March 1st, 2010
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.
Tags: Harajyuku, Shibuya, Shinjyuku, Ueno, Yanaka
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February 26th, 2010
December 2009
Guide: Ayako Shimoda; Tomoko Shiraishi
Route: Rikugien Garden – Hamarikyu Garden – Asakusa; Ebisu – Shinjuku – Harajuku
– Ayako Shimoda guided me in December 2009
I asked Ayako to help me see some Japanese gardens, she was an
excellent guide and took me to 2 Gardens in Tokyo (Rikugien and
Hamarikyu) as well as a Temple we also took the River Boat on
Sumidagawa River. It as a wonderful and very well planned day and Ayako was a pleasure to have as a guide, her English was also excellent. I would sincerely recommend her to anyone looking for a Tokyo guide
– Tomoko Shiraishi Guided me for a day in December 2009
I wanted to see some photography Galleries in Tokyo, Tomoko Shiraishi planned an excellent day and we visited many small out of the way galleries as well as the larger ones, we also visited a Flea Market Tomoko went to a lot of effort to plan a very full day of visiting galleries that would have been impossible to find on my own
More photos: http://www.photo.net.au/gallery/Japan/
Tags: Asakusa, Ebisu, Hamarikyu Garden, Harajuku, Rikugien Garden, Shinjuku
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January 31st, 2010
January 2010
Guide: Katsue Shinomiya; Noriko Murakami
Route: (Day 1) Shinjuku – Ginza – Asakusa – Akihabara; (Day 2) Sinjuku – Harajuku – Gaiennmae – Kokyo – Odaiba; (Day 3) Tokyo Daibutsu – Ikebukuro – Ryogoku
We my family had a great time in japan. we (rafael, Clelia and Tato) have done a wonderful trip to Japan in January 25-2010
we are not descendants of Japanese but we had a curiosity to know a developed and organized country. were delighted with this country. but I confess that what made the difference was to have the support of the guides Katsue and Noriko. … They are wonderful people, and we particularly like being able to be with them.
We would like to congratulate the “free guide” service. especially Katsue and Noriko.
Clelia, Rafael & Tato
Tags: Akihabara, Asakusa, Gaiennmae, Ginza, Harajuku, Ikebukuro, Odaiba, Ryogoku, Shinjuku, Tokyo Daibutsu
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January 31st, 2010
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Fukuwarai
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Guide: Souei Takahashi
Route: TFG’s New Year’s Party @ Kiyosumi Garden
We would like to thank the Tokyo Free Guides for their amazing generosity and kindness in hosting us at their New Year’s Party. We had booked a free guide, the charming Mr Takahashi, for an afternoon tour and luckily the date coincided with the Free Guide’s New Year Party. It was fabulous, with traditional games and food to try and even kimonos to try on in a beautiful teahouse in a Tokyo park, not “park” like here “beautiful gardens” would be a better descriptor!! All the free guides were delightful, it is so much the best experience of travel to meet the locals and the Free Guides are so enthusiastic about their country and culture, we learnt so much and got so much more from the rest of our trip thanks to them. I cannot recommend their service more highly if you are interested in meeting some locals who can give you a real insight into Japan. I very much hope to meet up with them again sometime!!!!
Fiona
Australia
(travelled with husband and four children January 2010)
Tags: Kiyosumi Garden
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January 28th, 2010
January 2010
Guide: Ryuichiro Hayashi
Route: Ueno – Yanaka – Shinjuku – Harajuku – Shibuya
May I take this opportunity to thank you so much for such an excellent service. Our guide Ryuichiro Hayashi was the most polite, knowledgeable and pleasant person it was our fortune to meet. We have recommended not only your service but our wonderful guide Ichiro to everyone. Many many thanks, from Paula and Gordon.
Tags: Harajuku, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ueno, Yanaka
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January 26th, 2010
January 2010
Guide: Masako Shimada
Route: Ryogoku – Tsukiji – Kabukiza – Omotesando; Takasago Sumo stable – Dressing up like a Maiko
Hello,
I truly enjoyed having Masako Shimada as my tour guide. She took me everywhere I wanted to go. She also gave me suggestions for things to do that I would not have thought of. It was great having a guide who genuinely enjoyed what she does.
My favorite part of my trip was going to see a sumo wrestling practice and dressing up like a maiko. It was helpful having a guide to set these up for me as the language barrier would have made it difficult for me to do on my own.
I hope to bring my parents to Tokyo within the next few years. I will certainly use this service again.
Sincerely,
Julie
Tags: Dressing up like a Maik, Kabukiza, Omotesando, Ryogoku, Takasago Sumo stable, Tsukiji
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January 3rd, 2010
January 2010
Guide: Akemi Ito and Tomoko Matsubara
Route: ＜Kamakura＞ Komachi street – Tsurugaoka – Hachimangu shrine – Kamakuragu shrine – Egaraten shrine – Sugimoto temple – Shakado Kiridoshi – Hokokuji; ＜Tokyo＞ Akihabara – Yanaka – Asakusa – Kagurazaka
Tokyo Free Guide,
Thanks again for providing me great volunteer guides!
Akemi Ito provided me with an awesome tour of Kamakura. I was so impressed how she knew a lot of the area’s history and all of the sites. She showed me so much of the natural beauty of Kamakura.
