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
- 10:10 Guide (Kogure) arrives at Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba
- 10:30 Meet customers at Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba lobby, conduct briefing
- 10:45 Depart Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba, walk toward Daiba Station
- 10:55 Depart Daiba Station, head to Shiodome Station via Yurikamome
- 11:09 Arrive at Shiodome Station, walk toward Oedo Line Shiodome Station
- 11:18 Depart Shiodome Station, head to Tsukijishijo Station via Toei Oedo Line
- 11:20 Arrive at Tsukijishijo Station
- 11:20〜13:10 Guide through Namiyoke Shrine, Tsukiji Market, Tsukiji Higashi Honganji, lunch at food court
- 13:13 Depart Tsukiji Station, head to Ueno Station via Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line
- 13:27 Arrive at Hibiya Line Ueno Station, walk toward JR Yamanote Line Ueno Station
- 13:35 Depart Ueno Station, head to Nippori Station via JR Yamanote Line
- 13:39 Arrive at Nippori Station, walk toward Yanaka Ginza
- 13:45 〜14:35 Guide through Yanaka Ginza, Yanaka Cemetery, Yanaka Tsuiji Wall
- 14:42 Depart Nippori Station, head to Akihabara Station via JR Yamanote Line
- 14:50 Arrive at Akihabara Station
- 14:55〜15:50 Guide through Akihabara Yodobashi Camera, Animate
- 15:50 Depart Akihabara Station, head to Shimbashi Station via JR Yamanote Line
- 15:58 Arrive at Shimbashi Station, walk toward Yurikamome Shimbashi Station
- 16:12 Depart Shimbashi Station, head to Daiba via Yurikamome
- 16:27 Arrive at Daiba, walk toward Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba
- 16:30 Arrive at Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba
- 16:30 Greet customers and conclude work
What's a Private One-Day Tokyo Tour of Tsukiji, Yanaka, and Akihabara Like? A Licensed Guide's Report
The guests were a group from North America who had arrived in Japan the previous night, and it was their first visit to Japan. Their reply about the day's plans finally came the day before, and I learned that from May 30 they would be joining a 12-day group tour that visits Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, and Osaka. At the guests' request, and to avoid overlapping with the places that group tour would cover, today I guided them around Tsukiji Market, Yanaka, and Akihabara.
At Tsukiji Market, since one of the guests was not fond of sushi, I guided them to the food court in Tsukiji Market for lunch, where they enjoyed pork and gyoza, while another of the guests happily enjoyed a tekka-don rice bowl. In Tsukiji, I guided them around Tsukiji Market, Namiyoke Shrine, and Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple, which they seemed to find very interesting. I explained the differences between shrines and temples and the ways to worship at each, and they seemed to understand well.
Today the temperature rose to about 30 degrees during the day, and when I guided them around Yanaka Ginza and Yanaka Cemetery, they seemed a little tired from the heat. Even so, at Yanaka Ginza they purchased some Japanese tea and tea cups.
In Akihabara, I guided them to a large electronics store and an anime goods shop. As some of the guests are interested in Japanese manga, they browsed with great interest, especially looking for souvenir T-shirts at the anime goods shop.
Despite the heat, the guests seemed to spend a very meaningful and enjoyable first day of their trip in Japan.
Click here for more details: Tokyo Hidden Gems Off the Beaten Path Tour, Licensed Guide
Transportation cost per person
| No. | Transportation | Route | Fare |
| Section 1 | Train | Daiba～Shiodome | 330JPY |
| Section 2 | Train | Shiodome～Tsukijishijo | 180JPY |
| Section 3 | Train | Tsukiji～Ueno | 180JPY |
| Section 4 | Train | Ueno～Nippori | 160JPY |
| Section 5 | Train | Nippori～Akihabara | 200JPY |
| Section 6 | Train | Akihabara～Shimbashi | 200JPY |
| Section 7 | Train | Shimbashi～Daiba | 330JPY |
| Total | 1,580JPY | ||
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)
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…
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 was excellent! It was a great way to introduce us to the many amenities of Tokyo. It was so helpful to have our excellent guide, Nobuo. This guy was great! He communicated with us in the weeks leading up to the tour to find out what we wanted to see. Then, he formulated a plan to see as many of those items as possible within our allotted time. He made it a priority to utilize our time together that suited us best. When we met up, we knew what we were doing and we were ready to go. Nobuo made it very easy for us to find him at our meeting point. Nobuo’s generosity, knowledge, sense of humor and trivia (of which I got 100%!) made our time together unforgettable. It was hard to say goodbye. We will always have a friend in Japan. I would highly recommend Nobuo as your tour guide, if he is available.
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…
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 an old friend.
Nobby (Nobuo) was prepared, showing up early and had copies to give us of the railway lines and phrases that we will use on the rest of our trip. He was very knowledgeable and felt like family very quickly. We changed some things on the fly and he didn’t skip a beat. He took us to shrines and a temple and showed us customs to respect the culture. He took us to a restaurant for lunch, where we had the best noodles we’ve ever eaten. We thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent with him and highly recommend taking a tour with him.
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.…
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. Very friendly, informative, kind, respectful and an all round great guy. Was very flexible with our itinerary, allowing us to change our plans on the day because one of our children wanted to go to a Hello Kitty shop, and the other to the One Piece shop. He graciously took it all in his stride. He also pre booked one of the best restaurants at the fish market because we all love sushi, and it didn’t disappoint. The whole family think Nobuo was fantastic. Couldn’t recommend him more. Thank you Nobuo.
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…
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 informative and considerate, we saw a lot in six
hours in a very hot day. Highly recommend!