Private tour in Kobe Ichiro F
5.0
(6) reviews
8 hours
1
8 hours
1
Ichiro F.
4.9
Guide rating
45
Reviews
Tours delivered
8 hrs
Avg. response time
Hello! I'm Ichiro F., a government-certified English guide based between Osaka and Kobe. I guide primarily in Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe, and Himeji. Since starting my career in March 2023, I have already had the pleasure of leading over 370 tours. ■About Me: After a 37-year career in the IT industry, I retired in 2019 to pursue my second act. Although my previous job didn't involve English, I have been passionately learning the language on my own for nearly 50 years. Combined with my love for Japanese history and reading, becoming a guide was the perfect path for me. I was born and grown up in Osaka. When 18, moved to Tokyo. Lived there until 60 and moved back to a city near Osaka. ■My Journey: I received my license in February 2020, right before the pandemic. While I had to wait three years to start guiding, I used that time productively to deepen my knowledge of Japan and explore Kyoto and its surroundings extensively. ■Why Guide with Me? I am now fully active, guiding 10 to 15 days a month. I love sharing the beauty of Japan’s four seasons and its deep history with my guests. Whether it’s the bustling streets of Osaka or the historical quiet of Kyoto, I am confident I can give you the best experience. ■My spare time - Reading books about Japan, history, nature, and more—both fiction and nonfiction - Practicing diving (springboard and platform) as well as gymnastics - Doing IT programming to streamline my business tasks - Exploring Kyoto and other regions to broaden my guiding range - Teaching English to Japanese businesspeople online ■Certificates/Experience - Itinerary Manager - Competition Official (Diving) - IT programming: Excel VBA, GAS, PHP, Ajax, Javascript, Python - Author of an English-learning book for working professionals (commercial publication) - Gold Driver’s License (no accidents or violations) - - - Guest Review Highlights （You can read the full reviews below.） Ichiro was a wonderful, knowledgeable and friendly guide by Marek M. Ichiro-san was extremely communicative and well prepared with maps and illustrations by Hap P. Ichiro organized a perfect one-day Kyoto plan and helped us navigate trains smoothly by Denise L. Ichiro listened to our needs and helped us visit all our bucket list items with ease by Lori H. Ichiro was outstanding—timely, organized, friendly, and full of helpful explanations by Megan N. Ichiro tailored our tour to our interests and was knowledgeable and charming by Antonia S. The tour was well planned and Ichiro was professional, knowledgeable, patient, and kind by William P. Ichirosan was fantastic—well-versed, prepared, and guided us to fascinating hidden treasures by Yukiko K. Ichiro developed a smooth Kyoto itinerary and explained each site’s history clearly by Kirk W. Ichiro created a perfect custom itinerary and was exceptionally professional throughout by Frank D. We spent two wonderful days with Ichiro visiting Kobe and Kyoto highlights by Faye W. Ichiro was flexible, very knowledgeable, and helped us escape boring bus tours by Bruce B. Ichiro researched and arranged a special vegetarian lunch and customized our Kyoto tour by Mayuresh K. Ichiro was very knowledgeable and even reserved an award-winning Kobe steak restaurant for us by Ken H. Our night tour with Ishiro was magical and unforgettable by Joan M. --- Japan Government Licensed Guide Interpreter (English), Cert. No: EN01491 (Hyogo Pref.) I am not a driver. But I can arrange private vehicles.
Have a question or want to customize this tour? Message Ichiro F.
Himeji Castle - White Heron Castle It was constructed nearly 700 years ago and has survived many wars and natural disasters. Its interior remains unchanged from when it was built, allowing us to think about the thoughts and behaviors of samurai soldiers of that time. Takenaka Carpentry Museum This museum exhibits the historical advancement of carpenter tools and technique. Japanese historic temples and shrines are made of wood, and not a single nail was used, and still they have survived many earthquakes. You will experience how these structures were realized, using various miniature models. This is surely a rare opportunity. Mt. Maya Cable & Ropeway, and Tenjyo-ji Temple Mt. Maya is quite close to Kobe city and has a steep slope rising to its 700-meter-high summit. To reach the top, you can experience both a cable car and a ropeway, and the scenery from the top is fabulous. Additionally, the summit temple has nearly 1400 years of history and exotic Buddhist statues. It is truly worth visiting.
Ichiro was a wonderful, knowledgeable and friendly guide. Well-informed, easy back-and-forth conversation that provided a wealth of information not included in typical guide literature. Very nice day! His driver for the day was wonderful as well, with a very comfortable vehicle to travel between sites. Excellent 5 stars all around day.
Ichiro was our guide for a customized tour of Himeji Castle followed by a half-day in Osaka. He was outstanding on all levels - timely, organized, friendly, energetic, helpful- we would HIGHLY recommend him as a guide. When Ichiro met us at the Himeji train station he prepped us for our tour with a helpful notebook of maps, facts, and illustration that set the stage for our tour. He deployed the notebook several times across the day to help explain things or to provide more depth and detail. He was efficient at moving us through our packed day though we never felt rushed and he provided interesting detail about points of interest that we would not have learned on our own. He identified a great restaurant for lunch based on our appetite and took us to the “hot spots” in Osaka for snacks. Without hesitation we recommend Ichiro. A+ tour guide and wonderful man.
I would highly recommend Ichiro for any tour. He was very knowledgeable and made every attempt to ensure we understood and were up to speed on all conversations. He even reserved a kobe steak house for us at the end of the tour. It was an award winning steak house from all of Japan and let me tell you ..... it didn't disappoint. Overall, Ichiro did a wonderful just of being a tour guide, a translator, and an overall excellent guide through the entire tour (bullet training, subway, etc) Will recommend his services any day of the week.
Our guide was great and very informative Had lots of information to share and was very kind
Ichiro was an efficient, knowledgeable and charming guide. He worked hard in advance to tailor a tour to our interests. He had planned a great day for us and was very pleasant company. He even helped me find Japanese KitKats!
Ichiro has thorough knowledge of history and was a great guide abd very flexible. We escaped from the boring bus tours of our cruise to do this private tour and it was well worth it. He also gave us practical information, showing us how to use the machines to buy bullet train tickets. We are doing two tours with Ichiro!
Start and end at Kobe Port (customizable from Kyoto or Osaka) #Basic Itinerary - Himeji Caste (the best castle in Japan to visit) - Takenaka Carpentry Museum (You can experience how Temples are constructed without single nail) - Mt. Maya Cable-car & Ropeway ride - Mt. Maya Observatory (fabulous view of Kobe city） - Mt. Maya Tenjo-ji Temple (Unique temple on top of the mountain) - Can end at a good and reasonable Kobe Beef restaurant, if you wish. # Optional Sites - Kitano Ijin-kan town - Ikuta Shrine - Suma Temple - Sorakuen Park - Kobe Port Tower - Goshikizuka Tomb Mound - Nada Sake breweries Himeji sounds very distant, but it's actually really near using Shinkansen Bullet Train. Between Shin-Kobe sta. and Himeji sta. is just 15 minutes. --- For customization --- #From Kyoto Go: Kyoto sta. to Himeji sta.: 45 min.*1 Back: Shin-Kobe sta. to Kyoto sta.: 30 min.*1 #From Osaka Go: Shin-Osaka sta. to Himeji sta.: 30 min. *1 Back: San-no-miya sta. to Osaka sta.: 25 min.*2 *1: Shinkansen *2: Super Rapid
Tell your guide which places matter to you, skip what doesn't, and tailor the experience for your group's needs. Not finding what you want? Message your guide to build something unique.
-Shinkansen Bullet Train between Himeji sta. and Shin-Kobe sta. -train and taxi in Kobe area (use taxi to maximize time-efficiency) --- I can also arrange a private car.
Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0042, Japan
We will meet at Kobe Port's passenger terminal building.
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8 hours
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8 hours
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If your tour is valued over $200 USD and booked at least 45 days before the tour date, you can book with a 20% deposit!
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