What Tour Guiding Taught Me: Always Take the Pen and More Life Lessons

When Walk Japan hired me as a tour leader, I had little experience. I did not know Japanese history, had never visited the Nakasendo where I would be guiding, and was the age of the participants' grandchildren. Many tried setting me up with their granddaughters. 

The company hired me because I spoke fluent Japanese and gained some travel experience by backpacking in Africa. I was their youngest-ever tour leader by a long shot. In fact, they changed the "never hire guides under 30" policy for me. I think the CEO personally trained me because he was worried that HR made a colossal mistake.

Early Lessons in Guiding

Starting young, I learned lessons early that shaped my career tremendously and provided a lifetime of otherwise inaccessible experiences. I endlessly walked the Nakasendo Trail at a time when we rarely saw Japanese hikers or international visitors. Making friends with a bear hunter in a dying village of 200 people, I learned to guide snowshoe tours in Nagano. 

I froze in Eastern Hokkaido's whipping Siberian winds, only to thaw out in the onsens or while feasting on crab. I became a pilgrim on the Kumano Kodo, joining the ranks of mythical Japanese emperors and countless religious observers. 

Guiding forced me to push myself physically, allowed me to learn the travel business, taught me people management, and helped deepen my historical and cultural knowledge of Japan. I improved my Japanese by translating interactions between locals and international guests, becoming their window to Japan. Further, walking for so many days provided time to converse, to reflect on my journey, and to think about my relationship with America and Japan.

The Role of a Guide

Most people think of a guide as an all-knowing imparter of knowledge flowing in one direction. Japanese guides tend to follow this format of providing specific information at specific locations but otherwise not interacting much. 

I came to think of guiding, however, as a two-way street. While I explained Japan as best I could, customers' questions and interests were vital in helping me describe Japan in a way they would understand. Whatever their area of interest, I provided a point of connection with Japan.

If they were interested in sports, I talked about Japanese baseball by reading books like You Gotta Have Wa. I explained the latest scandal in parliament discussed on the nightly news if they were into politics. Or, if they were into cooking, we would talk about the edible wild vegetables along the trail and how to prepare them.

But another aspect of guiding was that the conversations I entered while walking hundreds of kilometers of Japan's mountainous countryside provided invaluable wisdom, too. I could ask them about their families, businesses, and lives.

Most people who travel to Japan on a guided holiday are older and have some measure of financial success. I viewed my time with those customers as a massive job perk. How else would a 25-year-old gain 10 days of unlimited access to doctors, lawyers, and business leaders from every continent? It was like a walking mentorship. Here are some lessons I learned along the way.

Always Take the Pen

I will never forget my first Walk Japan tour when a female journalist from New York advised me, "Always take the pen." If you take a pen from every hotel you stay in, you will never be penless, and it's one less thing to spend money on. While hotels the world over are now short on pens, and the advice might have been a bit facetious, I have always remembered it.

Be Curious

The most interesting customers on tour were the ones who maintained their curiosity even into their twilight years. With age, I understand the temptation of allowing the world to shrink. After all, no one forces retired people to learn new things, especially in subjects that don't affect your life. However, the metaphorical gentlemen and scholars, the ones who stayed curious and asked questions about Japan, its people, culture, customs, and history — those were the people I wanted to imitate.

Be Adventurous and Flexible

Likewise, as you get older, staying in a comfort zone and only partaking in activities or experiences you already know you will enjoy is tempting. However, a comfort zone is a fence that keeps people trapped inside, as much as a barrier keeping discomforts out. As JRR Tolkien would say, an adventure might make you late for dinner. I admire people who don't mind skipping a meal. 

A first trip to Japan sometimes involves discomfort. Ryokans have no Western-style beds, not all rooms have en suite showers or toilets, and the only nightwear is Yukata bathrobes. Toilets are either squatty potties or technological marvels. The food is exotic and delicious, albeit sometimes unrecognizable. Those who thrive in Japan set aside their notions about comfort and let Japan show them how it does things. Different does not mean worse.

Health is an Appreciating Asset

The longer you live, the more important health becomes relative to money. Money sometimes buys health but cannot compensate for decades of compounded bad habits. While all customers had the financial ability to join a tour, not all retained the requisite health to enjoy them.

Seeing peoples' habits and physical abilities made me consider the importance of investing in the financial and physical means to enjoy old age. Without health, no amount of money brings fulfillment. People would gladly trade money for health if it were only that easy.

Go On Trips That Excite You, Not Someone Else

I once had a customer on a tour visiting Japan with his wife. She was an avid walker and wanted to see Japan. He became more dissatisfied with every passing day of hiking and sleeping on futon mattresses. I wondered why, and he admitted that he liked neither walking nor Japanese food. If the company's name didn't give it away (Walk Japan), he quickly realized this was clearly the wrong tour for him. 

I do admire people who expand their comfort zones. Still, joining another person's dream vacation, even a spouse's, is not a formula for happiness. Let them fulfill their dream holiday. There were plenty of married travelers on tours who signed up alone.

Humility in Success

I had another participant who bragged about all the New York celebrities he knew. Before the election, he claimed Donald Trump was a small fry in New York City real estate and how much bigger his projects were. While impressive for an hour or two, everyone wearied of his boasting and inability to talk about anything except himself. By the end, an Australian woman refused to say good morning. 

One day, he plowed ahead of the group, took a wrong turn, and became lost. Being a new tour leader, I thought I would be fired. He eventually hitchhiked in a kei truck with a local farmer who knew where all the gaijin stayed and found his way to the inn. I like to amuse myself by thinking it humbled him, but that is optimistic. I can do many things but cannot make bickering 70-year-olds get along or change their ways.

Laugh at Yourself and Don't Worry About It

Finally, the people who impressed me most were those who could laugh at themselves, stay flexible, and not worry about the time, distance, or exact schedule. In other words, they could enjoy their holiday. The ones who could not relax constantly asked me how much further, what time we would arrive, what was planned next, etc. Contrary to popular opinion, knowing the distance of a trail does not actually change the distance of that trail, so you might as well sit back, relax, and enjoy the journey.

Even when committing faux pas, some customers would laugh and move on, while some worried about committing the next one. At one ryokan dinner, everyone sat cross-legged on the floor in their yukata nightgowns while eating hot pot dipped in ponzu sauce. After dinner, a lady pulled me aside and asked me, "Please tell Ron to put on some underwear next time we sit on the floor." Everyone laughed, including Ron, and he never flashed anyone again. 

Japan is a popular travel destination now because it is unique compared to anywhere else. Its singularity makes it appealing to some and challenging to others. However, those who thrive while living or traveling here are willing to put aside their preconceived notions and enjoy the Japan experience. There is so much to discover. Even after living here for 26 years, I feel like I have just scratched the surface.

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Author: Daniel Moore

Learn more about the wild side of Japan through Daniel's essays.