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.

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.

Jul 2, 2026
jamespmccormick
Tripadvisor review: The Best Family-Friendly Tokyo Tour with Government Licensed Guide
Great Tokyo tour with Bruce!
We booked a 6 hour Tokyo tour with Bruce Sugano and had a great experience! Bruce’s English is very good and he was flexible with us setting and changing the itinerary when we saw things we wanted to experience. We took the tour on our 2nd day in Japan and It was helpful to introduce us to the culture and help us gain an understanding of the city and some of its important sites. At the end of our tour, Bruce took us to one of his favorite sushi restaurants and introduced us to Japanese sushi! I would definitely recommend this tour!

Jun 12, 2026
716suzannab
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Amazing experience
Bruce was an amazing guide. He taught us some essential Japanese that we have been using ever since. We visited a wide range of locations in Tokyo and our guide gave us lots of information and history. We would recommend this tour.
Suzanna and Nicholas

May 27, 2026
beaufordtjustice
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Great tour of Tokyo with Bruce!
My son and I had a great tour of Tokyo with Bruce Sangano. We gave him several places we would like to visit and he turned those into our itinerary for the day. We learned a lot about Japanese culture, Shinto and Buddhism and many customs, etc. Near the end of our tour, he booked a great sushi restaurant that is more likely known to locals than tourist. It was wonderful. We would highly recommend Bruce for future tours of Tokyo!

May 24, 2026
A2151KImelissab
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Day out in Tokyo
I enjoyed a solo guided tour of Tokyo with Bruce who met me at my hotel and spent some time collaborating to create a bespoke itinery for the day to match my interests and his local knowledge of the kind of places I would not have thought to go to on my first visit to Japan.
We visited the old neighbourhood of Yanaka and walked along Snake Road where I met a shiba dog out for his Sunday morning walk & saw the Nezu shrine and its extrordinary topiary azalea gardens . Then we set off by metro to exprerience the buzz of Harajuku Street shopping district and visit a ridiculously cute hedgehog cafe. I experienced the iconic Shibuya Crossing and learned the story behind the famous mural by artist Taro Okomoto in the station. After all this we arrived mid afternoon at the Tokyo fish markets in Tsukiju where we enjoyed a late lunch at a local sushi bar- the best sushi I have ever tried- a highlight being zuke (tuna infused with yuzu). Our final stop was the local shrine near the market to honour the fish and the seaweed before heading back to my hotel. Along the way we had many interesting conversations about history, politics and art. It was a terrifc day. Highly recommended.

Jun 28, 2026
A
Tripadvisor review: Nara 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
AmyfromPlano
Shuji is the best! Once we booked this tour, he reached out immediately to make sure that we had a customized tour of what we wanted to see and do in Nara. The level of details in his emails was incredible! Not only did Shuji plan a great tour but he also went above and beyond by explaining the Japan rail system, the public transportation cards (Suica, Pasmo, etc.) and even told us exactly what trains, times and gates to exit so that our meetup was seamless. Been on a lot of tours around the world and have never had this level of communication. Once we started our tour, Shuji was articulate, knowledgeable and so much fun! Nara is amazing and Shuji made it so much better – please request him!

Jun 22, 2026
yeseniag981
Tripadvisor review: Osaka 6hr Private Walking Tour with Government Licensed Guide
Osaka Tour
Our tour guide Shuji was amazing. He was very knowledgeable and made sure we were able to see everything that we wanted while in Osaka. He even took my 5 year old into consideration and took us to the Pokémon store since he is a Pokémon fan. I would definitely recommend him as a tour guide.

Jul 10, 2026
surferbikerdude1
Tripadvisor review: Kamakura Day Trip from Tokyo in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Beautiful Tour of Kamakura
Seizo Kamiuto was out guide for this wonderful and beautiful area of Kamakura. He was full of cultural and historical knowledge and provided valuable context during our walks and visits. Makes me want to visit again hopefully in the near future.

Jun 9, 2026
stacy_grana
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
A wonderful day with an experienced guide
Our guide, Seizo, was amazing. He was informative without being overwhelming, matched
our pace, and offered recommendations at each location. Highly recommended!

Jun 6, 2026
U9351HJjakes
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Tokyo Tour
Seizo Kamiuto was great and super knowledgeable. He had a great personality, kept us on
schedule, and knew what we would like! He was receptive to our needs at every moment.

May 20, 2026
HugoJ670
Tripadvisor review: Edo Tokyo & Japanese Culture Tour with Government Licensed Guide
Tokio in de zon
Seizo Kaminto is een uitstekende gids. De metro van Tokio is een doolhof en zonder hem zou ik een hoop tijd verloren hebben, we bezochten de highlights en Seizo wist overal wat te vertellen. Het tempo lag wel hoog en het was warm maar Seizo wist ook waar we een frisse pint konden drinken. Kortom ik ben zeer tevreden.

