Tour Itinerary
- 9:30 Guide (Kogure) arrives at the hotel lobby
- 10:00 Meet the guests at the hotel lobby
- 10:10 After a briefing with the guests, depart the hotel
- 10:18 Arrive at Shimbashi Station
- 10:23 Depart Shimbashi Station on the Ginza Line subway heading to Asakusa Station
- 10:42 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
- 10:55–11:45 Guide Senso-ji Temple and Nakamise Street
- *Kaminarimon Gate, Nakamise Street, Hozomon Gate, Five-story Pagoda, omikuji fortune, incense burner, purification fountain, main hall, Asakusa Shrine, etc.
- 11:50–12:20 Lunch in Asakusa (soba, tempura)
- 12:27 Depart Asakusa Station, head to Shibuya Station on the Ginza Line subway
- 13:01 Arrive at Shibuya Station, transfer to the JR Yamanote Line
- 13:09 Depart Shibuya Station, head to Harajuku Station on the JR Yamanote Line
- 13:11 Arrive at Harajuku Station, walk to Meiji Shrine
- 13:15 Arrive at Meiji Shrine
- 13:15–13:50 Guide Meiji Shrine
- *First Torii Gate, sake barrels, Second Torii Gate, waka poems, purification fountain, main hall, married couple trees, ema votive tablets, etc.
- 14:00–14:20 Guide Harajuku Takeshita Street
- 14:20–14:55 Guide Omotesando
- 15:00 Depart Harajuku Station, head to Shibuya Station on the JR Yamanote Line
- 15:02 Arrive at Shibuya Station
- 15:05–15:40 Guide Hachiko, the Scramble Crossing, and Miyashita Park
- 15:45 Depart Shibuya Station, head to Shimbashi Station on the Ginza Line subway
- 15:58 Arrive at Shimbashi Station, walk to the hotel
- 16:05 Arrive at the hotel lobby, say goodbye to the guests and end the tour
What's a Private One-Day Tokyo Tour Like for a First-Time Visitor? A Licensed Guide's Report The guest was visiting Japan for the first time from South America, having arrived the previous day, and thoroughly enjoyed today's tour. The guest had recently started a travel company and was on this trip as a scouting visit. Due to a mechanical problem, the planned connecting flight had been cancelled, so it took about 28 hours to reach Haneda Airport from South America. Everything in Japan — the sights, the food, the transportation — was new and fresh to the guest, who took many photos and videos at each location. The guest also browsed for and bought souvenirs for family along Nakamise Street and Takeshita Street in Harajuku. The guest learned about the differences between temples and shrines, how to worship at each, and how to pass through a torii gate. At Senso-ji Temple, the guest drew an omikuji fortune (unfortunately a bad-luck one), enjoying a new experience. The guest planned to stay four nights in Tokyo and then head to Hakone, Kyoto, and Osaka, so I suggested sightseeing spots in Tokyo and how to get to them for the remaining three days. The soba noodles eaten at lunch in Asakusa were a first-time experience, and the guest enjoyed them very much. Being a great coffee lover, the guest happily savored coffee at a café inside the Tokyu Plaza in Omotesando. Although the guest was from South America, they spoke fluent English, and we had a lively conversation about the cultural differences between their home region and Japan, as well as about geography, food, and sports.
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 | Shimbashi～Asakusa | 210JPY |
| Section 2 | Subway | Asakusa～Shibuya | 260JPY |
| Section 3 | Train | Shibuya～Harajuku | 160JPY |
| Section 4 | Train | Harajuku～Shibuya | 160JPY |
| Section 5 | Subway | Shibuya～Shimbashi | 180JPY |
| Total | 970JPY | ||
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!
