Jul 4, 2026
317roxaneh
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Great time in Tokyo!
We had a great day with Lance! He had a good sense of humor and was so kind to meet us at our Air BnB, which was a bit out of the way. He gave us a great crash course on Japanese history before heading out on our adventure around Tokyo, visiting shrines, markets, a museum and garden. It was so helpful to have him with us navigating the train system, and he took us to an amazing sushi place for a lovely lunch. All in all, it was really fun and we were able to better appreciate the places we visited with him providing information and history along the way. Would definitely recommend!…

Jul 1, 2026
Voyager795644
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 8hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Tokyo private family tour
Our family of 5 (kids age 8, 10, 12) had a fantastic experience with Lance as a tour guide on our full day Tokyo tour. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and very flexible with kids on the trip. We highly recommend him!

Jun 26, 2026
Leslie_B
Viator review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Market, temples, Nature, and a great guide
This tour is amazing and Lance was such a great guide. my mother is handicapped and Lance researched the best ways to use the train stations always found us an elevator or ramp. He knew so much about the Japanese culture and history. His English was very strong and easily understood. The temples and markets were beautiful. Two things that really made Lance stand out as a great guide was when we went to the offering area at one of the temples Lance didn’t want us to miss out because we didn’t have a coin so he provided on for each of us. The second thing was I asked a question that he wasn’t sure the answer to, but after the tour I was surprised to see a message from Lance answering my question. He did not gain anything from this I had already paid and tipped him it really just reflected how amazing and dedicated to his job Lance was.thank you Lance for making our tour of Japan so special.

Jun 17, 2026
JKing275
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Tour of Tokyo
Our guide, Lance was exceptional! He immediately contacted me after I booked, guiding me through the options. Several days before the tour, rain was in the forecast. Lance revised our options to include mostly indoor tours. He also requested our likes and dislikes prior to picking a lunch spot.

Lance was very knowledgeable about Japan’s history. We appreciated his explanations at each tour site. Descriptions were a nice overview without being overly detailed. Lance’s organization and timing for each stop was spot on and his English was excellent.

It was a pleasure to spend the day with Lance. He epitomized the Japanese culture with his calmness, true kindness and respect for all!

Jun 25, 2026
Camper00811140773
Tripadvisor review: Hiroshima City 4hr Private Walking Tour with Licensed Guide
Hiroshima was so impactful
Had a wonderful tour despite rainy weather. Our tour guide Sachi was very knowledgeable
and accomodating. Highly recommended.

Oct 25, 2025
G557HMsues
Miyajima and Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Museum
Tripadvisor review: Hiroshima / Miyajima Full-day Private Tour with Government Licensed Guide
We went by train and ferry to see the shrines and the beautiful red Torii gate on the island of Miyajima. It was a wonderful trip and so much was added to the experience by the knowledge and information provided by our guide, Sachi. Next we went to the Peace Memorial and Museum. It is something everyone should experience just once. The Japanese have created a respectful and informative forum to share what happened on that dreadful day, and to encourage a peaceful future. It was crowded and I would not recommend going in the school tours season if possible. However, it was well managed and the children were all well behaved and respectful. It was good to see young people engaged in the experience.

Jul 6, 2025
4
421louisev
Wonderful experience with Sachi in Hiroshima
Tripadvisor review: Hiroshima City 4hr Private Walking Tour with Licensed Guide
Sachi was such a great guide. She had such a depth of knowledge about the history of Hiroshima. She had a beautiful way about her which made us feel very comfortable. Her understanding of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb and its impact was extensive. Although an extremely sad and at times very confronting experience, we came away with a more realistic understanding of the impact on the Japanese psyche and the world today. Thank you Sachi

Apr 9, 2025
Tommie_T
Great tour of Hiroshima with Sachi
Viator review: Hiroshima City 4hr Private Walking Tour with Licensed Guide
Sachi, a lifelong Hiroshima resident, was a wonderful guide for our group of 4 adults and 2 children. We were able to see Hiroshima castle, the beautiful Shukkeien garden, the monuments and sights around Hiroshima, and museum. It was a valuable learning experience for us all. The garden was definitely a highlight–Sachi had fish food so that my 9 year old could feed the giant koi fish. My children enjoyed the children’s peace monument and Sachi had paper for them to make origami paper cranes to leave. We’re so glad that we were able to visit Hiroshima and that Sachi was our guide.

