Volunteer Guide
Enjoy your Hakone adventure with our friendly volunteer guides!
“As volunteers, your enjoyment is our greatest reward!”
OHSGG provides volunteer guiding services in Hakone and Odawara in English and other languages to assist international visitors and non-Japanese-speaking residents. This section explains guide areas, our guides, guide policy, request procedures, the guide assignment process, fees and expenses, guide languages, and communication methods.
About Us
OHSGG (Odawara Hakone Systematized Goodwill Guide Club) is the voluntary sightseeing guide organization established in 1996 as one of the systematized goodwill guide groups under Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO).
OHSGG has its base in Odawara, the entrance city to Hakone. All of our members are volunteers who want to share their spare time with foreign visitors.
OHSGG provides guiding services and travel assistance in English and other languages for international visitors to Odawara, Hakone, and the surrounding areas. Our goal is to help visitors feel comfortable and enjoy their stay with confidence.
・ Volunteer interpreter guide club
・ Certified by JNTO. Established in 1996
・ Specialized guide service in Hakone and Odawara area
・ About 90 guide members providing language support for English, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, and Tagalog
・ Areas of Expertise: Hakone Circle Route tours, local culture and history, food and traditional crafts, Hakone Geopark guiding, and Odawara Castle and town walking tours
The assigned guide helps you to plan where to visit and how to get in and out from this area. You may consult with the guide for any kind of interests and questions of your tour. If the assigned guide does not have enough information to answer, she or he will ask our experienced members and return to you with satisfactory information.
How to Request a Guide
Please refer to the Guide Request page when requesting a guide.
Our Guide Area
Our guide area is entire Hakone region, Odawara area including Odawara castle, Ichiya-jyo fort, Odawara town, and surrounding area. See the Guide Routes & Spots page.
For example, Hakone Circle Route is a full one-day journey that starts and ends at Hakone Yumoto station. Most of the highlights in Hakone are located along this route. See The Circle Route page.
There are many additional optional spots that you may be interested in Hakone and Odawara area.
Activities & Photos
The photos from our guided tours may give you an idea of what our tours are like. See more.
Access & Area info.
Odawara and Hakone area is just 80km ~ 85km from Tokyo, only 35 minutes by Tokaido Shinkansen train from Tokyo station and 85 minutes by Odakyu Romance Car from Shinjuku station. See the Access & Area Information page.
