Tokyo in One Day: Shibuya Station — Guide Nobby

April, 2026

This is a private guided tour report by Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.), a network of 1,000+ government-licensed, English-speaking local guides across all 47 prefectures of Japan. Not affiliated with the Japan Guide Association.

Tour Itinerary

  • 9:30 Guide (Kogure) arrives at Hotel InterContinental Tokyo Bay
  • 9:50 Meet the guests in the Hotel InterContinental Tokyo Bay lobby
  • 10:00 After meeting with the guests, depart the hotel and walk to Yurikamome Takeshiba Station
  • 10:06 Depart Takeshiba Station, head to Shimbashi Station on the Yurikamome
  • 10:10 Arrive at Shimbashi Station, walk to Ginza Line Subway Shimbashi Station
  • 10:19 Depart Shimbashi Station, head to Asakusa Station on the Ginza Line Subway
  • 10:40 Arrive at Asakusa Station, walk to the Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center
  • 10:45–10:55 Guide the 8F observation deck of the Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center
  • 11:00–12:10 Guide Sensoji Temple and Nakamise Street
  • *Kaminarimon Gate, Hozomon Gate, giant straw sandals, five-story pagoda, omikuji fortunes, amulets, incense burner, purification fountain, main hall, Asakusa Shrine
  • 12:15–13:15 Lunch at Asakusa soba and udon restaurant Towada (hot udon with ginger ➕ mini tendon)
  • 13:23 Depart Asakusa Station, head to Shibuya Station on the Ginza Line Subway
  • 13:58 Arrive at Shibuya Station
  • 14:12 Head from Shibuya Station to Harajuku Station on the JR Yamanote Line
  • 14:15 Arrive at Harajuku Station, walk to Meiji Shrine
  • 14:20–15:20 Guide Meiji Shrine (sake barrels, wine barrels, second torii gate, waka poems, purification fountain, main hall, Meiji Shrine coffee shop)
  • 15:20 Depart Meiji Shrine, walk to Harajuku Takeshita Street
  • 15:20–15:40 Guide Omotesando and Harajuku Takeshita Street (due to heavy crowds on Harajuku Takeshita Street, went only to the entrance at the guests' request)
  • 15:46 Depart Harajuku Station, head to Shibuya Station on the JR Yamanote Line
  • 15:50 Arrive at Shibuya Station,
  • 15:50–16:00 Guide Hachiko and the Shibuya Scramble Crossing
  • 16:05 Depart Shibuya Station, head to Shimbashi Station on the Ginza Line Subway
  • 16:18 Arrive at Shimbashi Station, walk to Yurikamome Shimbashi Station
  • 16:28 Depart Yurikamome Shimbashi Station, head to Takeshiba Station on the Yurikamome
  • 16:32 Arrive at Takeshiba Station, walk to Hotel InterContinental Tokyo Bay
  • 16:35 Arrive at the Hotel InterContinental Tokyo Bay lobby, end of duties

What Is a Private One-Day Tokyo Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Asakusa, Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, and Shibuya

The guests were visiting from North America and were experiencing Japan and Asia for the first time, and they greatly enjoyed today's tour. They took many photos at Sensoji Temple, Meiji Shrine, Harajuku's Takeshita Street, and in front of the Hachiko statue in Shibuya. At Sensoji Temple they drew omikuji fortunes, and the guests were delighted that they both received "good luck." They learned about the difference between temples and shrines, the respective ways to pray, and how to pass through a torii gate, engaging with Japanese culture. As they had rarely eaten Japanese food, they enjoyed a warm udon with ginger plus a mini tempura rice bowl at Towada, a soba and udon restaurant in Asakusa that I guided them to today, and they seemed to savor it. The guests arrived in Japan yesterday and plan to watch a Giants versus Swallows game at Jingu Stadium tomorrow. After staying in Tokyo, they plan to take a cruise from Shimizu Port to Osaka Port, Kochi Port, Kagoshima Port, Nagasaki Port, and on to Busan, so I shared candidate places to visit and highlights to see during their stay in Tokyo. The conversation flowed easily, and time passed by in what felt like an instant.

Click here for more details: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide

Transportation cost per person

No.TransportationRouteFare
Section 1TrainTakeshiba～Shimbashi190JPY
Section 2SubwayShimbashi～Asakusa210JPY
Section 3SubwayAsakusa～Shibuya260JPY
Section 4TrainShibuya～Harajuku160JPY
Section 5TrainHarajuku～Shibuya160JPY
Section 6SubwayShibuya～Shimbashi180JPY
Section 7TrainShimbashi～Takeshiba190JPY
Total1,350JPY

Tour Report by Nobby

Hello and how do you do?
My name is Nobuo Kokure, and please call me Nobby for short, if you want.
Let me introduce myself. I was born in Hayama, a beach resort area, Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo. And I’m now living in Saginuma, Kawasaki city.
When I was a university student, I had the opportunities of doing a home stay with a family In U.S.A., Australia, and England, as a youth exchange student.
After graduation from the university, I started working at American Life Insurance Company, Japan (Alico, Japan), which is a group member company of AIG, now MetLife Insurance Company. I could have a chance to visit the head office and the field offices of U.S.A., Wilmington in Delaware, New York, Boston, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale in Florida, Los Angeles, while I was working for Alico, Japan (Now, MetLife Insurance company).
I had been working for MetLife Insurance Company for about 38 years, in total.
After retiring from the life insurance company, I started working as a tour guide, because I wanted to become a tour guide to introduce culture, history, and manners and customs of Japan in English. It’s so different between my previous job and the guide business, but I like guide business a lot.
I can meet so many people from all over the world and the guide business has been thriving after the pandemic.
I have implemented the tour over 240 times, introduced Japan to more than 4300 tourists from 53 countries.

Not only Tokyo, but I have experienced touring around Nikko, Kamakura, Mt. Fuji & Hakone area, Takayama, Kanazawa, Nagoya, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, and Hiroshima, etc. which are all very famous as a tourist spot in Japan.
If you go on a tour in Tokyo, you must see and visit Asakusa Sensoji Temple which is the oldest Buddhist Temple in Tokyo with histories and Nakamise Shopping Street where you can buy the souvenirs and try to taste Japanese sweets, such as doll cake which is the sponge cake in various shapes filled with red bean paste and Japanese powdered tea ice cream. Another my recommendation in Tokyo to visit is Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, and Shibuya. Meiji Shrine is one of the biggest shrines in Japan with quiet and peaceful atmosphere and magnificent site.
Harajuku and Shibuya are both fun to visit for shopping and experience the Shibuya Crossing.
I usually propose my tentative itinerary and ask if my plan is all right with the customer or not. My hobby is traveling around Japan and foreign countries and going to the gym for exercise.
I would like to work as a guide as long as possible if I’m in good health and my legs are strong, because I love this job.
I put my importance on the mind of OMOTENASHI which means sincere hospitality, though safety during the tour takes precedence, number one priority, before anything else.

I’m very looking forward to seeing you and touring with you in Japan soon.
Thank you!

Best regards,

Nobuo Kokure (Nobby)

Request Booking

Jul 20, 2026
JEFF_D
Viator review: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Tokyo In A Day Tour with Nobuo
The excursion…

Apr 18, 2026
Traveler10250323486
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
We had a great day with a Japanese guide who seemed like…

Sep 23, 2025
johnsL7185LE
Brilliant family day trip with Nobuo
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Nobuo Kokure is a wonderful guide.…

Aug 4, 2025
leslie_w
Nobby was an awesome tour…
Viator review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Nobby was an awesome tour guide. Very…