Tomoko Matsubara helped to design a tour of the “old” and “new” Japan, taking me to Asakusa, Kagurazaka, Yanaka, and Akihabara. We even met some geisha in Kagurazaka. She is really friendly and I had so much fun.
I can’t say enough about my guides. They were the best. Both guides communicated with me a lot before my trip so that they could research and make suggestions. I had such a great time and have been recommending TFG to everyone! This is the second time I asked for guides from TFG and I will continue to do so in the future!
Thanks again TFG, Tomoko, and Akemi!
Pam
USA
Tags: Akihabara, Asakusa, Kagurazaka, Kamakura, Yanaka
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November 8th, 2009
November 2009
Guide: Chikako, Senichi Nagai, Takako, and Miyuki
Route: Omotesando – Kagurazaka; Tsukiji – Ginza – Akihabara – Yanaka; Hamarikyu – Asakusa – Kappabashi; and Shinjuku
On behalf of my husband and myself we want to thank Tokyo Free Guide and our guides, Chikako, Senichi, Takako and Miyuki for a wonderful experience touring Tokyo in early November. Each of the guides was outgoing, fun, informative and dedicated to seeing that we had a very positive experience. I could go on at length about how we enjoyed each guide, but suffice it to say that the Tokyo Free guide service, and our specific guides (Chikako, Senichi, Takako and Miyuki) made our trip to Tokyo tremendously memorable. Thank You!!
Lisa and Bob Tourek, Wexford Pennsylvania USA
Tags: Akihabara, Asakusa, Ginza, Hamarikyu, Kagurazaka, Kappabashi, Omotesando, Shinjuku, Tsukiji, Yanaka
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October 14th, 2009
October 2009
Guide: Yuka Namiki
Route: Shibuya – Harajuku – Shinjuku
Dear Tokyo Free Guide
We want to thank Yuka Namiki for being our guide in Tokyo on October 14th 2009. We had a wonderful time with her. She has showed us the most popular shopping areas in Tokyo and beautiful Japanese gardens as I asked her. We also visited Meiji Shrine and the Metropolitan Tokyo Government Building for an amazing sightseeing. We really enjoyed to know a little more about Japanese culture and habits.
Thank you once again for this wonderful and useful service. We’ll certainly recommend it to everyone who plans visiting Tokyo.
Susana e Mário
Tags: Harajuku, Shibuya, Shinjuku
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September 25th, 2009
September 2009
Guide: Yukiyo Itahana
Route: (Sep.19) Shinjuku – Kagurazaka – Akihabara – Asakusa – Ginza; (Sep.20) Harajuku – Yoyogi Park – Asakusa; (Sep.25) Ginza – Shinbashi – Odaiba
I heard about the Tokyo Free Guide website very close to our travel date, but decided I would give it a try & write, even though it was past the suggested date that I should write by. Within a couple of days I received a reply by email directly from Yukio, a 68 year old retiree. His English was very good, & he was available for us to meet the morning after we arrived in Tokyo , which was great for me. I later wrote him to say that perhaps our group might be a bit bigger than I originally thought. I was traveling with a modern dance company, we were performing at the Aoyama Round Theatre. When they heard from me about Yukiyo they were all very excited & everyone wanted to join! Yukiyo’s response by email: “Welcome, welcome. The more the merrier.” I knew I was going to like him.
Yukiyo met us at our hotel lobby, after introductions & giving him a small gift I had brought with me (a beautiful photo book of Tel Aviv) we headed out. We did all the regular tourist stuff the first day- the observatory in the Municipal Government building in Shinjuku, Akihabara, Asakusa, Ginza . It was so great being with Yukiyo, having him teach us how to use the metro, how to order food in restaurants, & just the great conversations we had with him. At the end of the first day, even though we had only agreed to that one day, he offered to meet us in the morning & continue our exploration of Tokyo .
The second day we started with Harajuku, & then to Shibuya & the Meiji Shrine, where we got to photograph several traditional Japanese weddings. Since it was a Sunday there were also street performers in Yoyogi Park & that was a real experience. Later in the day we returned to Asakusa to see the inside of the shrine we’d missed the day before & do some more shopping.
After that we were busy with our show, but we of course invited Yukiyo to come see our performance & were very happy that he came enjoyed.
My last full day in Tokyo , in the morning we visited the Tsujiki Fish Market & then went to see a matinee performance at the Kabuki-Za Theater. I recommend to everyone to do this, before they tear the old building down. In Japan they don’t preserve, if something’s old they rip it down & build it again! After the show Yukiyo & I got to spend some time touring, just the two of us, & it was especially enjoyable for me, having the time for us to really talk. We took the monorail over the Rainbow Bridge to Odaiba, went to the Venus Fort shopping mall to see the sky ceiling, the Toyota showroom & car museum, walked the boardwalk & photographed the Statue of Liberty! It was a great last evening in Tokyo . Yukiyo really helped to make my visit unforgettable. Thank you Yukiyo & thank you Tokyo Free Guides.
Uri
Tags: Akihabara, Asakusa, Ginza, Harajuku, Kagurazaka, Odaiba, Shinbashi, Shinjuku, Yoyogi park
Posted in 2009 | Comments Off
