Joined 2015
Tetsuji Y.
Available Areas
Aichi, Gifu (Living), Nagoya, Takayama, Shirakawago
Languages
Japanese (Native), English
Response Time
2 hours on average
Availability Updated
1 day ago
About Tour Guide Tetsuji Y.
Hello everyone. I am Tetsuji. I worked as a public servant in the local government for 35 years. I belonged to the department of Redevelopment, Town-Landscaping, Preserving historical areas and Architectural Guidance. (I have a national 1st-class architect license.) I devoted myself to revitalizing the city by making plans and improving infrastructure for citizens.
Gifu is located in central Japan near Nagoya. As just being the crossroads of the West and the East, there are many unique attractions that are hard to discover in hectic big cities like Tokyo or Kyoto. I had a hand in restoring and preserving some of them throughout my career and want to introduce them to tourists from abroad. That’s why I became a guide-interpreter in Gifu.
I also enjoyed traveling around the world. My favorite part of each trip was walking around the city and talking with local residents. Traveling has taught me lots of things during my lifetime. Now, I would like to help others have similar experience in Japan. Shall we enjoy fantastic journey in Gifu?
Important
I can guide in Kyoto in case you support transportation fee.
Tours
All tours can be customized for you. Send me a message with your requests!
Categories
Discover Authentic Japan in Tsumago & Magome, Nakasendo
You hike an old highway Nakasendo strolling through two post-towns. Magome & Tsumago. Strolling around well-preserved popular post towns takes you back to nostalgic Japan. The moment you enter these towns, you will feel as if you are in a time warp back in the Edo period, where local people spend their daily lives as well as welcoming tourists, preserving buildings and the landscape. You also enjoy hiking an old trekking route through mountains.
Best Choice for one-day Takayama tour
Takayama is a small city in a mountainous area. The tour includes some healing spots in addition to popular highlights like Miyagawa Morning Market, Higashiyama Walking, Old Town and Hida-Furukawa. I'm sure you’ll be able to see why Takayama mesmerizes tourists so much through this tour.
One-day-tour of Shirakawa-go
Shirakawa-go is a mountain settlement that is famous for uniquely designed Gassyo-style buildings and registered as one of the World Cultural Heritage sites. In Ogi-machi, over sixty Gassyo-style buildings will welcome visitors. Enjoying the whole landscape of the village from the hill, you will stroll around the village visiting some traditional Gasho-style buildings such as Wada House, Nagase House and Myozenji Temple Museum.
Cormorant fishing viewing on the Nagaragawa River
Gifu Castle standing on the Mt.Kinka provides visitors with nice panoramic views day and night. You also enjoy watching a traditional unique event Cormorant Fishing on the Nagara River while eating dinner in a viewing boat. Sir Charlie Chaplin visited Gifu twice to enjoy this unique traditional event. Besides, a photogenic street Kawara-machi and the Great Buddha statue in Shoboji-temple move you so much.
Handmade paper Mino-Washi and traditional swords of SEKI
You enjoy two distinctive fields of Japanese culture by visiting two small towns in one day trip. The one is Mino which is famous for Japanese hand-made paper Washi. Another one is Seki famous for Japanese-swordsmith. Strolling around two towns, you will learn some of secrets of cool Japan.
Monet's Pond, Knife‒city Seki & Washi‒hometown Mino
In a small pond called 'Monet's Pond', many fancy Japanese carps 'KOI' are swimming through water-lilies and algae to make you feel relaxed. After having Unagi‒lunch at Seki and visiting the Traditional Swordsmith Museum, you move to Mino where you stroll around well-preserved traditional housing streets visiting old Washi merchant houses, paper museums and souvenir shops.
Reviews
Steven L.
“Shirakawa-go Day Tour from Takayama ”
Our group of 3 booked Tetsuji for a day trip to Shirakawa-go from Takayama. Tetsuji was incredibly responsive during the planning process and even helped us reserve transportation and a restaurant which took all the fuss out of the process! His demeanor was incredibly friendly and professional across the trip, always happy to tap into his knowledge of the location's heritage and goings-on to answer whatever questions we had (with a particular focus on the architectural structure and development of the town's Gassho-Style Houses). Tetsuji's planning allowed every location enough breathing room for us to take them in, with plenty of photo opportunities too! Though he expressed modesty about his English proficiency at the start, we had no trouble communicating at all (you could drop him in England, and he'd probably be fine honestly). All in all, a well-prepared, well-travelled, and well-mannered guide. If we're ever back in the area, we'd have no qualms contacting Tetsuji again!
