Tour Itinerary
- 9:00 Meeting place: the InterContinental The String
- 9:10 Depart Shinagawa Station
- (JR Yamanote Line)
- Ueno Station
- (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line)
- 9:40 Arrive Asakusa Station
- Asakusa Sensoji Temple
- Asakusa Shrine
- Nakamise-dori Shopping Street
- 10:30 Depart Asakusa Station
- (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line)
- 10:40 Arrive Suehirocho Station
- Akihabara Akihabara Electric Town
- 11:30 Depart Suehirocho Station
- (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line)
- Omotesando Station
- (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line)
- 12:00 Arrive Meiji-jingumae Station
- Harajuku Meiji Jingu Shrine
- Break: Forest Terrace Meiji Jingu
- Takeshita Street
- 13:00 Depart Meiji-jingumae Station
- (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line)
- Omotesando Station
- (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line)
- 13:10 Arrive Shibuya Station
- Shibuya Scramble Crossing
- Hachiko Statue
- Lunch: Tsukiji Sushisei Shibuya Branch
- 14:30 Depart Shibuya Station
- (JR Yamanote Line)
- 15:00 Arrive Shinagawa Station
- 15:00 Dismiss: Shinagawa Station
Title: What Is a Private Tokyo Day Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Asakusa, Akihabara, Harajuku, and Shibuya The guests were a group visiting Japan for the first time from North America, though their family roots trace back to South America. They came to Japan for a 12-day trip. Starting from Tokyo, they planned to travel to Hakone, Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara, then return to Tokyo and fly home. They had arrived at Haneda Airport the previous evening and taken a taxi to their hotel. The previous evening, they enjoyed a kaiseki meal at the hotel. The tour took place under clear skies, with weather warm enough to feel hot at times. First, we headed to Asakusa. We started from the front of Kaminarimon Gate. I explained "Senso-ji Temple and the history from Edo to Tokyo," "what the five-story pagoda is for," "what Buddhism is," and "the difference between Buddhism and Shinto." We took commemorative photos at Kaminarimon and various other spots and strolled slowly through the crowded Nakamise shopping street. The guests asked questions such as "What are Japan's main religions?" "How many Buddhists are there in Japan?" and "Besides Buddhism, what other religions do people follow?" They also asked, "We see people wearing kimono within the grounds — why is that?" We moved on to Akihabara. I explained "the origins and history of Akihabara." We stopped at several shops and explored eagerly, as the guests both love anime. Along the way, we stopped at a discount store, where a large amount of sweets was purchased as a souvenir for family back in South America. We moved on to Harajuku. Meiji Shrine was full of tourists. I explained "about Shinto," "about torii gates," "about Emperor Meiji," "why sake barrels are displayed," and "why wine barrels are displayed." The guests asked questions such as "What kind of religion is Shinto?" and "How do Buddhism and Shinto differ?" Within the grounds, we came across a wedding procession, which the guests eagerly photographed. We took a break at Forest Terrace Meiji Jingu. We moved on to Shibuya. Looking out over Shibuya Scramble Square, the guests asked, "About how many people cross the intersection?" and "Why did it become so famous?" We also took photos in front of the Hachiko statue. As the guests wished to have sushi for lunch, we went to a sushi restaurant in Shibuya. Seated at the counter, they repeatedly photographed the sushi chef preparing the sushi. They made comments and asked questions such as "The city is so clean, with no litter on the ground," "There are no trash cans on the streets — why is that?" and "Everyone is so quiet on the trains." I saw them off at Shinagawa 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 | Train | Shinagawa～Ueno | 260JPY |
| Section 2 | Train | Ueno～Asakusa | 180JPY |
| Section 3 | Train | Asakusa～Suehirocho (Tokyo) | 180JPY |
| Section 4 | Train | Suehirocho (Tokyo)～Meiji-jingumae | 210JPY |
| Section 5 | Train | Meiji-jingumae～Shibuya | 180JPY |
| Section 6 | Train | Shibuya～Shinagawa | 210JPY |
| Total | 1,220JPY | ||
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.
