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
- 11.30 Tsukiji Station platform, 11.50-12.50 Asakusa, 13.10-15.20 Yanaka/Asakura Museum of Sculpture, 15.30-16.20 East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, 16.40 Fukagawa Edo Museum, 17.00-18.00 Jimbocho Used Bookstore District
Title: What's a Full-Day Private Walking Tour of Yanaka and Tokyo's Old Town Like? A Licensed Guide's Report
The guest was a visitor from North America who came to Japan to visit a friend, and since the friend had work on weekdays, I served as the guide for the day. [Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.)](https://www.j-g-a.org/) guides lead private tours across Japan, and this full-day private walking tour covered Yanaka and Tokyo's old-town neighborhoods. The guest was very interested in the Asakura Museum of Sculpture in Yanaka. We had lunch at "TAYORI" (https://hagiso.com/tayori/), which calls itself "the postal service of food," and the guest really liked both the restaurant's concept and the meal. At Isetatsu, the guest bought a mini letter set. At the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, we collected stamps at two locations. Finally, we headed to the Fukagawa Edo Museum, but we did not make it in time for the last admission at 16:30. Since the guest had mentioned a love of books, we quickly went to Jimbocho instead, took a 30-minute break at a cafe, and explored the secondhand bookstore district, visiting Bundodo, Otani Shoten, and Roko Shobo. The guest was scheduled to meet the friend at a Korean restaurant in Kanda at 18:40, so I saw them off to Awajicho and we parted ways. The guest said they would come back to the Fukagawa Edo Museum with the friend on Saturday, so I recommended visiting Kiyosumi Garden together as well.
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 | Tsukiji～Asakusa | 290JPY |
| Section 2 | Subway | Asakusa～Nippori | 330JPY |
| Section 3 | Subway | Sendagi～Otemachi (Tokyo) | 180JPY |
| Section 4 | Subway | Otemachi (Tokyo)～Kiyosumi-shirakawa | 180JPY |
| Section 5 | Subway | Kiyosumi-shirakawa～Jimbocho | 180JPY |
| Total | 1,160JPY | ||
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!…