A new undertaking is proving popular in the Nezu and Sendagi areas of Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, as three-person tourist guide teams help out some of the many foreign visitors there.
The guides are called "city of literature tourist guides," and include college students with foreign language abilities. As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics approach, Bunkyo Ward is seeking to heighten its atmosphere of omotenashi Japanese traditional hospitality.
Each team is composed of a ward-registered guide with knowledge of tourism; a volunteer with foreign language skills; and a student at one of the colleges in the ward pursuing such subjects as tourism. The undertaking began in October, with the teams sharing the appeal of the area with foreign visitors.
In morning and afternoon shifts on Saturdays and Sundays, the teams work for free at such tourist spots as Nezujinja shrine, which has been designated as a national important cultural asset, and the Yomise-dori shopping street, which is rich in old-town atmosphere. They walk around the sites in traditional happi coats carrying a placard indicating that they are guides, and actively speak to visitors.
Toward the end of November, a 29-year-old American man who had come to the Yomise-dori shopping street with a friend asked a guide what the attraction of the place was. Told that it featured such elements as an old townscape and small shops, the man said with a smile that the information was a big help.
Misato Matsuda, a 20-year-old second-year student at Chuo University, was one of those who helped the American man and others.
"It's fun to be able to respond to the enthusiastic curiosity of foreign visitors, and it's also a chance for me to learn about Japanese culture," Matsuda said.
Matsuda said she had also explained about the custom of handwashing at Nezujinja. "I want to think more about what I can do," she said.
Bunkyo Ward has a service in which registered guides take visitors to famous locations along certain routes, with reservations required. However, most of the users are from Japan.
"We want to create a process for welcoming foreign visitors with this new project," a ward official in charge said.
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