About Tour Guide Fujio N.

Born and having spent most of my life in Kanazawa, I went into the export business for a major high-speed and automatic loom maker, where I worked for 38 years.

When I was a university student in Kyoto, I occasionally worked part time as an English speaking guide. I have guided foreign tourists in Japan especially in my hometown for over 13 years starting soon after my retirement.

I joined Kanazawa Good-will Guide Network in 2000 and had been its coordinator for six years from 2002, currently being its senior adviser.

Furthermore, I organized Kanazawa Home-visit Association in 2003 that has received over 8,000 visitors from overseas, among whom 1,900 enjoyed experiencing Japanese culture in my own home.

In 2012, I established the group for the interpreter guide with my friends and currently I am its coordinator.

I am therefore very familiar with historical, cultural and industrial backgrounds of Kanazawa and its surrounding regions.

My hobby is golf and my current official golf handicap is 15.

Tour Guide Services:

Sightseeing tours with explanations of historical and cultural backgrounds of Ishikawa prefecture including Kanazawa city and Noto peninsula, and the surrounding prefectures such as Gifu (with Takayama city and Shirakawa village), Toyama (with Gokayama village) and Fukui (with Eiheiji Zen Temple)

Sample Itineraries:

Model Plans in Kanazawa:

Full-day tour (7~8h)

Higashi Chaya (Geisha) District including gold-leaf shops → Kenrokuen Garden and Kanazawa Castle Park → 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art → Nagamachi Samurai District → Omicho Market

Half -day tour (4~5h)

Higashi Chaya (Geisha) District including a gold-leaf shop → Kenrokuen Garden and Kanazawa Castle Park → Nagamachi Samurai District

Other popular optional spots are also available: Myoryuji (Ninja) Temple, D. T. Suzuki Museum, Oyama Shrine, Kaga Yuzen Traditional Industrial (silk kimono) Center, Nishida Family Garden (Gyokusen-en), Kazuemachi Chaya (Geisha) District, Ohi Pottery Museum, Kutani Porcelain Kiln, etc.

Home-visit (2 hours)

Visit a local home to enjoy talking with the host family over tea and to learn the distinctive Japanese lifestyle firsthand, where you might experience traditional culture such as a tea ceremony, flower arrangement, kimono dressing, calligraphy and paper- folding.

Model Plans of one-day round trips by highway bus from Kanazawa

1. Noto peninsula (world agricultural heritage site with Wajima Morning Market, Wajima Lacquerware Center, Wajima Kiriko (gigantic festival lantern) Art Museum, Senmaida Terraced Rice Fields, Sojiji Zen Temple, Ganmon and Chirihama Beach Driveway), etc.

2. Takayama city (old merchant town), Shirakawa-go and Gokayama villages (world cultural heritage site with thatched-roof farm houses)