Tour Itinerary
- 9:00 Meeting point: Aloft Tokyo Ginza
- 9:10 Depart Higashi-ginza Station
- (Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line)
- Hibiya Station
- (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line)
- 9:30 Arrive Otemachi Station
- Tokyo Imperial Palace East Gardens
- Nijubashi Bridge
- 10:30 Depart Nijubashimae Station
- (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line)
- Yoyogi-uehara Station
- (Odakyu Odawara Line)
- Gotokuji Station/Yamashita Station
- (Tokyu Setagaya Line)
- 11:30 Arrive Miyanosaka Station
- Gotokuji Temple Gotokuji Temple
- 12:30 Depart Miyanosaka Station
- (Tokyu Setagaya Line)
- Gotokuji Station/Yamashita Station
- (Odakyu Odawara Line)
- Yoyogi-uehara Station
- (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line)
- 13:00 Arrive Meiji-jingumae Station
- Harajuku Meiji Shrine
- Takeshita Street
- Cat Street
- Omotesando
- 14:00 Depart Omotesando Station
- (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line)
- 14:10 Arrive Shibuya Station
- Shibuya Lunch: Tsukiji Sushisei Shibuya Branch
- Scramble Square
- Center Street
- 15:30 Depart Shibuya Station
- (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line)
- Ginza Station
- (Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line)
- 16:00 Arrive Higashi-ginza Station
- 16:00 Disband: Higashi-ginza Station
Title: What Can You See on a Private One-Day Tokyo Tour Including the Imperial Palace, Gotokuji, and Shibuya? A Licensed Guide's Report The guests were a group visiting Japan for the first time from North America, four people in total. The main purpose of this trip to Japan was to board a cruise ship for a tour around Japan starting the day after next. As one member of the group was studying Japanese history at university, the wish to come to Japan was fulfilled with this visit. They had arrived at Haneda Airport the previous night and taken a taxi to their hotel. They mentioned that they had strolled around the Ginza area the night before. For the next day, they were planning a day trip to Mount Fuji. One of the guests expressed a strong wish, saying they loved cats and really wanted to visit Gotokuji Temple. Unfortunately, it was a tour in the rain. However, the rain stopped in the latter half, and we managed to get through it. First, we headed to the Imperial Palace. We strolled through the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace. There were comments such as "It's a shame we can't see the cherry blossoms" and questions like "When do the cherry blossoms reach full bloom?" I explained about "the history from the Edo period to the Meiji era," "the Meiji Restoration," "why Edo Castle became the Imperial Palace," and "why the capital moved from Kyoto to Tokyo." There were also questions such as "Does the Japanese Emperor hold political power?" and "Were the stone walls all built by hand?" We transferred between the Odakyu Line and the Tokyu Setagaya Line to reach Gotokuji Temple. Despite the rain, it was quite crowded with many foreign tourists. One of the guests said, "I'm so happy my wish came true." They purchased a cat figurine and an ema (votive tablet). We moved to Harajuku and visited Meiji Shrine. I explained about "Shinto," "torii gates," "Emperor Meiji," and "why wine barrels are displayed here." There was also a question, "When and why did Shinto originate?" After this, we strolled along Takeshita Street and Cat Street. They were surprised by the crowds. Then we went to Shibuya. Since everyone loved sushi, we had lunch at a sushi restaurant in Shibuya. They said, "It's truly fresh and delicious. The price is also extremely reasonable." After that, we walked across the Scramble Crossing and took photos looking down from the platform entrance of the Keio Inokashira Line. There was a question, "Why do so many people gather here?" We also took photos in front of the Hachiko statue and strolled through Center Gai. They made comments such as "The streets are clean with no litter," "There are no homeless people to be seen," and "In North America we always traveled by car. This was the first time riding the subway, but it was very comfortable and convenient." However, there was also a comment and question: "Why are there no trash bins on the streets?" Since they felt the transportation network was difficult to understand, I saw them off at Higashi-ginza Station, and 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 | Higashi-ginza Station～Otemachi Station | 178JPY |
| Section 2 | Subway | Otemachi Station～Gotokuji Station | 376JPY |
| Section 3 | Train | Yamashita Station～Miyanosaka Station | 160JPY |
| Section 4 | Train | Miyanosaka Station～Yamashita Station | 160JPY |
| Section 5 | Subway | Gotokuji Station～Meiji-jingumae Station | 325JPY |
| Section 6 | Subway | Omotesando Station～Shibuya Station | 178JPY |
| Section 7 | Subway | Shibuya Station～Higashi-ginza Station | 209JPY |
| Total | 1,586JPY | ||
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.
