Hey everyone!
I’m Nicolas, the founder of Ittekimasu. It’s been ten years since I live in Tokyo, Japan. Before that, I was a student in a Japanese Language & Civilization program at Bordeaux University in France, and a researcher about Japanese pop-culture at Kumamoto University in Japan.
While I was working as a novel translator, from one coffee shop to another, I discovered the many little streets of Tokyo, full of buildings, shrines and life. What can I do about that?, did I ask myself. I decided to work half-time with several Japanese tourism companies to understand how work can be done. Then I created my own space to make it better as a private guide.
What’s the difference between a company tour guide and a private guide? Well, if you book a tour on TripAdvisor or another similar platform, then it’s from a company and you will be packed in a group of 10, 15 or more, and you never know if the guide has any interest about you because it’s already a difficult job to navigate in crowded narrow streets with so many people at once. The people way behind can’t hear what the guide is saying. Well, you don’t really feel the friendly aspect of a tour. Experiences make me understand what’s possible and not possible. Now, I just want to make this better, friendly, safe, one group at a time.
During a tour, you can also ask many questions about Japan’s history, society, religions, pop-culture, media and politics. I also know a degree is never enough, so I do what I can to continuously read a lot of books and articles, and watch a lot of contents about the country and the world I’m living in, so that we can have great conversations!
What are the tour and the services I’m able to provide?
Tours (I can create more and organize on-demand)
- Asakusa Area & the Sensôji Buddhist Temple
- Shinjuku Historical & Food
- Harajuku Fashion & Shibuya Historical & Food
- Akihabara Electric Town & Pop-Culture
- Meiji Jingû Shintô Shrine & Yoyogi Park
- Tsukiji Fish & Soul Food Market
- Toyosu New Fish & Vegetable Market
- Nerima, Suginami & Nakano Pop-Culture Tour
Services
- Speaking in Japanese, English and French
- Welcome at the Airport
- How to get a Rental Mobile WiFi Service
- Book museum and restaurant services in advance if needed
- Get a 5 seats taxi
- Pictures & videos (will be transfered to my server for you to download after the tour)
If you have any questions: gouraud.n@proton.me ! (add « Ittekimasu » in the object of the mail, thank you!)