Kyoto, Shiga (Living)
Japanese (Native), English
4 hours on average
1 day ago
My name is Taka. I was born and grew up in Koka City, Japan, where the world famous Koka Ninja’s birthplace is. Koka City is just one hour away from JR Kyoto station by train. As a matter of fact, I am a descendant of Ninja/local Samurai. My family name represents the most powerful Ninja/local Samurai clan among the Koka’s 53 Ninja clans. There are twin Castles of my ancestors in my neighborhood.
When I was a college student, I was interested in foreign languages and cultures, and I studied abroad at a university in Ohio, USA as an exchange student for one year. After graduating from a Japanese college with a BA in English, I worked for a prefectural government for 31 years, and I made an early retirement in March 2023. During my service to the government, I was chosen as a Visiting Official in Michigan, USA, which is a sister state of my prefecture, and I stayed there for 2 years as the government’s representative. I have totally 3 years of living experience in the USA, and am able to speak English now.
Since I am retired from the government, I decided to start a new career as a Ninja tour guide for foreign travelers in my hometown. There are Ninja House, over 180 medieval Ninja related castles, shrines, temples, Ninja’s training mountains, and more in Koka, however no one had done the tour guide for foreigners until now. As I am able to speak English, I thought I should start a new job as a Ninja tour guide, and would like to contribute to my hometown Koka.
Taka! Where do we begin? He is incredible - as a guide and as a person. We are so lucky to have found Taka and to get an awesome tour with him. He helped us find secret hidden gem experiences that we will never forget. He became a true friend and shared his wealth of knowledge and experience with us. We were endlessly impressed with Taka and highly recommend him should you find yourself lucky to have him as a guide. Thank you Taka!!
Thank you very much for the great review. I was impressed how you set up your company and grew your business. I had really good time with you, especially you invited me to a bar restaurant after the tour. Thank you for the beer too. Cheers to you!
Taka came to our hotel on time and well prepared for our day.We only wanted to do the highlights with no shopping . It was an extremely hot day sights were seen with stops on the way . What an extremely pleasant man , knowledgeable of his surroundings perfect English and fun to spend time with , seriously recommended
Thank you for the nice review. I enjoyed talking with you very much and learned a lot from you about your country. I hope someday I may visit you in your country.
We had a wonderful time visiting Taka’s hometown - the land of Ninjas! It was lovely to spend time out of the city - the kids loved the bike riding and of course everything to do with ninjas. Thank you so much for your hospitality Taka!
You are most welcome. I am glad your children liked my Ninja tour. You have a beautiful family.
We were very impressed with our half-day tour with Taka. We were able to see major temples and neighborhoods. Taka is an excellent guide. He was informative and provided context for each site without over loading us with information. I highly recommend this tour.
It was my pleasure touring with you in Kyoto. You have a lovely family. Enjoy the rest of your time in Japan.