English or fair enough of it in Tokyo, especially in the touristy areas. I wouldn't recommend the volunteer service unless you really want to try your luck. I'm sure they mean well, but I've heard cases where some of the volunteers' poor English is just not worth the time. Then again, I've never tried the volunteer service before personally.