Hi everyone.
I work here at a university but I am thinking about “moonlighting” as a tour guide on weekends and days that I’m not teaching (maybe 5-10 days a month?)
I’m wondering if anyone here has any advice about how to get started in that line of work. I looked up a couple of threads on here but no one seemed to answer this question specifically.
I’m currently based in the Tokyo area but have lived in several different parts of Japan (Kyushu, Hokkaido, Kyoto, several parts of Tokyo), and have travelled extensively (though of course there are many places I haven’t visited yet!). I speak fluent Japanese (N1 over ten years ago), and also teach/research in a field related to Japan and Japanese history.
Ideally I’d like to leverage that expertise to take people to places related to Japanese religious history (my research specialty), or tours that help people get out in to the outdoors/nature here (ie hiking, biking, or skiing/snowboarding, possibly motorcycle touring).
Many years ago I studied a bit for the 通訳案内士 test but never sat the test. I’d be willing to give it another shot…if I need to….
I’d ideally like work directly with clients to build itineraries that go beyond the major sites (ie the “golden route”) though I’d be willing to work with a company, at least at first, (and have reached out to a few already) until I had more experience.
Any advice or leads you may have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!