Tour Itinerary
- 8:00 Meeting place:
- Hotel Shinjuku
- 8:30 Tochomae Station
- (Toei Subway Oedo Line)
- Shinjuku-nishiguchi Station
- Shinjuku Station
- (Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line)
- Kasumigaseki Station
- (Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line)
- 9:15 Arrive at Kamiyacho Station
- Shiba Tokyo Tower
- 10:15 Depart Kamiyacho Station
- (Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line)
- Hibiya Station
- (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line)
- 10:45 Arrive at Otemachi Station
- Tokyo Imperial Palace East Gardens
- Nijubashi Bridge
- 11:45 Depart Nijubashimae Station
- (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line)
- 12:15 Arrive at Meiji-jingumae Station
- Harajuku Meiji Shrine
- Takeshita Street
- Break: Cafe Terrace Meiji Jingu
- Takeshita Street
- 13:30 Depart Harajuku Station
- (JR Yamanote Line)
- 13:40 Arrive at Shibuya Station
- Shibuya Scramble Crossing
- Hachiko Statue
- Shibuya Center Street
- 14:00 Depart Shibuya Station
- (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line)
- Akasaka-mitsuke Station
- (Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line)
- Kasumigaseki Station
- (Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line)
- 14:30 Kamiyacho Station
- 14:30 Disband: Kamiyacho Station
Title: What Is a Full-Day Private Tour of Tokyo Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Tokyo Tower, the Imperial Palace, Meiji Shrine, and Shibuya The guests were a group visiting Japan for the first time from North America, having originally come from Asia before relocating to North America years ago. For this trip, they first traveled from North America to Asia, spent about a week with relatives, and then came to Japan. Afterward, they planned to visit Kyoto and Osaka, then travel from Kansai Airport to another destination in Asia before returning home. Some of the guests were staying at a different hotel and joined at Tochomae Station before we set off. They planned to visit Hakone the next day. The guests were very knowledgeable about Japanese history and geography, having studied Japanese history at university. The tour took place in weather that felt like midsummer. First, in line with their wishes, we headed to Tokyo Tower. Seeing Azabudai Hills along the way, they asked, "What is that — is it an office building or a condominium?" At Tokyo Tower we went up to the Top Deck, and they remarked, "There are too many high-rise buildings around," and "I can really see that Tokyo is a vast, sprawling city." The East Gardens of the Imperial Palace were, as expected, very crowded. They asked questions such as "When was it built as a castle?" and "Did Edo Castle become the Imperial Palace?" I explained the nature and history of the Japanese Imperial family. They also asked, "Does the Emperor live inside here?", "Does the Emperor have political influence?", and "Who will become the next Emperor?" At Meiji Shrine, they asked, "What kind of religion is Shinto? How do Buddhism and Shinto differ?" and "What are the torii gates for?" They also asked, "What was the balance of power between the Emperor and the Shogun?", "Do Japanese people respect the Emperor and the Imperial family?", and "Why did the Meiji Restoration happen?" We took a break with a light meal at the cafe terrace near Meiji Shrine. We then strolled along Takeshita Street, though they did not seem very interested. After that, we moved to Shibuya. At the Scramble Crossing, they commented, "Why are there so many people?" and "It's similar to Times Square." We took photos in front of the Hachiko statue. They also remarked, "The whole city is so orderly and clean," "Everyone is so polite," "It's so quiet on the subway, with no one being noisy," and "I don't see any homeless people. Why is that?" Since they said they wanted to visit teamLab, I saw them off at Kamiyacho Station, where we parted ways.
Click here for more details: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Transportation cost per person
| No. | Transportation | Route | Fare |
| Section 1 | Subway | Tochomae Station～Shinjuku-nishiguchi Station | 900JPY |
| Section 2 | Subway | Shinjuku Station～Kamiyacho Station | 0JPY |
| Section 3 | Subway | Kamiyacho Station～Hibiya Station | 0JPY |
| Section 4 | Subway | Nijubashimae Station～Meiji-jingumae Station | 0JPY |
| Section 5 | Train | Harajuku Station～Shibuya Station | 146JPY |
| Section 6 | Subway | Shibuya Station～Kamiyacho Station | 0JPY |
| Total | 1,046JPY | ||
Guiding career:
Guide work started in July 2022. A guide focused on FIT compliance.
