Nagano, Tokyo, Kamakura, Hakone, Yokohama
English, Japanese (Native)
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Hello! My name is Takeshi. Please call me Tony.
I was born in Tokyo. I worked for Canon for more than 30 years including a 5-year assignment to the U.S. office. Before joining Canon, I received a master's degree in engineering in the United States.
After retiring from the company, I began working as a volunteer guide for foreign visitors in Kamakura and Yokohama.
However, I became fascinated by the beautiful nature of Nagano prefecture and decided to move here to the Yatsugatake Mountains, 1000m above sea level in Nagano last year.
Since then I go out to look at the breathtaking mountains, lakes, and shrines every day. I would like to guide you to these special sites and also share with you the Japanese culture in my guided tours.
I am a Licensed Guide Interpreter in English and a Certified Travel Service Administrator. My hobby is Aikido and I hold the 2nd Dan black belt.
Hope to see you soon.
What a memorable day! Takushi shared a lot of interesting information about the snow monkeys and the Nagano region and history. He has a broad knowledge of the Buddhist traditions and the gorgeous Zenko-ji temple. He helped me change my return train ticket efficiently so that I could take an earlier train. Thank you!
Thank you for the review. I am glad you could take the earlier train. The tour day was perfect. We could see the Snow Monkeys in the snowfall. I think it was beautiful. I hope to see you again. Thanks.
On December 24, our family went to Nagano Prefecture for a half day tour at a Ski Resort. Takeshi was our guide and he was very nice and organized. Before the tour day, he constantly communicated with me for everything that we need to know about the resort and what to expect. On the tour day, our family had a great time at the ski resort. My children enjoyed learning how to ski and we were mesmerized by the powdery white snow! Takeshi even arranged an exclusive ride for our family back and forth from Nagano to the ski resort. And in the evening before we went back to our hotel, he extended his time just to look for a good restaurant for our family to have dinner at. I highly recommend Takeshi. And as for our tour, it was one for the book!
Sarah-san, thank you for your review. I was a little worried in the beginning because it did not snow a lot this year. I was very happy when we had snow just one day before our tour day and could enjoy seeing the fresh snow view with your family!
Highly recommended. You won't be disappointed. Our family of 4 had a fantastic day with Takeshi to see the snow monkeys and visit Shibu Onsen. His organisation throughout the day was excellent. Everything was well planned. Conversation throughout the day was wonderful. We learnt a lot and really enjoyed his company. The recommended restaurant near the Snow Monkeys has easily been one of our best meals on our trip so far. Communication before the tour was friendly and great. A truly great guide and great person. Thanking you again Takeshi.
Thank you for your review. How was the Onsen experience. I think you may felt hot in the beginning, because many Japanese prefer to have relatively hot Onsen. I was glad to be able to guide you, Tim-san.
We had an excellent day with Takeshi taking us to a wonderful restaurant after our trip to the snow monkey park. He had called ahead to the park and let us know that there were no monkeys on that day to let us decide if we still wanted to go. We did, but that was an great touch that managed our expectations. We would definitely use Takeshi again if we were in the area.
Thank you for your comments. Please come back to visit Nagano again in the future. I hope you can see the monkeys next time. Nice meeting with you.