Tour guide in Tokyo Haruo T.

Tokyo, Japan

Japanese, English

Tours Delivered,
Since Nov 8, 2023

3.0

Hours, Avg. response time

I'm Haruo T., your private tour guide in Tokyo

Guide #61562

4.9 (88)

"Great Buddha in Kamakura. . . generous, mysterious smile on his handsome face" My hobby is writing Haiku in English. Haiku is one of the Japanese traditional poems. This is one of my Haiku about the popular tourist attraction in Kamakura, the first samurai capital. In most sites there are monuments on which prominent poets' works about the places are inscribed. I will explain their meanings and implications so that you can improve your understanding and appreciation. Besides I perform Rakugo in English, which is traditional Japanese funny story telling. So, I try my best to entertain my guests with jokes and interesting episodes of historical figures. The reason why I became a guide interpreter is that I would like to see smiling faces of my guests. I used to be a high school English teacher. Until 2015 I had been teaching at public high schools in Yokohama and Yokosuka for 37 years. During that time, I had some experience to guide some high school students from overseas around Tokyo, Kamakura and Yokohama. I was so happy to hear them say that it was a wonderful experience and made them like Japan better. Then I made up my mind to be a tour guide to take my customers to my favorite places to share happiness and friendship. As for tour guide experience, since I earned the certificate of National Government Licensed Guide-Interpreter in English in 2019, I have guided tourists to the popular sites around Tokyo, Kumakura and Yokosuka. My guiding focuses on introducing not only historical and cultural backgrounds, but also giving tourists some tips to travel by themselves, such as how to use trains and subways, find good restaurants, reserve tickets, find souvenirs, speak basic Japanese and so on. In addition, my tour includes opportunities to experience Japanese culture like Zen meditation, Shinto and Buddhist rituals, Japanese musical instruments, etc. depending on the tourists' requests. My moto as a tour guide is let the tourists have a once-in-a-lifetime experience in Japan with my profound, intelligible and interesting guiding. So if you are interested in my tours, please contact me anytime. *National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter of English (Cert. No. EN02607) Date of Registration: Feb.15.2019 *Guide Experience: Since 2019~ *License to teach English in senior high school, Date of Registration: Mar. 31.1978 *Master of Arts (Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language) at The University of Birmingham in England July.16. 2003 *Teaching Experience at Japanese public schools in Kanagawa Prefecture: 1978~2015 *Score of TOEIC: 935 * I am not a driver. I can accompany your vehicle, or I can arrange for a separate car and driver.

Delivers tours starting at

  • Tokyo

  • Yokohama

  • Kamakura

Tours by Haruo T.

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4.9

Traveller reviews for this guide

88 reviews

  • Stacy S.
    May 2026

    We wholeheartedly recommend this tour to anyone looking to experience Tokyo! Our all-day tour with Haruo was absolutely outstanding and a very high-quality experience for our group of six, which included parents traveling with young adults. It was the perfect introduction to the city and the private driver made for a cool break as we travelled throughout the city. The...

    Replied from Haruo T.

    I cannot say thank you enough for your kind words. If this tour helped you improve the quality and enjoyment of your trip in Japan, that was all because of your good questions coming from deep interests and curiosity on our country. Your party is absolutely one of my ideal amazing tourist groups.

  • Melody P.
    May 2026

    Our 7-hour tour with Haruo was the perfect way to spend our first full day in Tokyo. We were a group of six aged between 60's-70's. He tailored our tour to build in the highlights we wanted to see. Bonus: he also showed us how to better navigate the train and subway system which isn't easy, even for seasoned international travelers like us. Haruo's patience with us clumsy...

    Replied from Haruo T.

    Thank you so much for your kind and heartwarming words. Since Tokyo was the last destination of your long trip in Japan, I found that you have already learned a lot about Japanese culture. Especially, I was pleased to hear that you had enjoyed a variety of Japanese food and was missing American dishes. I realized that I should have known better about the tourists' mindset...

  • Lori J.
    May 2026

    Haruo was a wonderful guide and very kind. He was informative. His pace was also excellent and we never felt rushed. He answered all of our questions about the culture and traditions.

    Replied from Haruo T.

    I cannot say thank you enough for your kind review. I felt very happy traveling with friendly, amazing family with keen interests in Japan. I hope I was able to answer many good questions asked by each of you. I’m sure you’ll be able to enjoy your tour more thanks to some tips you learned on the first day.

  • Jeffery G.
    May 2026

    Haruo was an excellent tour guide. He spoke English well and had a lot of interesting local knowledge. He also taught us how to use the local metro system and trains. It is pretty easy and convenient once someone shows you. The temples at Enoshima and Kamikura were both beautiful. The views from the tower on top of Enoshima Island were excellent. Even with the huge...

    Replied from Haruo T.

    I truly appreciate your kind review. I was glad to cover all the must-see places in Kamakura because of your cooperation. I was so impressed by your interests and preparations. I hope you were able to improve your understanding on the history of Samurai capital. I should have told you that we had one week holidays from April 29 - May 5th, called Golden Week. I hope other...