FY2022 results: 17 cases, FY2023 results: 97
Destinations: Various places in Tokyo, Hakone, Kamakura and Nikko
As a recent group travel record, in October 2023, we have a track record of guiding a group of 33 people from Singapore to Narita Airport transfer plus sightseeing in Tokyo.
Self-introduction:
In the past, I was stationed in Canada, the United States, and Mexico as an expatriate of a Japanese bank for over 11 years.
Since I have been mainly involved in the financing business in the United States for a long time, I think I am able to provide interpretation and translation services related to business and finance.
I am a certified CPA in the United States.
In addition, for three years from April 2016, I will be engaged in Japanese-English translation work (part-time), and I can also handle translation work.
Although I don’t have a qualification in Spanish, but I think I can handle day to day conversation in Spanish without any problems.
My hobby is trekking and from time to time, take a walk around mountains near Tokyo like Mt. Takao, Tanzawa, etc. I think it is possible to provide tourist information here as well.
Since April 2015, I have been working as a Tokyo Metropolitan Tourism Volunteer and Tokyo Metropolitan Disaster Prevention Volunteer.
One more, I have a separate house near Asuka Village, Nara prefecture, and I stay there for a total of about 30 days every year and have been enjoying sightseeing personally in the vicinity. Therefore, I think in the Kansai region, especially in Nara, Asuka, Yoshino, Koyasan, Kumano Kodo, etc., where I think I will be able to tour guide with confidence.
Jul 21, 2026
Christelle_G
Viator review: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Excellent tour guide
Masa san is extremely knowledgeable and…
Jul 21, 2026
Christelle_G
Viator review: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Excellent tour guide
Masa san is extremely knowledgeable and lovely company. My 13-yr-old daughter and I had a great day walking around the sites we had picked with him. He tooks his time to explain all the history and then kindly walked us to the spot of our next booking as it was quite confusing. I would very highly recommend him. Of all the tours we did in Tokyo Masa Sam was my favourite tour guide.
Jul 1, 2026
97TexAg
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 8hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Amazing day in Tokyo
Masa was our tour guide. Masa was an…
Jul 1, 2026
97TexAg
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 8hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Amazing day in Tokyo
Masa was our tour guide. Masa was an amazing tour guide that communicated extremely well ahead of time about the sites we would like to see in Tokyo, picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel, was very friendly and well prepared and finally but most importantly made our day in Tokyo very memorable.
We went to the Buddhist temple in Asakusa, Meiji Shinto Temple, imperial Palace, Shinjuku Gyoen National Gatden, and Shibuya Crossing. All were great and amazing suggestions by Masa.
Would highly recommend this tour as it was a private tour guide for a full day and provided discretion on which 5-6 sites you want to see. Also highly recommend our tour guide Masa who was a wealth of knowledge and very friendly and charming.
15/10 would do again.
Jun 2, 2026
Tagare S
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Great tour and guide!
This is a great tour, and our…
Jun 2, 2026
Tagare S
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Great tour and guide!
This is a great tour, and our guide, Masa was really great. Although it was raining, he had no
hesitations in completing his tour and showing us great places around Tokyo. If you are still
on the fence about this, please don’t, you won’t regret it. Thank you, Masa!
Jun 1, 2026
Lisa_A
Viator review: Private Tokyo Tour with Licensed Guide & Vehicle (Max 15 persons)
Adler Family Tour
Our tour with Masa was…
Jun 1, 2026
Lisa_A
Viator review: Private Tokyo Tour with Licensed Guide & Vehicle (Max 15 persons)
Adler Family Tour
Our tour with Masa was incredible and filled with interesting facts and history, he gave us incredible insight on each location. We loved that we were able to choose 3-4 sites from a large selection and really spend enough time at each spot. Masa was kind and knowledgable and even helped us with a restaurant reservation for later in the evening when were unable to find one.