太陽の下の東京
Seizo Kamintoさんは素晴らしいガイドです。東京の地下鉄は迷路のようですが、彼がいなければ多くの時間を無駄にしていたと思います。私たちは見どころを巡り、Seizoさんはどこでもいろいろと説明してくれました。ペースはやや速く、暑さもありましたが、Seizoさんは冷たいビールを飲める場所も知っていました。
要するに、とても満足しています。

Jul 25, 2026
Ann W
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Incredible tour, one of the highlights of my trip!
Booking a private tour with Hideharu (Yoshi) Yoshino was easily one of the absolute highlights of my trip.

Yoshi-san customized the day perfectly to my interests, accommodating a last-minute hotel change and timing our morning perfectly so we could see the spectacular Gion Matsuri parade without the heavy crowds.

We explored Ginkaku-ji, Nanzen-ji, and the traditional streets of Gion at a wonderful, relaxed pace.

The tour was fascinating and packed with interesting details that allowed me to truly understand Kyoto’s rich history.

Highly recommended!

Jul 18, 2026
Geert73
Tripadvisor review: Kanazawa Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
A Well-Organized and Informative Tour of Kanazawa
We, a family of 5, had a very enjoyable 6-hour private tour of Kanazawa with Hideharu Yoshino from Japan Guide Agency.
Communication before the tour was excellent and made it very easy to plan the day. Yoshi’s English was excellent, which made communication throughout the tour very smooth. He provided very clear and interesting explanations, giving us a better understanding of the history and culture of the places we visited.
During the tour we explored Kanazawa Castle, Kenrokuen Garden, and the Geisha and Samurai districts.
It was a well-organized and informative tour. Highly recommended.

Jul 15, 2026
G5010ZVmelodys
Tripadvisor review: Kanazawa Local Food & Tea Culture Tour with Licensed Guide
Number one guide for personalised touring of Kanazawa
Our tea and culture day in Kanazawa with our guide Hideharu Yoshino was amazing! Yoshi is very fluent in English and a great companion to walk around with as he knows so much about the history and culture of Kanazawa and Japan. He also knew the best place to grab lunch and helped us pick what was good local fish, curry or tea to try. Plus he made sure we felt comfortable and never out of place wherever we went. I would recommend him for anyone who likes to know more about what they are seeing or what they can do in the area. Yoshi is great!

Jun 2, 2026
ericahT6840AD
Awesome!
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Our day with Yoko was great! She took us to some great spots in Tokyo and was so helpful.
We would highly recommend her as a guide. If we are back, we will certainly request her
again!

May 20, 2026
CharKris17
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Tokyo Walking Tour
We did a six-hour walking tour of Tokyo with Yoko and she was an exceptional guide. We saw multiple shrines (Meiji Shrine is a must see), the Imperial Palace, the “crossing” (there is a similar intersection in the Ginza shopping district which was also cool), the Tokyo Station, and the outer market where we ordered some fatty toro nigiri which was an etherial experience. Can’t say enough good things about Yoko. She taught ys a ton about the history of Japan and had a great sense of humor. A+

May 3, 2026
jefftK1794VZ
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Fantastic day exploring Tokyo
This was our first time visiting Tokyo and spending a day with Yoko as our guide was perhaps the best decision we could have made. Even before we arrived we traded messages with Yoko about what we might like to do. She offered valuable tips which made not only our time in Tokyo more efficient but while in Japan as a whole. We saw so many amazing things but Yoko also gave us a primer in using the Tokyo subway system and navigating some of the stations. I could go on and list all the things we did but each tour will be different. However I would highly recommend Yoko as a guide. Perhaps serendipitous, but we were stopped on the street the day after we toured with Yoko by a couple who had a list of things to do but was unsure how to go about doing the things on their list and where those things were located. I was thankful we chose the best guide so we didn’t have that problem.

Oct 23, 2025
Y6401BOshaunam
Knowledgable, engaging guide Yoko Kusmoto made day of Tokyo history, architecture and insights exceptional. le.
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Our guide Yoko Kusmoto is exceptional . Her deep knowledge of Japan history, Tokyo’s
architecture and interesting Tokyo places made us appreciate all Tokyo has to offer. Her
smile, infectious laugh, kindness and interest added to our wonderful day.

