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.
Tour Itinerary
- 1 Hotel Ente Terrace Asakusa
- 2 900-1030 Asakusa
- 3 1050-1200 Edo-Tokyo Museum
- 4 1230-1400 Tsukiji Lunch
- 5 1420-1540 Nijubashi Cafe
- 6 1600-1640 Meiji Shrine
- 7 1640- 1650 Harajuku Walk
- 8 1700 Since they were going to watch baseball at Korakuen Dome from 6 o'clock, I dropped them off at Ikebukuro and we parted ways.
Title: What's a Family-Friendly Private Tokyo Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Asakusa, Tsukiji, and the Imperial Palace
The guests were a group visiting from North America. When I mentioned that a Japanese ice cream maker had been caught in a cartel case, they noted that collusion involving companies from Japan and Korea is often an issue back home too. I responded, "It may be because there is an aspect of Asian culture that values cooperation over competition."
At Senso-ji Temple, one of the guests passed through the stone lantern's "womb passage" to cure a stomachache. When asked how the lantern of Kaminarimon Gate is maintained, I looked it up and answered, "It is remade every ten years, and in between it is occasionally touched up and dusted off." One of the guests asked what the sorin finial on the five-story pagoda of Senso-ji is for, and drawing on knowledge learned in my guide training textbook, I answered, "It is an antenna for communicating with the universe."
We purchased a goshuin stamp book at Senso-ji and received stamps at Senso-ji, Namiyoke Shrine, and Meiji Shrine. In Tsukiji, we purified ourselves by passing through the chinowa ring at Namiyoke Shrine. Since one of the guests did not like fish, everyone chose what they liked at the food court, and that guest had a gyoza set meal.
The cafe in the Meiji Life Insurance Building near Nijubashi had a 30-minute wait, so we gave up on it. We visited the Allied Forces General Headquarters room on the second floor and the ammonite fossil carved into the marble. After that, we ate dorayaki at the Nanko Cafe. Some of the guests liked it, though it did not suit one guest's taste.
One of the guests, who has an interest in history, shared the impression that "Today I learned a lot about Japanese history."
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 | Asakusa～Ryogoku (Toei Line) | 290JPY |
| Section 2 | Subway | Ryogoku (Toei Line)～Tsukiji Market | 220JPY |
| Section 3 | Subway | Tsukiji～Nijubashimae | 180JPY |
| Section 4 | Subway | Nijubashimae～Meiji-jingumae | 210JPY |
| Section 5 | Subway | Meiji-jingumae～Ikebukuro | 210JPY |
| Total | 1,110JPY | ||
I have been working as a tour guide once a week since 2024.
I grew up in Osaka and studied in Kyoto,
I have been working for the lvestock division of the national organization of agricultural cooperatives.
Japan depends on imports for most of its livestock feed ingredients.
I visited 10 countries on business and stayed in New Orleans working for a subsidiary company for 3 years.
I visited 10 other countries with my wife for sightseeing.
I also started writing Haiku, Japanese traditional poem, after retiring.
One of my favorite is ” Bundled up, you are like a Matryoshka.”
Looking forward to see you!
Sep 24, 2026
benoitlJ9021HN
Perfect guide tour in Tokyo
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Lance was very nice…
Sep 24, 2026
benoitlJ9021HN
Perfect guide tour in Tokyo
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Lance was very nice and helped us . to learn so much. His English is really good and he is extremely well prepared.
Sep 19, 2026
H1282JBkarinas
Great tour with Lance from Japan Guide Agency!
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo Customized Full-Day Private Tour with Licensed Guide
Lance our tour…
Sep 19, 2026
H1282JBkarinas
Great tour with Lance from Japan Guide Agency!
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo Customized Full-Day Private Tour with Licensed Guide
Lance our tour guide was fantastic. From the time we paired, we messaged on WhatsApp as he built our customizable tour day! He gave great suggestions and asked great questions to build a wonderful day.
The day itself was perfect. He met us at the hotel, and guided us fantastically. He had detailed history and facts to share and was well prepared to ensure that we had everything we needed.
Sep 10, 2026
Silver_F
amazing 8-hour walking tour with Lance!
Viator review: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Lance was our…
Sep 10, 2026
Silver_F
amazing 8-hour walking tour with Lance!
Viator review: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Lance was our amazing and thorough tour guide and already prepared an itinerary for us based on his recommendations and our preferences well before arrived in Japan.
On the day of the guided tour – there was a brief introduction on Japanese history – and became the common thread as he brought us through each site and guided us on the subways and introduced us to amazing small mom and pop & artisan shops we would have otherwise never found!
Lots of walking so make sure to wear super comfy shoes but 10/10 would do it again!
Learned so much in a short time and was able to spend the rest of days in Tokyo shopping and going to other places.
Thank you, Lance, for sharing with us your beautiful country! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
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…
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!…