Oct 25, 2025
Carla_G
Our 4-hour Tokyo walking…
Viator review: Tokyo 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Our 4-hour Tokyo walking tour was fantastic! Michio was informative, delightful, and incredibly accommodating. We had our four-year-old with us, and he thoughtfully adapted the tour to suit our family’s needs. Using public transportation to get around was seamless thanks to his guidance. We highly recommend booking this tour—and definitely request Michio!

Oct 24, 2025
410trishab
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 10/10 — Outstanding Tour with Michio and Nobuhiko!
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo Full Day Tour with Licensed Guide and Vehicle from Yokohama
We had an amazing day exploring Tokyo with Michio as our guide. He was incredibly knowledgeable, providing great historical background on each site and using his personal tablet to visually enhance our understanding. His English was excellent, and he clearly explained the cultural differences between temples and shrines, making the experience even more meaningful.

Our driver, Nobuhiko, was equally impressive—always finding safe and convenient drop-off and pick-up points close to each attraction. Together, they made the day flow seamlessly.

Michio thoughtfully adjusted our itinerary to avoid traffic and kindly delayed our lunch at our request to miss the noon rush. Every detail was handled with care and professionalism.

Highly recommend Michio and Nobuhiko for anyone looking for a well-organized, informative, and enjoyable tour in Tokyo!

Oct 11, 2025
GoPlaces52694049181
We enjoyed our time in Tokyo with Michio our tour guide.
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 8hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
We enjoyed our time with Michio tour guide. He was very friendly helpful, and
knowledgeable answering all our questions. He provided insightful information about
history and culture of Japan!

Oct 10, 2025
PiscesV
Sushi for breakfast at 630am? Yes please!!
Tripadvisor review: Toyosu Market Morning Tuna Auction and Tsukiji Food Tour with Licensed Guide
What a wonderful morning witnessing and learning about the Tuna Auction and learning about the history of the Tokyo fish markets. Michio was an amazing guide and very well informed. He took us to the auction and explained what was happening, taught us some fascinating history, and found us a wonderful “breakfast” at the intermediate market. Once we were satiated he guided us to the Tsukiji market via a wonderful driverless train ride. Everything you could ever imagine could be found at the markets. This was a great tour and we learned things we would never have found out on our own. Thank you Michio!

Mar 19, 2035
L9685HWdianan
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Amazing Tokyo Tour with Ayaka ? Kind, Knowledgeable & Memorable Experience
We had an amazing experience with our tour guide, Ayaka, in Tokyo. She was incredibly kind, professional, and knowledgeable, making the entire day both enjoyable and informative. Ayaka took the time to understand our preferences and thoughtfully guided us to some of Tokyo’s highlights that suited our interests perfectly.

She also showed us how to navigate the public transportation system, which made the rest of our trip much easier and less stressful. Throughout the tour, she shared personal and family experiences that gave us a deeper understanding of Japanese culture?something we truly appreciated.

Ayaka even took beautiful photos of our family, which was such a thoughtful touch and gave us wonderful memories to take home. We had a fantastic time and couldn’t have asked for a better guide.

Highly recommend! Thank you, Ayaka!

Oct 10, 2025
Maxkerry
Great day in Tokyo
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
An excellent day with Ayaka in Tokyo. She was so hospitable and knowledgeable about the
places we visited. Highly recommend her as a guide.

Oct 4, 2025
D
Donna_S
Private tour of Tokyo with Ayaka of Japan Guide Agency
Viator review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Very flexible. Ayaka suggested an itinerary but can accommodate your preferences. Very
Interesting culture information.

Jul 13, 2026
webstere2025
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto Customized Half-Day Tour with Licensed Local Guide
Excellent
Andy(Atsushi) was great and communicated with us beforehand about our itinerary. He was flexible with changes we requested. Andy was very informative during the tour. He also was willing to take our family’s pictures. We were able to stop and check out shops as we pleased along the way. He also accommodated lunch requests(as our daughter has food allergies).
One thing I wish we realized was that there is quite a bit of walking. We were fine but for people who are perhaps older or with young children you may want to consider taking a cab between different sites.

