Kawagoe Customized Half-Day Tour — Guide Kyoko
January, 2025
This is a private guided tour report by Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.), a network of 1,000+ government-licensed, English-speaking local guides across all 47 prefectures of Japan. Not affiliated with the Japan Guide Association.
Tour Itinerary
- 12:30 Meet at Kawagoe Station
- 12:35 By bus to Kitain Temple ~ Naritasan ~ Amazake at the teahouse
- 14:04 By bus to Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine
- 15:00 By bus to Fudanotsuji ~ Osawa Family Residence ~ Bell of Time ~ Sweet potato sweets at the teahouse ~ Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- 16:30 Free dispersal on the Showa-era street
Title: What Is a Private Kawagoe Walking Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report
The guests were visitors from Asia who had been to Japan several times and were well acquainted with its history. When I explained that Kawagoe had once been a domain of the Tokugawa family and that it retained the atmosphere of a town that flourished in the past, having escaped earthquakes and air raids, the guests were impressed. We took a bus from Kawagoe Station to Kitain Temple, where we paid our respects in the main hall and then enjoyed the surviving structures of Edo Castle, the room of Kasuga no Tsubone, and the five hundred rakan statues. After that, we took a bus to Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine. It was still crowded with people making their first shrine visit of the New Year, and many had formed a long line toward the main hall to pray. The guests found this scene unusual and took photographs of it. Here they enjoyed a style of omikuji fortune-telling in which you fish for sea bream-shaped figures. We then took a bus to Fudanotsuji and strolled from there through the historic townscape district, shopping along the way. The guests thoroughly enjoyed the streetscape that has continued since the Edo period, and since they planned to stay for dinner, I told them where the bus stop was for their return and we parted ways on site. I believe it was a good tour.
Click here for more details: Kawagoe Customized Half-Day Tour with Licensed Local Guide
Transportation cost per person
| No. | Transportation | Route | Fare |
| Section 1 | Train | Shibuya～Kawagoe | 617JPY |
| Section 2 | Bus | Kawagoe Station～Kawagoe City | 400JPY |
| Section 3 | Train | Kawagoe～Shibuya | 617JPY |
| Total | 1,634JPY | ||
Hello! I am Kyoko who has been working as a guide since 2017. I was born in Kyoto. So, my name comes from Kyoto which is Japan’s beautiful ancient capital . And “ko” literally means child in Japanese. Thus, my name Kyoko means Kyoto’s child, Kyoko. But some guests call me Kyoto. It’s okay, not a big problem.
But to say the truth, I feel like this, ” Am I like an ancient person? No way~!!…” I am mainly guiding in and around Tokyo. Tokyo has two faces of well-advanced and old-fashioned. So, you can enjoy both high-tech technology and historical culture plus delicious food and drinks,too. You will surely be inspired in this city with me. Anyway, looking forward to meeting you in the near future. Thank you in advance!
Sep 9, 2025
salanicolas
Superb Tokyo guide
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Kyoko was great! Super knowledgeable, a lot of fun,…
Sep 9, 2025
salanicolas
Superb Tokyo guide
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Kyoko was great! Super knowledgeable, a lot of fun, and very friendly. She was a great guide
to Tokyo and Japanese culture
Jun 19, 2025
josephk547
A definite must-do when visiting Tokyo!
Tripadvisor review: Nikko Full-Day Private Walking Tour with Government-Licensed Guide (Tokyo DEP.)
Absolutely amazing tour…
Jun 19, 2025
josephk547
A definite must-do when visiting Tokyo!
Tripadvisor review: Nikko Full-Day Private Walking Tour with Government-Licensed Guide (Tokyo DEP.)
Absolutely amazing tour in Nikko. We wanted to see something other than the city, someplace rich with history. Nikko did not disappoint. The architecture was breathtaking. Kyoko, our tour guide, was very knowledgeable regarding the shrine and the entire historical site. What a great experience! I highly recommend the Nikko tour along with our guide, Kyoko.
May 24, 2025
sandrashachar
Terrific Tokyo Tour!
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
We had a fantastic tour of the Asakusa Shrine,…
May 24, 2025
sandrashachar
Terrific Tokyo Tour!
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
We had a fantastic tour of the Asakusa Shrine, Imperial Palace and Nezu neighborhood in
Tokyo with our guide Kyoko! She was very personable and knowledgeable and tailored the
tour to our interests. We highly recommend any tour with her!
May 22, 2025
andywP8147WV
Private Guided Tour in Tokyo
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Our wonderful guide Kyoko prepared an excellent…
May 22, 2025
andywP8147WV
Private Guided Tour in Tokyo
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Our wonderful guide Kyoko prepared an excellent tour for my family and me.
I had given Kyoko some rough ideas of the sorts of things that we might like to see but left her to use he expertise to show us what she thought was best.
We certainly were not disappointed. We loved everything on our itinerary. Kyoko had a lot of interesting knowledge to share and her English was perfect.
Kyoko was also very caring towards my parents, who have some mobility issues.
At the end of the tour Kyoko made sure that we got to the correct underground platform.
I would highly recommend