Translator

8 comments

1. In Tokyo you could always organize a day with [Tokyo Free Guide](https://www.tokyofreeguide.org).

   Your question is a little vague though. What situation(s) are you planning that you think you need a translator?

2. I don’t see why you would need a translator for tourism, but crowd sourced translation sites like gengo.com are very affordable for simple translations. You could also try freelance sites like Upwork.

3. Here is a list of volunteer guides maintained by the Japan National Tourism Organization:
   https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/list-of-volunteer-guides/

4. You shouldn’t need a translator unless you’ll be having very complex conversations with people. Otherwise Google translate is mostly sufficient (once you learn the translation curve: basically figure out how to write simply enough in English that the translation is almost always right).

5. My wife and I used Google Translate when needing to change text to English. Most restaurants had hand held menus in English that you could point to. And the one time I got little lost during train commutes a female worker in all red showed us the way to go, guess that’s what they were meant for? But we never used Japanese other than saying thank you and hello.

6. I haven’t used them but I know they are around and an option: https://www.insidejapantours.com/us/

7. Probably best to learn some Japanese before you go. I plan on taking my 2 children to Japan and my partner if he wants to come in 5/6 years time and I’m using this time to learn basic Japanese with duolingo and I watch Japanese movies/shows and anime but a word to the wise DONT use anime japanese when speaking to anyone in Japan its actually quite aggressive/rude Japanese and you will get stared at for using it simply because they don’t speak like that. Learn the formal and casual Japanese.
   Also research and learn ALL of their cultural values and rules because there’s ALOT.
   For example
   Learn proper chopstick etiquette (a must)
   Take shoes off before entering shrines/houses/other places its required
   If you have tattoo’s you are NOT allowed in any of the onsens (bath houses)
   If you don’t have tattoo’s you must shower before entering the onsen
   Don’t eat and drink whilst walking in public
   Don’t blow your nose anywhere in public (considered extremely rude)
   Don’t use your phone on any public transport
   There are loads more, you can find them all on YouTube.

8. General rule for this for any country: unless this is for business purposes, the easiest way is to just look up private tour guides for the area you’re checking out. They’ll go along with most anything you want to do, and help you do so. I haven’t ever used a private tour guide for Japan, but if you have enough money to afford such a service you likely have a credit card with a concierge service who you can call and they can arrange this for you. You can also ask at the front desk of any hotels you stay in, or just find which tour guides are well reviewed on TripAdvisor or whatever