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Self-guided tours don’t always mean going it alone. Peter and Joan spared two days in their itinerary to discover Japan’s unique culture and history with local private guides. International tour guides in Japan take extensive examinations to receive official status, so they know their stuff!
Me and my wife, Joan are roving retirees in the second year of our five year ‘Adventure before Dementia’ trip. Last September we took the Best of Japan self-guided tour with Inside Japan Tours.
Choosing private guides
Once we had agreed the ‘base’ itinerary for our trip with the team, we were provided with all of the transport passes, accommodation bookings, suggested local itineraries, and helpful information about our selected destinations.
The 15-day tour is self-guided, but we planned a private guide for our first day in Tokyo and Kyoto. We hoped that arranging these two days would help us to get a cultural induction to the country such as understanding Japanese protocols, and the local transport system. It would also give us the chance to ask advice for our time in other destinations.
Private guides in Tokyo
On our first day we were met at 9am by private guide, Masa Hattori. He was well briefed on our background and expectations, and provided us with a well-paced and rewarding day with the right balance of history, culture and general information.
Afterwards, we had the skills and confidence to find our way around, and a much better understanding of Tokyo, its people and its history. We used this experience to navigate around Tokyo, before a self-guided experience around Hakone-Yumota.
Private guides in Kyoto
At the halfway point of our holiday, we made our way to Kyoto for our first day with local guide, Takeshi Suzuki. After a punctual arrival at 9am we quickly agreed an itinerary; Inside Japan’s recommended ‘Perfect Day’.
Our full day of sightseeing included bombarding Suzuki-San with our never ending list of queries and observations; including a sense check on our wish-list of things to do in Hiroshima, Osaka, Takayama and final day in Tokyo.
The rest of the trip was as amazing as the first half. Japan is a stunningly beautiful country that truly exceeded all of our expectations. We found it so clean and incredibly safe. It’s really easy to find your way around and the systems are reliable and punctual; but if you do get stuck, everyone is friendly and willing to assist. In our downtime we tried an amazing array of good food, and found that there were a limitless number of quirky beer houses.
Conclusion
Hattori-san and Suzuki-san were patient and understanding and both went the extra yards to ensure we got the most out of our limited time. Our trip was enhanced by their generous sharing of information and we cannot overstate the benefits of their guidance. They allowed us to avoid the time-wasting and stress that can occur with independent travel, while maintaining the freedom and that feeling of accomplishment of self-guiding.
From our first contact with Patrick at Inside Japan, we felt happy to be dealing with a professional, experienced and service-orientated travel company. Now back in Australia we look back on our trip with fond memories. Together we have been fortunate enough to see some of the world and we hope to see a lot more over the coming years. Our travels can be followed on www.getjealous.com/pjspooner.
Thanks Patrick, Hattori-San and Suzuki-San.
Peter and Joan were guests on the Best of Japan self-guided tour. Contact our team to find out more about this tour, or add a day with a private guide to a self-guided itinerary.