Goodwill Guide ? - NARA - your advise thanks

We are 4 adults ( in our 50s ) intersted in engaging a ';Goodwill Guide'; in NARA ( April 2009 ). There are several guide groups on the Webite and would appreciate any comments / feedback / recommendations? We were considering a guide in our age group ( your thoughts %26amp; can we make that request ? ) and a guide being able to converse ( even limited ) in English.

Thanks !

Goodwill Guide ? - NARA - your advise thanks

When I was touring Nara last year, I stopped at the little information booth on Sanjo Dori (Street) next to Sarusawa Pond for a map, and they immediately offered a volunteer guide. I didn%26#39;t take them up on the offer, but they seemed very eager to help tourists. I%26#39;m sure the guide would have spoken English.

You probably know this already, but you%26#39;re expected to pay for the guide%26#39;s admission fees to the sites you visit, and are expected to pay for the guide%26#39;s lunch.

Goodwill Guide ? - NARA - your advise thanks

My wife and I had a volunteer guide for 1 day in Kyoto. Well worthwhile. She contacted us in advance and asked where we wanted to go, and took us to places (e.g. a local food restaurant) that we wouldn%26#39;t have found on our own. I%26#39;d include your request (politely of course!!) for the age of guide you%26#39;d prefer - the Japanese are eager to please, and won%26#39;t be offended if you ask. The worst that will happen is that they will indicate no one in that age group is available at the time. One little known thing about Nara is that a number of local attractions (we discovered a magnificent Japanese garden) run by the city are free to overseas visitors because this is their 900th (or something) anniversary year.

Hello 60yoAussie,

Can you tell me where I can contact the goodwill guide in Nara? We will be in Kyoto for three days in May.

Thanks in advance

There are 5 different groups listed under ';Nara'; at jnto.go.jp/arrange/…guideservice.html

Try this link; jnto.go.jp/eng/…guideservice.html

There’s contact info in here:

http://eggnara.tripod.com/

Just ran into this article on Nara while doing some google search on Goodwill Guide groups, and I’m not sure if you like to read what I got, but here’s what Johannsen wrote about Nara, to use her words, a past-perfect city, for LA Times back in 2004:

…latimes.com/2004/mar/21/travel/tr-nara21

Sorry for the sidetracking, but with due respect to the writer, to me at least, she’s all too unique to say:

%26lt;%26lt;bankrupt emperors abandoned the city, letting it languish into tranquil obscurity.

Though Nara’s just half an hour by train from Kyoto and Osaka, few foreigners make the journey. That fact alone was enough of a lure for me. On a two-day visit here last fall, my husband, Kevin, and I explored both facets of Nara: the brash imperial capital that fell from glory and the moody backwater of 350,000 that grew from its ruins.%26gt;%26gt;

Not sure if the Emperor went bankrupt at the turn of the 7th century or I kept living in the moody backwater, for that matter, but the real reason they switched to Kyoto was simply because they wanted to evade the tremendous political influence presented by Buddhist factions. So I read in my school history book way back when, lol.

Thanks for all your info, will look into it.