Tokyo: Imperial Palace Plaza & Akihabara — Guide Shuji
September, 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
- 9:00 Meet at the hotel
- 9:30 Imperial Palace Plaza
- 11:00 Asakusa, Senso-ji Temple and Asakusa Shrine
- 12:20 Tokyo Skytree
- 13:20 Lunch at Tokyo Skytree
- 14:40 In Ryogoku, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Edo Noren. Photo with a sumo wrestler
- 15:30 Akihabara
- 16:50 Guide you to Ameyoko, and the guide ends

What Does a Private Tokyo Day Tour Cover? A Licensed Guide's Report on the Imperial Palace, Asakusa, Skytree, and Ryogoku
The guests were visitors from Europe. The tour started under forecasts of extreme heat. On the way to the plaza in front of the Imperial Palace, I explained the Meiji modernization, touching on the Imperial Hotel in Hibiya, Hibiya Park, and the Rokumeikan. At Sakuradamon, I explained the Sakuradamon Incident from the end of the Edo period. The guests were amazed by the impressive scale of Japanese castles. In Asakusa, I explained by comparing Buddhist Sensoji Temple and Shinto Asakusa Shrine. When one of the guests drew an omikuji fortune, they got "bad luck" four times in a row, which left me at a loss 😰. At Tokyo Skytree, after enjoying the view, the guests had katsudon and katsu curry. At the request of one of the guests who is fond of sumo, we went to Ryogoku. By chance, we came across a sumo wrestler and had a photo taken together, which delighted the group. After giving a full explanation of Akihabara, one of the guests wished to visit another shopping district, so I took them to Ameyoko before ending the tour.
Click here for more details: Tokyo Customized Full-Day Private Tour with Licensed Guide
Transportation cost per person
| No. | Transportation | Route | Fare |
| Section 1 | Subway | Higashi-ginza~Hibiya | 180JPY |
| Section 2 | Subway | Nijubashimae~Asakusa | 210JPY |
| Section 3 | Train | Asakusa~Tokyo Skytree | 160JPY |
| Section 4 | Subway | Oshiage~Ryogoku | 330JPY |
| Section 5 | Train | Ryogoku~Akihabara | 150JPY |
| Section 6 | Train | Akihabara~Ueno | 150JPY |
| Total | 1,180JPY | ||
My name is Shuji, meaning “Excellent Manager” in English. I was born in Hiroshima 1952. I have 2 children and 3 grandchildren.
After graduating Kyoto Univ. I joined Mitsubishi-UFJ Bank, Osaka Branch where I met my wife who was a master of Englsih, so I started studying English.
The bank allowed me to go to Columbia Graduate business school in New York and got MBA Degree there. I worked in London and Manchester Branch.
During staying in U.K., I was introduced by BBC and Financial Times News Paper about my achievement there. I was selected as a personal assistant and interpreter for the President of the Bank.
I made many business trips with him to overseas countries. I experienced as an interpreter for meeting late Henry Kissinger and the President of Citi. Corp.
I changed the job to ORIX corporation, there I was promoted to a Board Member. When the company had acquired Dutch company, I was a member as an accountant to check the Dutch company’s statements of accounts.
My hobbies are cooking, singing a song, playing tennis & golf, enjoy seeing arts especially opera & musical, travel. I am also busy with taking care of grandchildren. I passed Government Licensed Guide Exam. in 2016. After I retired in 2017, I started guide job as a part timer. So far, I accomplished guide job more than 500 times.
My area coverage is from Tokyo, Hakone, Kamakura, Mt. Fuji to Kyoto, Nara, Oaka, Hiroshima. I am also able to guide Tea Ceremony, Maiko/Geisha, Sushi Making, Calligraphy, Sumo, Samurai, etc. I can speak excellent English. My knowledge is very wide and deep about not only sightseeing places but Japanese History, Culture, Religion, Daily Life. I know many foreign countries and people. I love talking with all kinds of people including babies with interesting humor.
By the way, I look young for my age of 74.
Jul 16, 2026
salomons666
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Amazing with our guide Shuji very kind and acknowledge
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A great day in the Company of mr. Shuji.
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AmyfromPlano
Shuji is the best! Once we booked this tour, he reached…
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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!
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yeseniag981
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Our tour guide Shuji was amazing. He was…
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yeseniag981
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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.
