I’d like to thank you all, and in a special way, to my guide in Tokyo for 2 days in the begining of August, Misa Haratsu. Without her cordiality, my first contact with Tokyo would not be so easy. Thanks again and congratulations for this excelent free guide service!

Jorge, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

July 2010
Guide: Yukie Takahashi and Sayaka Kobayashi
Route: Shinjyuku – Zo-jo-ji – Tokyo Tower – Azabu-juban – Roppongi Hills – Shibuya – Harajyuku

Somos un grupo de 6 amigos, conocimos Tokyofreeguide a través de un foro en internet, y la verdad es que fue un gran hallazgo y una gran experiencia que hizo nuestro viaje a Japón más enriquecedor. Conocer una ciudad de la mano de su gente, en tu propio idioma, pudiendo hacer todas las preguntas que te surgen a cada momento… la verdad es que es genial.
Así que el primer día de nuestra llegada a Tokyo nos acompañaron Yukie y Sayaka durante todo el día a conocer su ciudad (y en español!). Ya nuestro contacto por email las semanas previas al viaje fue muy bueno, ayudándonos con todas las dudas que teníamos (algunas cosas de gran utilidad) en la preparación de nuestro viaje.

El día que llegamos nos fueron a buscar a nuestro hotel y nos llevaron a conocer los barrios más urbanos de la ciudad según habíamos acordado con ellas.

Empezando por Shinjuku nos llevaron a conocer la calle de los borrachos, el barrio Kabuki-ko, los almacenes Isetan… Después nos movimos a Roppongi, donde visitamos el Templo Zojo-jii, allí Yukie y Sayaka nos enseñaron el “rito del lavado”, el árbol donde poner deseos y las estatuas Jinzo por los niños no nacidos. Vimos también la Torre de Tokyo y subimos al edificio Mori desde donde vimos unas vistas espectaculares de la ciudad (incluso el Monte Fuji)

Nos llevaron a un restaurante japonés especializado en pescado que nos gustó mucho. Y ya por la tarde terminamos en Shibuya, paseamos por sus ajetreadas calles, su famoso cruce y gracias a Yukie y Sayaka que nos explicaron su funcionamiento nos hicimos una divertida sesión de fotos en grupo en un establecimiento de fotos (típico de adolescentes, jaja)

Por último terminamos en Harajuku y Takeshita-dori una pequeña calle muy animada llena de gente joven con atuendos y tiendas de lo más extravagantes . Volvimos con ellas a Shinjuku y nos llevaron a cenar a una Izacaya que nos gustó mucho.

El último día de nuestro viaje (dos semanas después) volvimos a quedar con ellas en Tokyo para cenar, reservaron en otra izacaya (muy ambientada y muy rico todo!) y luego nos acompañaron a un karaoke donde lo pasamos en grande.

Recomiendo Tokyofreeguide a todo el mundo, ya que te ayuda a conocer más en profundidad este fascinante país a través de su gente y a hacer cosas que de otra forma no hubiéramos podido hacer solos.

Y mostrar nuestro agradecimiento a Yukie y Sayaka, por su simpatía y su amabilidad y por ayudarnos a conocer mejor su país, su ciudad y sus costumbres. Un beso Yukie y Sayaka!!

July 2010
Guide: Ryuichiro Hayashi
Route: Tsukiji fish market – Ginza – Asakusa – Akihabara; Tokyo Metropolitan Government building – Harajuku – Shibuya – Odaiba

My name is Maricel Lustre. A few weeks ago, I wrote to Tokyo Free Guide requesting a free tour. TFG assigned a wonderful tour guide to us named “Hayashi Ryuichiro” also known as Ichiro-san for short.
My family and I would like to thank Tokyo Free Guide for giving us Ichiro-san. He is very professional, punctual, knowledgeable and was able to save us money by using wise transportation. We enjoyed all of the places we visited but we had lots of fun in Odaiba. We also loved dining at Ganko. We are very happy in having Ichiro-san as our tour guide. Our14 year old son loved him! Ichiro-san was very patient with him. Our son could not stop talking about him. We learned so much from Ichiro-san. It was our first time to tour Tokyo and our experience was very memorable. Thank you very much Ichiro-san for showing us Tokyo. We feel very fortunate in having met you because in doing so we have gained a friend.

These are the places we visited:
On July 17th.
We went to Tsukiji fish market, Ginza, Asakusa, and Akihabara. We ate lunch at Ganko and had dinner in Akihabara called Fujisoba.

On July 18th.
We went to Tokyo Metropolitan Government building in Shinjuku, Harajuku (Takeshita Street and Omotesando Street), Shibuya (Hachiko dog statue) and Odaiba (statue of Liberty, Fuji TV building). We ate lunch near Shibuya Station and dinner near Hibiya Station.

