Fascinated by Tokyo but intimidated about visiting due to a lack of Japanese language skills and the full on pace of Japan’s capital city? The philanthropic Tokyo Free Guides will let you explore the city like you’re a local – and it won’t cost you a yen
I’ve been to Tokyo twice and it’s one of my favourite cities in the world – but it also defines the phrase culture shock. The only reason why I wasn’t completely overwhelmed by Tokyo was because my girlfriend had lived there for three years and had plenty of Japanese friends who could show us everyday life in the city. The Bangkok Post recently featured a great article by Chirayu Na Ranong about TokyoFreeGuide.com , a non-profit organisation that assigns Tokyo natives to visiting tourists to show them around – for free! Here’s some excerpts from the article that explains the concept:
Tomoko Kasai, 34, is a housewife and the mother of a five-year-old boy. Eight years ago her husband was transferred to Singapore, where Tomoko took up English lessons. Today she is a Tokyo Free Guide. Like many others, she takes time out of a busy schedule to assist foreigners who want to immerse themselves in this scintillating city, but who struggle with its seemingly steel-reinforced language barrier. Juggling the roles of host, tour guide, interpreter and all-round saviour, the Tokyo Free Guides are an invaluable asset for bumbling bands of outsiders like ourselves. And, as their name suggests, Tomoko and her colleagues do not charge for showing strangers around town.
This non-profit organisation is staffed by volunteers, ordinary Tokyo residents eager to help the visitor experience and, more importantly, understand Japanese culture and customs. It also affords them the opportunity to practise their English.
After a quick round of introductions, Tomoko hands us an envelope, the contents of which include a lovely greeting card welcoming us to Japan, her contact details, and the single most important item that any non-Japanese-speaking visitor to Tokyo must have in their possession: A small pocket map of the Tokyo mass-transit network, in English. For, unless you have a fortune at your disposal, taxis won’t be your main mode of transport here. You’ll be taking the train…
During the brief ride Tomoko tells us that she aspires to be a full-time tour guide. But first she must obtain a licence from the Japan National Tourist Organisation by sitting a gruelling, four-stage exam held only once a year. She didn’t pass on her initial attempt, not unusual considering that the success rate for first-time applicants is low. That’s why she joined Tokyo Free Guides, she explains: it allows her to practise doing something she loves, while gaining experience and knowledge for her next go at the examination.
A visit to a sumo stable would’ve been a near-impossibility for us to arrange ourselves, as the world of sumo wrestling is notoriously secretive and many stables aren’t keen on letting curious tourists behind the scenes. But after various rejections Tomoko managed to convince the Tamanoi-beya stable to allow us in to watch a training session – yet another reason why a native speaker is simply indispensable.
With Tomoko by our side the rest of the day is a cake-walk. We soak up as many insights as our trusty guide is willing to throw our way. We visit the Asakusa Shrine where she explains the various rituals going on there. Later, at the Meiji Shrine, we witness a traditional wedding in progress – a very serene-looking ceremony indeed. In between, Tomoko passes on a few tips about buying train tickets. She also uses her hand-held Internet device to help my friend find a particular clothing store that’s way off the tourist track.
She takes us for a delicious lunch at a quiet, little restaurant off the main drag in Asakusa. There wasn’t a word of English or a picture of any sort on the menu so we’d never have been able to eat there on our own. During the meal, I fill Tomoko in on some of the mishaps I’d experienced due to my difficulty in communicating with the locals. I tell her how much I’d been looking forward to enjoying authentic Japanese cuisine and how hard it was to find places near our hotel with menus I could understand. “This is the most common thing I hear from tourists,” she declares. “They always say it’s so hard to find something to eat and I really think something needs to be done by the government to help visitors so that more people will come.”
Unfortunately due to the way the Bangkok Post archives articles on its website they disappear quite quickly – if you go to the BP site and look in the Horizons section under Recent Issues you will be able to find the full article. It’s a great write up of a first hand experience of Tokyo Free Guides, and it’s certainly much cheaper than the bespoke Tokyo tours I’ve written about before.
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