Japan Tour Guide (JTG) Matching Service

Above, the Kinkaku-ji "Golden Pavilion" in Kyoto. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan seems to constantly come up with new and innovative ideas to assist foreign visitors.

The latest is a smartphone guide matching service.

According Japan Today:

TOKYO —International Cross-Cultural Exchange (ICCE) has launched its guide matching service, “Japan Tour Guide (JTG),” on smartphones. 

For this guide service, the guest (tourist) fills out a request form for a guide. Guides then may then view the requests of the guests and apply to a candidate for a guide. The guest selects a guide from among those who applied for candidacy to form a match. Once a match is confirmed, a private chat between the guest and the guide is opened so that they may discuss further details with each other.

To read more, go here.