Thank you also Tokyo Free Guide for making it possible for people like us to enjoy this wonderful city named Tokyo, for free. More power to you!

Sincerely yours,
The Lustre Family: Ramon, Maricel, Kershaun and Fe

I just wanted to contact you and to thank and complement your free guide service for the very high standard of person you have as a guide. I was most impressed by Chinami, her warmth, her hospitality and her bravery in being prepared to guide someone in a wheelchair.

Chinami is a credit to your service and a great ambassador for Japan. I believe the fact that I enjoyed my visit to your delightful city was largely because of her enthusiasm, time and prepardness to show me a side of Japan that I would otherwise have missed.

Once again I want to thank you and to compliment and congratulate you on being involved with such a wonderful guide service.

Kindest regards

Graham Edwards

May 2010
Guide: Hiroko Kitagou, Yoko Takano
Route: Imperial Palace – Asakusa – Ueno (Tokyo National Museum); Tokyo Metropolitan Government building – Shinjuku Gyoen – Meiji Shrine

My husband, Alan, and I cannot say enough good things about Tokyo Free Guide. Both of the guides met us at our hotel each morning with a plan for the day.Hiroko made sure we understood how to use the subway system and without her I don’t know if we would have figured out we could ride JR lines free with our Japan Railpass.  She arranged for a bus tour for us in the area near the Imperial Palace which helped us get a better idea of our surroundings. We ate lunch near the Senjoji Temple where I had shabu-shabu for the first time and Alan had tempura. We had been reluctant to go into restaurants before this because we couldn’t read the menus but Hiroko showed us what to do and it made such a difference the rest of the trip. By spending time with Hiroko, we learned so much about Buddhist and Shinto shrines and temples. We used that knowledge throughout our 2 weeks in Japan. The next day Yoko took us to city hall to get a beautiful view of the city, and to Shinjuku Gyoen, which has lovely gardens. Yoko was so helpful finding out the English words for all of the trees and flowers I asked her about. We got a flavor for the shopping areas in Tokyo too and were fortunate to see a wedding party at the Meiji Temple. We could never have seen as much as we did without her guiding us on the right subway lines. We can’t thank Tokyo Free Guide enough for the generosity shown to us by our guides.

March 2010
Guide: Akemi Ito, Chikako Honda
Route: Nikko (Rinnoji – Toshogu – Taiyuin), Kawaguchiko Lake (Nishi-ko, Iyashi no sato Neba, Kawaguchi-ko han, Kaiun no yu, Futarasan Shrine), Kamakura

Ciao,
I am Vincenzo from Italy, and now I’m gonna tell you my japanese experience with Tokyo Free Guide.
I was guided in Nikko by Akemi, , the weather was very cold and it was snowy. We saw the three monkeys temple (that is worldwide famous), the beautiful bridge, and many others temples. We had ramen for lunch, and it was very good! There were many stairs, it war tiring but it was worthed. Akemi planned the route very well and she was very accurate in the explanation of everything we saw. telling me the meaning of every temple and statue.
I have always wanted to see Mount Fuji and Akemi was very kind and she guided me there too. She did a great job! She planned three different routes and at the end we went to Kawaguchiko Lake. There we went to a beautiful onsen, then we saw the Saiko Lake and a tipical village near Mount Fuji where I could wear an original Samurai armor, it was a great experience! For lunch we had a great tempura! I finally realized my biggest dream seeing Fuji San and I am very greatful to Akemi, I will always remember that day!
I went to Kamakura and there I met my other guide, Chikako Honda. There we saw many temples, Sakura flowers and many Buddah statues. For lunch we had a delicious sushi, then in the afternoon we reached the big Buddah, taking a hiking route, and I liked it a lot. Chikako was very nice and she can also speak a little Italian (very funny!). Grazie Chikako mi sono divertito molto con te!
These three days are only a little (but big) part of my experience in Japan but they are unforgettable! Thank you Tokyo Free Guide! Thank you Akemi and Chikako, now I hope we are friends!
Vincenzo

March 2010
Guide: Yukie Takahashi
Route: (Day 1) Kamakura; (Day 2) Harajuku – Omotesando – Shibuya

Gracias a Tokyo Free Guide y especialmente a nuestra guía Yukie, que habla español perfectamente, pudimos disfrutar de Tokio mas allá de lo puramente turístico. El primer día fuimos con Yukie a Kamakura, donde vimos esa parte más tradicional con templos increíbles donde se respiraba una paz especial, Yukie nos explicaba cada detalle. Después nos llevó al Bosque de Bambú donde tomamos un té tradicional japones, os lo recomiendo! Y finalmente vimos la estatua del Gran Buda, sólo decir que es IMPRESIONANTE! Para acabar la noche, nuestra guía reservó para cenar en un restaurante de Shibuya donde cenamos especialidades japonesas junto con más amigos de Yukie y para rematar nos fuimos de fiesta a un Karaoke!! Genial!

