I’m planning on visiting Japan in January 2021, and I was wondering if anyone has recently(ish) been on an English language tour of the National Diet?
Looking at the websites for both Houses the information looks to be a little bit patchy at best and outdated otherwise.
What I’d really like to know is:
* Can I book in advance? And if so, how far in advance does it need to be?
* When are the English language tours?
Any and all advice on this would be much appreciated!
6 comments
I did a tour with my class for school (in Japanese), but only because a child of a diet member goes to our school and helped organize it.
I’m not sure how easy it is to apply or the process, but I know it’s possible!
You can register for the tour up to two months in advance, and the tour is in English. You can check this website for more info: http://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_english.nsf/html/statics/guide/tours.htm
Edit: the tour is in English, not Japanese.
Wait I’m out of the loop. What’s the national diet?
I did a tour whilst there, really recommend it.
We emailed like a week out and asked, and they had space. Usually, they are midday but don’t quote me there. In total there were around 8 of us on the tour, and about the same amount of tour guides. They’re usually aides/stenographers who want to practice their English skills, and all were super nice.
At the end of the tour we got some origami cranes which was incredibly sweet. Loved it.
My husband and I did this last September. Really enjoyed the experience! I think they only have English tours at 10, 1, and 3 on on certain days but don’t quite remember. My husband emailed diettour@shugiinjk.go.jp with our date and time request a few weeks out, they responded a few days later to confirm and linked a form to fill out. We had a younger guide in training and also a former parliament member accompanying him, and both spoke fairly good English so we didn’t struggle to understand. You’ll have to bring your passport and go through a metal detector of course.
I’m wondering, are you relying on hope that this Covid thing will get sorted out or do you ha e a full proof plan for a refund if things get shut down again? I really want to book a tripe next spring but most airlines arent covering Covid related incidents in the future it seems like.