Tetsuji Y.
I truly appreciate your kind words and generous praise. It means a lot to me. Honestly, I feel a little embarrassed accepting such compliments as mine, but your thoughtful words are incredibly inspiring and give me the confidence to take on new challenges. I am really looking forward to seeing you and your family again Please give my warm regards to Chris and Jimmy.
Shwe M.
“Takayama and Shirakawago”
Tetsuji is the perfect guide for the historically inclined. His background in town planning and architecture mean that he truly understands the importance of preserving traditional ways of life for future generations to enjoy. He perfectly structured our day, without ever making us feel rushed, and booked the best restaurant in Shirakawago for us (which is booked up to a month in advance). He is also an avid photographer and we are looking forward to seeing all the photos he took of us on our trip with him!
Tetsuji Y.
Thank you for describing nice review. I am very happy to hear that you are satisfied with my tour. Please give my best regards to Conner.
David G.
“Great tour of Takayama and Furukawa”
Tetsuji is a patient, knowledgeable guide who managed to fit all the highlights of two towns into a relaxed-feeling day. He introduced us to many under the surface aspects of local culture that we would have overall missed. And he made us feel comfortable traveling with children with constant food and bathroom needs. A five-star guide and great person!
Tetsuji Y.
Thank you for excellent praise for my tour. I am very happy to hear that you are satisfied with my guiding. I hope you could come back to Japan again and enjoy traveling around my area with me. I believe you still have a lot of places to visit and know the details. Please give my best regards to your family members.
Other Popular Tour Guides in Gifu
Yuichi W.
Hello, I'm Yuichi, an English tour guide in Hokuriku region. If you are thinking about traveling to historical places such as Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go and Takayama, I am willing to offer a tour. I can bring you to those popular destinations from my base, Toyama city. These are the examples of my tour: Kanazawa - Shirakawago - Takayama Takaoka - Gokayama - Shirakawago - Takayama Toyama - Tateyama Kurobe Alipne Route - Omachi (Nagano Pref.) During the tour I like to provide simple explanations about Japanese history, and small tips for using the Japanese language on your request. My interests are food, cooking, sake and wine as well as Japanese novels and movies. It would be possible to add those tastes to our tour including a visit to local wineries, movie scenes, etc... Finally, I will do my best to give you a pleasant stay. Looking forward to seeing you in Hokuriku!
Kazuhiko G.
Hello, I’m Kazuhiko. Please call me “Kazu”. I'm a national-licensed tour guide. I have a wife and 4 children. I was born in Osaka city near Kyoto, although I have lived in many places across Japan. I used to work for multinational electric company and I traveled to many countries (U.S., Thailand, Hong Kong etc.) on business. I have enjoyed guiding many foreign tourists in Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Hiroshima, Tokyo, Mt. Fuji etc. for many years. During your tour, you can discover a rich Japanese history spanning about 2,000 years, learn about and experience profound Japanese arts (tea ceremony, flower arrangement etc.), feel the spiritual atmosphere of Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines, see a breathtakingly beautiful scenery of Mt. Fuji, bamboo forest, Japanese gardens etc.. Moreover, you can taste Japanese cuisine that each season has to offer (Sushi, Tempura, Soba or ramen noodle etc.). You can get close to nature and feed wild deer or monkeys or even a build snowman in winter. I’m sure that I can provide a splendid tour of Japan that will be a lasting memory for you to treasure. Experience the mysteries of Japan with 5 senses !! Your memorable tour awaits you. Please feel free to contact me!!
Michiko N.
Hello, I am Michiko , the same name of Japanese ex-Empress. I am a government certified tour guide. I have lived in Nagoya ( located between Tokyo and Osaka) for 35 years since I got married. I worked for JAL as a flight attendant in my 20's. After retiring JAL, I have taught English and Mathematics to junior and senior high school students for 20 years. I love traveling very much both domestically and abroad and enjoy walking around each city and talking with local people so that I can find out the way how to they live and think about their life. It's quite a fun for me. I also love hiking and mountain climbing in spring, summer and autumn, and skiing in winter. In the countryside of Japan there still remain those farming and fishery villages where people have been rooted in their land and community, living the way handed down from generation to generation. You can also enjoy the original Japanese landscape there. Why don't you get out of the hustle and bustle of your busy life and have a rest rich in nature in the rural Japan enjoying beautiful scenery and local food. I'm waiting for you!