Jun 21, 2026
Catherine_D
Viator review: Osaka 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
First time in Osaka
Andy was great . On time and patience with our walking tour since we had a 14 yr old with
us. Very informative and picked us up and dropped us off our hotel. Thank you Andy for
showing us Osaka

Jun 6, 2026
eyeessess
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto Early Morning Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Great tour!
Andy Murao was an amazing and wonderful tour guide. He reached out to us with some ideas for our private tour. He worked with us as we made the tour perfectly suited to our needs. He met us on time. He navigated the crowds and the sites perfectly. He was very knowledgeable and we learned a lot. He even put together a nice photo collection of photos he emailed us after. Highly recommend.

Jun 5, 2026
Janice_W
Viator review: Kyoto 9hr Private Tour (Kobe Dep. ) with Licensed Guide
Great tour of Kyoto
It was a good tour & Andy looked after us well. He managed to change things to suite our
walking limitations & we had a good day.

Jun 14, 2026
tiffany_w
Viator review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Phenomenal experiance
Hideki san was an amazing guide. He was incredibly knowledgable and easy to understand. While planning our time together he helped me understand the various areas things I wanted to see were in. He designed a great tour for us. We had a delicious fresh seafood lunch, and yummy Japanese treat. He even helped me interpret with shopkeepers and my fortunes from the temples. I cannot recommend him enough!

Jun 13, 2026
Joshua_A
Viator review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
The Best Guide I Had in Japan
Hideki was, without question, my favorite guide during my month-long trip in Japan.
He is an amazing, kind, and genuinely thoughtful gentleman. Before guiding, he had a successful career at a major conglomerate in Tokyo, with experience in business development and marketing, and you can immediately tell that he brings a level of professionalism, perspective, and depth that goes far beyond a standard tour.
What makes Hideki special is that he does this because he truly enjoys it. He told me, “You can use ChatGPT to get all the history, but it’s my job to explain what it can’t.” That perfectly sums up the experience. He did not just point things out or recite facts. He added context, judgment, personality, and a real human understanding of Japan that you simply would not get from a guidebook or online search.
The morning of our tour, I told him I wanted to completely change the plan. Not only did he accept it, he took it as a challenge and immediately sprung into action. A few hours later, I was completely off the beaten path in a place that would never show up in travel guides or magazines. We ate locally, and it ended up being the best lunch I had in Tokyo. We walked around, bantered, explored, and had an amazing time.
Being with Hideki felt less like being on a tour and more like spending the day with an old friend or a fun uncle who happens to know Tokyo incredibly well. His knowledge, friendliness, calm demeanor, and willingness to go above and beyond made the day unforgettable.
I could not recommend Hideki more highly. If you book with him, you are lucky to have his time. Treat him well.

May 2, 2026
Bruce G
Our guide (Hideki san) was a master. It was a rainy day and he suggested a new plan in anticipation that worked well.
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Using the subway and minimizing time in the rain we saw many of the most important sites and experienced a variety of interesting and fun neighborhood cultures. We had lunch at a local gem for a fun meal of tempura and rice. Some of the sites were spectacular, all were worthwhile. Time and money well spent.

Apr 30, 2026
johnbD9596UO
Lovely Private tour of Tokyo
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
My wife and I had a great time being shown around the sights of Tokyo by our guide Hideki, walking and travelling on the transport network. We were able to learn about some of the history and culture of Japan. The whole day was thoroughly enjoyable and was a great experience. We can highly recommend the private tour with Hideki who was very knowledgeable and helpful and can tailor the tour to meet your interests.

Mar 30, 2026
MrJames_L
Viator review: Private Kyoto Tour with Licensed Guide & Vehicle (Max 15 persons)
Great tour with Kaji
We had an excellent tour today in Kyoto at a number of different stops. We went to monkey park, bamboo Grove, tenryuji temple, Arashayama park and the Golden Temple. It was a packed schedule but our guide made sure we got everywhere and transited smoothly. He was also very helpful with our young kids and a food allergy. This was our third tour with JGA and we highly recommend them for Kyoto.

Jul 3, 2025
Radit T
Worthwhile private tour on our first full day in Kyoto!
Tripadvisor review: Private Kyoto Tour with Licensed Guide & Vehicle (Max 15 persons)
We had a wonderful day with Kaji and our driver seeing many sights during our first time in Kyoto!

