Japanese Guided Excursion

[CC_user]

My parents is going on the Diamond Princess cruise  (Circle Japan Explorer, June 15 2019). Princess is offering same excursion with a big price difference between English Guided and Japanese Guided. For example is the Mt.Haguro and Zenpo-Ji Temple is $209,95  English Guided vs $129 Japanese Guided. I understand what you loose if you don't know the language. My parents only understand very basic English just enough to know how to get around (i.e. when to get on the bus and to get off). Any explanation during the tour will not mean much to them. If what I am paying for is just the transportation, I was wondering if I can just get them on the Japanese guided excursion. However I do worry about if the excursion really speaks zero English , what could happen ? I was wondering if anyone has joined Japanese Guide excursion , because they understand Japanese or in the same situation as me, to share their opinion and experience. 

[spookwife]

not that it really matters, but what is their native tongue?    

 

as a general rule  most adult Japanese  have the bare bones of grammatically correct Queen's English ( they aren't so good with slang, they are often shy about pronunciation)  

 

Tour Guides should/might be able to  converse in simple terms even if they are assigned to the Japanese language tour. but there's no guarantee they will.  I assume the biggest concerns are instructions regarding the tour itself.  there is easily the possibility of a fellow tour  goer to help translate if needed.  they also tend to be VERY obvious.. big  flags that you follow behind to not get lost, etc.  

 

Major cities  will have  bi lingual signs.  

 

I have done  JL 'excursions' in places like Tokyo Disney/Disney Sea.   one that comes to mind is the Castle.  didn't understand a word of it, but never got lost and it was  sort of easy to follow the storyline, kind of like watching Korean soap Operas. or a Bollywood Film.  

 

there are some good apps out there that offer translation services.  

 

 

[CC_user]

Thanks a lot for the quick response. This is a second opinion I need to ensure that I am not biased by just money saving.  I 'll discuss this with my parents and see if they are comfortable with the Japanese  guided tour.

[ger_77]

My concern with this is that if your parents only have a basic understanding of English, and they're with a Japanese guide who is only speaking Japanese, how will they know whether to even look right or left when things are pointed out to them?  It would seem to be just a jumble of buildings, not knowing about the history or location.   And, if there are instructions the group should be made aware of (such as return time to the bus, location of washrooms, or even emergency instructions), how will they know?  I would feel better paying the extra, knowing at least they can speak and understand the language.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