El siguiente día lo iniciamos en Harajuku, como era el último día de nuestra estancia en Tokio lo dedicamos a las compras. Fuimos por omotesando, cat street donde puede encontrar verdaderas prendas de coleccionista, tiendas de segunda mano, donde es difícil marchar sin comprar nada… compramos una sudadera de “moe” y un reloj sin números, artículos realmente originales! Tambien nos llevó a una tienda de Kymonos de segunda mano, Gallery Kawano, donde puedes comprar kymonos muy bien de precio y después comimos en un italiano en Omotesando llamado Red Pepper, delicioso!

Por la tarde seguimos haciendo compras y paseamos por Shibuya, donde solo pasear impresiona por la cantidad de gente que hay. Acabamos la noche cenando con Yukie y su marido Takaomi en un restaurante italiano, un 10 a los dos por la amabilidad y la dedicación de su tiempo que hace que volvamos a España, con el recuerdo de un viaje inolvidable.

Simplemente dar las gracias a Yukie, por ser la mejor guía y sobretodo por ser una GRANDÍSIMA AMIGA!Para más información de Yukie, tiene un blog en el que comparte sus conocimientos sobre Japón con todos: http://ameblo.jp/pindonga/

Hasta la próxima!
Mari & Isi
Madrid, Spain

March 2010
Guide: Ryuichiro Hayashi
Route: Tokyo: Shinjyuku Gyoen Park – Kabukicho – Metropolitan Tokyo Goverment Building Observatory – Harajuku (Takeshita Street/Kiddy Land) – Shibuya (Intersection/The Myth of Tommorow painted by Taro Okamoto/Hachiko Statue); Kamakura: Kita-kamakura – Engakuji Temple – Hachimangu Shrine – Komachi street – Daibutsu (Koutokuin Temple) – Hase-dera Temple; Nikko: The world heritage Shrines/Temples (Kegon Falls & Chuzen-ji Lake, under a heavy snow, it was a memorable journey (see the picture with the mexican flag)).

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank to “Tokyo Free Guide Organization” to have given us the opportunity to meet our fantastic friend (guide) “Ryuishiro” Hayashi, we had a great time with him in Tokyo. He is very patient, polite, easygoing and a flexible person. With him we learned a lot about the japanese culture, typical food, snacks/candies and much more !!

Since we got in touch with him before our arrival in Tokyo, he gave us a lot of advices/suggestions which helped us to better arrange our trip around Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Hiroshima & Miyajima.

Now he has 6 good friends in Mexico.

We hope to come back to Tokyo in 2 years and we will certainly use your help again. We will recommend TFG and Ichiro, to everyone who plans to visit Tokyo.

Thank you once again for your excellent service.

Kind regards from Mexico,

Isabel
(Lulu, Norma, Lupita, Paco & Gustavo)

March 2010
Guide: Senichi Nagai
Route: Tsukiji – Akihabara – Asakusa – Tokyo Tower

On our recent trip to Tokyo we decided to try the TokyoFreeGuide service, and what a great service it turned out to be. The TokyoFreeGuide service you get is exactly what the web site information describes, there are no surprises or problems.

The best part of our trip was the good fortune to have Senichi Nagai as our guide. Not only was he a great guide, but he is truly a wonderful person to know. Senichi speaks fluent English which made our time with him easy, efficient and fun. We discussed the things we wanted to see and do, and Senichi planned each day’s itinerary for us and right on schedule every morning Senichi arrived at our hotel with the day’s itinerary ready to go. And each day turned out to be an exciting, fun filled and fulfilling experience.

All I can say is that the TokyoFreeGuide service worked out great for us, and having the good fortune of having Senichi as our guide made this a truly memorable trip.

So if you’re thinking of using TokyoFreeGuide and you’re lucky enough to have Senichi Nagai as your guide, you will have a great time and just like us you will think of Senichi as more of a friend and family member than as a guide.

Dale & Lori Hawaii

January 2010
Guide: Senichi Nagai
Route: Ueno – Yanaka – Shinjyuku – Harajyuku – Shibuya

We had some email contact with our guide before we arrived in Japan and we were eager to get to know him further. Senichi-san met us at our hotel in the Akasaka district, a considerable distance from his home. He had carefully prepared an itinerary that included shrines, temples, gardens, some of the older part of the city and a lunch restaurant. We walked and took public transport to the various sights and the entire time Senichi-san made sure we were able to understand all of the things we saw and did. He was considerate and knowledgeable and very kind to two gaijin new to his country. We had a most enjoyable day together. A particular highlight was the Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens which we found both beautiful and peaceful, but everything about the day was a pleasure. Thanks to TokyoFreeGuide.com, which we wholeheartedly recommend, and of course our new friend Senichi Nagai, for this terrific experience.