Tokyo in Half a Day: eyoko & Meiji Shrine — Guide Takako

What's a Fast-Paced 4-Hour Private Tour of Tokyo Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

In the morning the Ginza subway line was suspended, which worried me, but since today's tour was in the afternoon and service had resumed by then, I was relieved. I guided the guests from Asia. This was their first day in Tokyo after two nights each in Osaka and Kyoto. It was quite a unique tour: in advance they told me they wanted to walk quickly, just take photos, and see as many places as possible in four hours, so I planned shorter stays than usual at each site. At a drugstore in Ameyoko they bought some medicine for a mouth ulcer. At Sensoji Temple we only went as far as the Hozomon Gate and simply viewed the main hall from the outside. For some reason we kept using Exit 3 that day, which they found amusing. We took a matcha ice cream break in front of the statue of Kusunoki Masashige. One of the guests' folding umbrellas, which had been used as a parasol, would not close, and just as I was wondering how we would manage on the subway, they said goodbye to it and solved the problem by forcibly bending the frame to fold it up. The highlight was at the First Torii Gate of Meiji Shrine: after taking photos there, when we were about to go inside and they heard it involved a lot of walking, they asked if there were photos of the shrine. When I showed them photos online, they said that would be enough. I laughed with them, saying I had never had guests like this and that they were the fastest guests I had ever had. At the end, I showed them the entrance to Takeshita Street as a famous street—of course just for photos—and although it was before the scheduled end time, they said they wanted me to show them how to get back to the hotel and finish there, so we parted ways at Harajuku Station. It was an unusual tour, but they were bright and pleasant, and I think I was able to proceed just as they wished.

Click here for more details: Tokyo Customized Half-Day Tour with Licensed Local Guide

Tour Report by Takako

Hello!! I’m Takako. Thank you for seeing my page. I’ve been showing guests around Tokyo, Yokohama and Kamakura for over six years. There are various things from historic sites, shrines and temples to cultural spots, good restaurants and anime shops in Japan.
I love watching sumo wrestling, Japanese traditional sport.
My favorite place is Tsukiji food market. It’s really exciting and you can enjoy a variety of delicious foods.
I also like visiting Japanese gardens such as Hama-rikyu Gardens and Rikugien Gardens.
Please let me know what interests you.
I would be happy to make a suitable tour for you and help you stay in Japan comfortably.
Looking forward to meeting you!!