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I had no idea how big the merch and anime industry is in Japan! Tiago showed me everything! From futuristic arcades, to a store selling unlimited digital cameras, endless figurine shops from high end to low end. And I can tell he got a huge kick out of my shock every time he took me to another shop. He himself is a figurine collector so was able to answer so many questions about the industry. And he gave me some of the backstory about the Akihabara area plus food recommendations.
Hiraku is Japanese and has an innate understanding of the culture. I can tell he's an educator in the way he formats his tour with pictures, history and sociological explanations. He helped us to understand how to respectfully participate in prayer at Japanese temples with clear demonstration. Because he's lived abroad as well, his English was perfectly clear so that it was easy for me to follow along. And he gave me multiple awesome, tailored recommendations for other Japanese sites to check out.
Ethan is hospitable. I felt like he cared about us and our safety. He's lived in Japan multiple years so not only understands the culture, but also understands what is like to come from somewhere else. Thus he knows how to help a tourists learn from both sides. It was incredibly interesting to learn about some of the struggles of Japanese culture amongst the beauty of the city.
