Student Guides in Japan

Factual Questions
1

My family and I are going to Japan for a couple of weeks.

I’ve heard that there are English speaking student guides in some locations that enjoy practicing their English as they show tourists around.

Is there one central agency that I should contact in advance of our arrival or does each city have their own organization?

Thanks!

2

There isn’t a central organisation for this and you’ll have to find ones in each area.

I found one in the Tokyo area, web site and you can search for others in different cities. There are organizations in Nara and Kyoto.

Where are you going to be visiting?

3

Thanks for the link!

We’re planning on using Kyoto as a base with our JR Rail Passes to visit several places in southern Honshu. We get 5 nights and 7 days at a Kyoto Hotel plus airfare as part of a package for the four of us. We’ll be in Japan about 14 days so we’ll be staying elsewhere the rest of the time.

In addition to Kyoto/ Nara, we hope to get to Himeji, Takayama, Kanazawa and Tsumago/ Magome. We also hope to make the most of out Rail Passes by seeing Hiraizumi and Kakunodate. The scenery is beautiful as you go through central and into northern Honshu. I was in Japan many years ago. (Only then I had 3 months to spend hitch-hiking around the country. Two weeks seems impossibly short, but what can you do?)

4

That sounds great. Are you thinking of Hiroshima and then going down to Miyajima? My mother put them both as highlights of her trips.

5

That sounds great. Are you thinking of Hiroshima and then going down to Miyajima? My mother put them both as highlights of her trips.

When did you hitchhike in Japan? I did that in '87 for three months and had a blast. Two weeks is really short to visit, but it still should be a fantastic time.

6

I hitchhiked in Japan in 1976. I had a great time, too. It was almost embarrassing the way the very first vehicle to come by would often stop and give me a ride. I think most people knew what I was doing, but it was always so surprising how fast I got a ride. This was especially true in the rural areas where the people had just about never seen any foreigners. The other thing was that they couldn’t get over the fact I was traveling alone. “Otori?” was usually the first thing they said to me.

Was it still easy to get a ride 11 years later? Did you try and cover the whole country?