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How to become a Tour Conductor

Also called: Tour guide, Tour escort, Sightseeing guide, Mountain guide, Nature guide, Travel guide, Heritage site guide, Tourist guide

Accompanies group tours and looks after the group so the trip goes to plan and everyone enjoys a comfortable journey.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say university is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

No particular education or qualifications are needed to start, but most people graduate from university or a travel and tourism senmon gakko (vocational college) and then join a travel agency or a tour conductor staffing agency. Before you can accompany tours as a tour conductor, you must complete set training and gain experience as an assistant tour conductor. The tour conductor qualification, certified tour manager (domestic or general), can be gained by belonging to a full member company of the Japan Tour Conductors Association (a tour conductor staffing agency) or of the Japan Association of Travel Agents or the All Nippon Travel Agents Association (travel agencies), attending courses run by these bodies or companies and gaining practical experience. You need a basic understanding of the Travel Agency Act and standard terms and conditions, and knowledge of tourist destinations in Japan and abroad and their history and culture. Accompanying overseas tours requires language skills as well as knowledge of immigration and customs, and of the laws and customs of the countries visited. You need to be proactive, sociable and keen to serve, and on some tours to lead dozens of people. While on tour you represent the travel agency and are responsible for the group, so a strong sense of responsibility is needed. You must also respond to emergencies at any hour, day or night, and the work is physically hard, so looking after your own health is important.

Ways in

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Tour Conductor?

No particular education or qualifications are needed to start, but most people graduate from university or a travel and tourism senmon gakko (vocational college) and then join a travel agency or a tour conductor staffing agency. Before you can accompany tours as a tour conductor, you must complete set training and gain experience as an assistant tour conductor. The tour conductor qualification, certified tour manager (domestic or general), can be gained by belonging to a full member company of the Japan Tour Conductors Association (a tour conductor staffing agency) or of the Japan Association of Travel Agents or the All Nippon Travel Agents Association (travel agencies), attending courses run by these bodies or companies and gaining practical experience. You need a basic understanding of the Travel Agency Act and standard terms and conditions, and knowledge of tourist destinations in Japan and abroad and their history and culture. Accompanying overseas tours requires language skills as well as knowledge of immigration and customs, and of the laws and customs of the countries visited. You need to be proactive, sociable and keen to serve, and on some tours to lead dozens of people. While on tour you represent the travel agency and are responsible for the group, so a strong sense of responsibility is needed. You must also respond to emergencies at any hour, day or night, and the work is physically hard, so looking after your own health is important.

How much does a Tour Conductor earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥4,026,700 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Other service workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Tour Conductor?

Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 41% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Vocational college (専門学校) course: Travel and tourism.

Will AI change the work of a Tour Conductor?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026