GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!
GoWithGuide
GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!
Kanagawa Private Tour -
Kanagawa Private Tour -
Kanagawa Private Tour -
Kanagawa Private Tour -
Kanagawa Private Tour -
Kanagawa Private Tour -
Kanagawa Private Tour -
Kanagawa Private Tour -
Kanagawa Private Tour -
Kanagawa Private Tour -
Tour Guide - Shoji K.

Joined 2018

Shoji K.

4.71 / 5
(82 reviews)
Identity Verified
Interview-Based Quality Checks
GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!

Available Areas

Tokyo, Kamakura, Hakone, Yokohama

GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!

Languages

English

GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!

Response Time

4 hours on average

GoWithGuideFind your perfect tour guide at GoWithGuide. Relax and cherish unforgettable tours with loved ones. Create personalized tours for a truly memorable trip!

Availability Updated

2 days ago

About Tour Guide Shoji K.

Hi! Welcome to Japan. My name is Shoji Kitamura, a licensed English-speaking tour guide. Please call me Shoji that is the same sound as a sliding screen made of wood and paper you may have seen in a traditional Japanese room.

I was born and raised in Yokohama next to Tokyo but lived for work in several beautiful and historical cities such as Nikko, Hiroshima, and Ise which have world heritage sites and/or national park. I fully enjoyed the nature, culture and lives in each city where I lived.

I retired after 36 years with a national research institute of fisheries in 2016.

During my career, I visited 5 continents except Antarctica, more than 20 nations for attending international scientific conferences, conducting collaborative research or teaching some technologies, etc. In Japan, I often took foreign scientists and government officers sightseeing. I had great times in these opportunities.

Such experiences made me decide to become a licensed English-speaking guide interpreter after retirement to introduce Japanese nature, culture, foods, etc. properly to many tourists coming to Japan from all over the world.

For more than 20 years I’ve been living in Nikko, which is located about 150km north of Tokyo, and designated as a World Heritage site and a National Park. If you consider a day trip from Tokyo, I strongly recommend coming to Nikko by 2-hour train ride from Tokyo. I am looking forward to showing you around in this historical and beautiful town.

Besides Nikko, I can also guide you in Yokohama, my home town, and in neighboring city such as Tokyo and Kamakura.


Important

I can guide you in Hiroshima if you pay my transportation fee.

Tours

All tours can be customized for you. Send me a message with your requests!

Categories

Highlights
Highlights
Nature & Outdoor
Nature & Outdoor
Day Trip
Day Trip

Reviews

Lackluster tour with almost no information given

I have taken several tours around the world, and this one by far was my least favorite. I booked this tour for our first full day of Tokyo to learn about 5 of the major sites. Not only did Shoji barely share information about the sites, he was so soft spoken that when we would ask questions, we could barely hear him. Half way through our tour, he put on a mask and we couldn’t hear anything when he did talk. I kept leaning in and asking what he said. We took the tour on a Wednesday and several of the places in the fish market were closed. He didn’t tell us until we arrived at the fish market. The website said 2,000-3,000¥ ($13-$20) per person for lunch, and you pay for his meal. He took us to a sushi restaurant and that was our most expensive meal ($98/14,700 ¥) in Tokyo ($32/per person). It kept getting worse as the day progressed. Shoji would not talk to us. We kept constantly asking for more information of the area, site, or just about Tokyo. He said a couple sentences then was silent again as he power walked ahead. The River Cruise was complete silence. There was a tour guide with guests sitting behind us, and we learned so much by listening to her. The Imperial Palace, Asakusa-Sensoji Temple, and Meiji Temple were all the same. He barely said a word to us. I had to ask him to tell us the procedures on entering the temples/shrines because I had read there’s a process. I have never had a tour guide that barely talked. We went on other tours in Tokyo with phenomenal tour guides so it’s not that the Japanese are quiet and shy. To end the tour, Shoji told us we still owed him 3,000¥ (1,000¥ per person) for the River Cruise. You have to pay for his ticket. His tour info said 750¥ was the entry fee for the cruise, so I don’t know if we overpaid. He didn’t show us the receipt, he just told us we owed him that. Shoji has no enthusiasm and for a tour guide - that is key for me. Writing an honest review so that others do not have the same experience.

Excellent introductory day in Tokyo

Excellent full first day, 5 top but very varied places to go, super lunch, smooth travelling and understanding of metro system, all on time, and with history, culture and knowledge all added in. Recommended!

Don't miss the view from the observatory, the Tsukiji Outer Market or the Shiboya crossing

My husband and I recently spent four days touring in Japan with Shoji.   He patiently and expertly steered us through a very confusing combination of multiple subways rides, regular trains, tramways and cable cars, as required each day, including obtaining the requisite tickets.  He is knowledgeable about a great many different areas of Japan, so he was able to guide us to Nikko, Hakone, and Kamakura - as well as multiple locations within the metro-Tokyo area.  It was a pleasure to be able to explore with the same well-educated guide for all four days, and his English fluency was perfect for us as we speak no Japanese.

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