To start, Japan Guide Agency (operator) went above and beyond to help us even have the tour on our requested day. Despite all of their regular rental vehicles being unavailable, they were able to secure a driver and minivan for the 5 of us and Kaji, our guide. Excellent communication and responsiveness by email as we worked through to resolve the challenge and confirmed the planned itinerary.

Kaji arrived at our hotel ahead of schedule to be ready for our pickup. From there, he led us with interesting facts and helpful tips to Tenryu-ji Temple, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and Park, Nijo Castle, and a delicious casual udon lunch as requested at Tokutoku Fushimi Takeda. Lastly, we visited Fushimi Inari Taisha and for a bonus, quickly saw To-ji Temple before getting dropped back off at our hotel.

Overall, time and money well spent. We covered so much ground on this tour and it was a worthwhile experience with help from Kaji and our driver. Definitely recommend!

Jun 7, 2025
Lisa_H
Great tour guide and driver
Viator review: Private Kyoto Tour with Licensed Guide & Vehicle (Max 15 persons)
Overall a great experience. The team is extremely professional and knowledgeable of the Kyoto area. Having a driver was great in the heat and on getting around to the various stopping points efficiently. Our guide was also very helpful and knowledgeable of each place we visited and knew of appropriate spots for pictures, info etc.

Great experience overall.

Oct 17, 2025
Roving64280396391
A great place to visit.
Tripadvisor review: Sado Island Tour with Licensed Guide and Vehicle (Niigata Dep.)
Sado Island has many things to see and do. We were only there for about six hours and we
barely scratched the surface of sightseeing. Our guide, Patsy, was terrific as was our driver
Kei.

Oct 9, 2025
301catherinep
Fabulous customised tour
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Maki is a wonderful, well informed guide. She customised the tour for me and made six
hours fly by. I got a fabulous overview of the city and tips on where else to visit. Plus some
help with my onward travel. Highly recommended.

Oct 2, 2025
Gene L
Our 6 hour tour with Maki was fantastic
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
My wife and I enjoyed this tour immensely. Maki was absolutely great. If you want to get oriented in Tokyo take this tour first. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and considerate to our needs for seeing the best of Tokyo in one day. I would recommend this tour on the first day to experience negotiating the Tokyo Metro and famous sights.

Aug 31, 2025
T
tmay2921
Maki is the best!
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
We had an absolutely wonderful day exploring Tokyo with Maki. She curated the tour perfectly to our interests, blending culture, history, and hidden gems that we never would have discovered on our own. We left the tour with a much deeper appreciation for Tokyo and Japanese culture.

Thank you so much, Maki, for such an amazing tour—we’re truly grateful and would highly recommend this experience to anyone visiting!

Jul 12, 2025
O6400ONsaram
Maki san kakkoii desu
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Maki was generous and flexible! She met us at our hotel, helped us understand the subway
system, and made a dinner reservation. She made our first day in Japan memorable and
put us at ease for the rest of our trip. Thank you, Maki!

Jul 11, 2026
Rahul_P
Viator review: Kyoto Customized Private Tour by Car with Licensed Guide
Private Tour
Highly recommended if looking for a comfortable tour of kyoto. Our guide and driver were amazing. The guide was very knowledgeable and explained everything with great details as we toured around.

Jul 7, 2026
782MarkS782
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Harumi and Kyoto
This was amazing – truly memory making. Harumi is an incredible guide – she personalised our tour according to our interests, we laughed, we learned and she created memories – Thank you (one of the best).

Jun 25, 2026
JenCBear
Tripadvisor review: Himeji Half-Day Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Great visit with a great guide Harumi
Harumi was a fantastic guide – very friendly and very knowledgeable. Even weeks before the tour, her communication was outstanding, asking me what we would be interested in seeing, ages and interests of the members in our party, and laying out a thoughtful and perfect itinerary for our day. Her knowledge made our visit to Himeji Castle way more interesting and engaging than if we had just gone by ourselves. We would definitely book again!

Jun 21, 2026
Andrew_M
Viator review: Private Kyoto Tour with Licensed Guide & Vehicle (Max 15 persons)
Amazing guided experience
Harumi is an amazing guide. Knows everything about the sites she takes you to. She is excellent with kids and even brought them oregami and treats. The heat was a bit oppressive and we were so glad we paid for the driver with a large and clean air conditioned van. Harumi, the guide, was a true professional. She devised a very good itinerary and was also flexible when the kids were hungry, etc. Would highly recommend.