Young couple from Portugal visited Japan in early June. They were introduced to our guide group by their collegues, who inquiried us and enjoyed the tour of Tokyo with one of our guides last November. We were really honored to give a gide, which eventually attracted other friends. We thought we should definitely accept them and then the tour came true.
I met Ms S and Mr J at a Japanese inn near Kuramae station at 10a.m. While they were having quick breakfast, we confirmed today's itinerary and started our tour. The weather was not good but it would be much better in rainy season, because we hadn't had much rain for now, though the
rainy season had already started earlier.
First, we dropped at a bank nearby to exchange some money.
It was almost 11a.m. when we arrived at Tsukiju Fish Market. The inner market run by Tokyo Metropolitan Government was almost over, however, we could still see various kinds of marine products. We dropped at several shops in the outer market. They tried some samples of Japanese food such as rolled omlet, preserved sea food (tsukudani) and the like. As they had never experienced a revolving sushi shop (kaiten zushi), we dropped in one of the sushi bars and tried some fresh sushi. It seemed so much fun for them to see that sushi plates were circulating on the convayer belt. They took lots of pictures there.
Then we headed to Hamarikyu Detached Palace Garden. We took a rest in the tea house and tried green tea with Japanese confectionery. We sat on tatami mats, seeing beautiful sceneries outside and relaxed a little while. While walking around the garden, I told the history of the garden and the old style of duck hunting, which seemed to draw their interest.
On the way to Shinbashi, we dropped at the Shiosaito building to see the beautiful scenery of the bay area. We could see a whole view of Tsukiji fish market and the garden we had just visited. We could also see Odaiba area. I hope it would be a good memory.
We got on the train, heading to Harajuku in the late afternoon. Harajuku was crowded with young girls. They bought some souvenirs for their family there. In Meiji Shrine, they wrote their wish on a picture tablet they purchased and offered it to the shrine. I don't know what they wrote, but I hope their wish will come true. While we were staying, we asked old Japanese couple for taking photos of us. As the old man spoke Spanish, he enjoyed talking with my guests for a while. To my surprise, my guests spoke Spanish as well as English. To meet local people and start talking with them is the real pleasure of the travel.
I wish this tour would help my guests make good impression of Tokyo. Thank you very much for giving me a wonderful opportunity. (M.H)