Jul 1, 2026
laine164
Tripadvisor review: Nikko Full-Day Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
A wonderful day!
We had a wonderful time exploring Nikko.
Our friendly guide, Yumi, Was an expert. She made every attempt to ensure our personalised tour was successful. We got to see everything we wanted and more.
We also had great food at a lovely little restaurant with a beautiful view.

Apr 7, 2026
V2097LInickd
Tripadvisor review: Nikko Full-Day Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Great Guide Yumi Highlights Nikko on walking tour
Our 16,000 step tour of Nikko with our guide Yumi was informative, interesting and delightful. Yumi met us at the hotel on time despite a last minute change of venue. She adjusted the itinerary to accommodate the change and we visited the Emperor’s former summer residence (Tamozawa Imperial Villa) and gardens and then walked the Abyss, both good. A quick lunch at the nearby bakery turned into a history lesson about the origins of tourism in Nikko and the oldest hotel in the area. Interesting and unexpected.
We then walked to the world heritage Shrine and temple complex of Toshogu, Futarasan-Jinja and Rinno-Ji. Yumi’s pre-planning and pre-purchase of tickets saved us a 30min wait in line. And her folder of laminated fact sheets provided more details on things we were seeing. So we’ll organised.
We finished the tour with a walk down to the river to view a bridge and then a long uphill walk back to the hotel, via a Lawson Station to stock up on snacks after a busy tour.
Recommended.

Apr 4, 2026
O4367MVkarenv
Tripadvisor review: Nikko Full-Day Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Fantastic day in Nikko
We had a fantastic day with Yumi. She offered us deep insight into local history, cuisine, hidden spots, culture, religion, and daily life. Extremely knowledgeable, passionate and flexible. Yumi communicates well in English and made our day extremely memorable. We highly recommend Yumi!

Nov 10, 2025
Salutory
A fascinating tour with a friendly and knowledgeable guide
Tripadvisor review: Nikko Full-Day Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Our guide, Yumi Aoyama, was warm, welcoming and highly knowledgeable. She answered every question even thought I’m a bit of a history buff. Her preparation for the tour with a folder of pictures and diagrams to illustrate a point was excellent and helped us understand things like what the five levels of pagodas represent. Overall, we felt like we were in good hands and she delivered good value for money. We highly recommend her and her tour.

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!

Oct 10, 2025
alijohn48
Just what we were looking for
Viator review: Private Kyoto Tour with Licensed Guide & Vehicle (Max 15 persons)
Tomy was an excellent guide. He went out of his way to meet us at our ryokan which was off the beaten path and curated a wonderful tour of our itinerary including a tasty sushi conveyor belt spot for lunch. He clearly had a lot of experience as a guide as he knew just where to tell the driver to slow down so we could see items between stops. His tour was a great intro to Kyoto.

He also took lots of photos for us. Our driver Mr. Fujii was terrific as well, his car and his driving made us feel comfortable and well taken care of.

Aug 8, 2025
Katherine_G
Fantastic day touring Kyoto with private tour guide & driver!
Viator review: Private Kyoto Tour with Licensed Guide & Vehicle (Max 15 persons)
AMAZING tour guide & driver!! Our guide, Tomy, was absolutely exceptional. He helped curate a perfect day in Kyoto, was super responsive leading up to our tour day, and very knowledgeable. Tomy helped us schedule the day at a great pace for the hot Kyoto summer! He emailed and then texted, was perfectly on time, and shared lots of history and culture throughout our tour.

Having a dedicated driver was a HUGE win, we had 7 family members in our group and it made it so easy and organized to get around the city. Tomy and the driver arrived on time, were flexible (our family sometimes moved slower lol) and made sure we stayed on time throughout the whole day.

I cannot recommend this tour enough!! Thank you to our driver and Tomy our tour guide!!! BOOK this tour!

Jul 22, 2025
98patrickn
early morning tour of Kyoto with guide Tomy
Tripadvisor review: Kyoto 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
We did an early morning tour of Kyoto with guide Tomy. He showed us Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Nijo Castle and Kinkaku-ji Temple（Golden Pavilion), the whole tour took 4 hours. We took a bus from Kyoto train station to the first stop and taxi’s to the other two stops to save time. Tomy was very knowledgeable of these temples and took the time to explain them in detail.

Jul 20, 2025
Mark_S
Great day in Kyoto
Viator review: Private Kyoto Tour with Licensed Guide & Vehicle (Max 15 persons)
We had a great day in Kyoto. Tomy reached out to us soon after we booked to ask about what we wanted to see. The tour was excellent and Tomy did a nice job explaining everything. The tour company was flexible in our drop off spot. We wanted to go to Osaka after our tour (Which I highly recommend). It cost extra which I was expecting but it was reasonable and their willingness to do that is much appreciated. I highly recommend this company and Tomy.