Japan Navigator

Hire a professional tour guide for your Japan visit!

Japan is a great country to visit, but it can also be a hassle to find your way, especially if you have little time or do not speak Japanese.

Ad Blankestijn is an officially licensed tour guide and interpreter (National Guide Certificate). He has lived in Japan for 25 years and has a solid background in both the culture and language thanks to his studies of Japanese and Chinese at Leiden and Kyoto Universities.

Ad Blankestijn is especially interested in guiding cultural tours or visits with a business purpose. Many private visitors have also already profited from his knowledge of Japan. When working at the Netherlands Embassy in Tokyo, Ad often accompanied VIPS from government or business on the highest levels. He looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for Japan with you!

Ad works with a major Japanese tour agency, but he can in addition be booked directly as an independent guide. As he lives in Kobe, guided programs in Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe, Himeji, Koya-san (Wakayama) and Shiga Prefecture are most practical. Such tours are suitable both for tourists and expats living in Japan.

Also convenient for your (corporate) visitors – just put them on the train to Kyoto and Ad will take care of them!

Ad Blankestijn advises on where to go depending on your interests and helps you plan the trip. From his experience as intercultural consultant, Ad can also give briefings on do’s and dont’s for first-time visitors.

The basic cost for fully customized programs is a guide fee of 7,500 yen per hour plus all costs (travel costs, entree fees, meals, etc.; accommodation if necessary) with a minimum of 4 hours per day (or a fixed cost of 30,000 yen for programs shorter than 4 hours). You will be picked up at your hotel or a large station and at the end brought back again. The fee includes advice prior to the tour, planning of the tour-program, and full guidance on a professional level.

This fee is for individual visitors or groups of up to five persons.

There are additional charges for high-level interpretation (business meetings, technical visits).

Ad will send an estimate in advance. For a small extra fee, Ad can also help you plan (parts of) trips in which he is not involved as a guide, but as he is not a travel bureau, he cannot book and organize the whole Japan visit for you!

Ad lives in the Kansai (Kobe) but is of course willing to travel to Tokyo or other locations in Japan for accompanying you.

For more information (without any commitment) or bookings, please use the form below or mail to xuanzang73 [at] yahoo.com. In addition to your contact data (name, title, company, address, tel no, email), please mention details of your proposed tour, as the date, length, destination in Japan, number of participants, your interests, etc. In reply, I will let you know my availability and conditions.

Contact form: