Today we’re more than happy to introduce you to our guide of the month, Ryuichi, from our Tokyo team.
1. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Hello, my name is Ryuichi, one of Arigato Japan’s food tour guide in Tokyo and Osaka. The reason why I became a tour guide was because I’ve been to a lot of countries by myself, experienced many different cultures and I really wanted to share Japanese culture with tourists from overseas through my experiences in both Japan and other countries.
When I give tours, I share Japanese culture from many points of view like music, sports, art, customs, movies, etc. If you are interested in Japanese art and history besides the food culture, join my tour!
2. You are originally from Osaka, can you tell us about the differences in daily life between Kansai and Tokyo?
I was born in Osaka and was there until I graduated from my university. It has already been three years since I came to Tokyo. I personally think the difference between Osaka and Tokyo is mainly the people and food. In general, Kansai people are more friendly and emotional. On the other hand, Tokyo people tend to be more serious and calm. Regarding food, I feel the flavors of Osaka are more bold than Tokyo’s food.
3. What is your favorite Japanese food and why?
My favorite Japanese food is Ramen. We have many types of ramen in Japan. Basically, they can be categorized into 6 types of soup: miso, tonkotsu, fish, chicken, salt and soy sauce. However, each ramen restaurant adds something special to make the soup unique. So, each ramen shop has different flavors and they keep us interested. How about visiting some ramen restaurants during your trip to Japan?
4. What’s your best memory with a guest you had on a tour?
It’s really difficult to choose what is the best memory that I had with a guest. I’ll say that all the times I spent with my guests in each tour is different and unique. So, the best memory with my guests is when I talked and shared our experience and culture in each tour.
5. What would you recommend to people traveling to Osaka or Kyoto this Summer? Any tips to beat the heat? Any places to go?
Tokyo is a unique city. It’s the capital city in japan but if you took trains one hour you will see completely different landscapes. You will enjoy shopping in Shibuya, shinjuku. However, you would like to see local place more I recommend you to go to Kamakura. You will feel old Japanese culture and see more nature.
Japan is very humid in summer more than you expect. So, my tips for your travel plan is that don’t squeeze too many plans in a day especially in outside and buy sports drink “Pocari sweat”. Lastly, in summer we have many summer festival (music, culture, fireworks) and many beaches. You can search them on the internet and add new plans into your trip! Enjoy your journey in japan!
