Tokyo in One Day: Tour ended — Guide Minoruasai

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

  • 08:00 Meet at the Conrad Tokyo 28th floor lobby. Until then, I had sent messages by email and WhatsApp, but had not received a reply, so I asked, "Have you read them?" but they had not read them. So we had a route meeting in the lobby, deciding on Sensoji Temple → Imperial Palace → Meiji Shrine, and having lunch whenever we got hungry. However, since they had not exchanged currency after arriving in Japan yesterday afternoon, I helped them withdraw Japanese yen at the FamilyMart ATM on the 2nd floor, and purchase a 72-hour 1,500 yen subway free pass at the Oedo Line Shiodome Station ticket gate, and by then it was 08:40.
  • 09:20-10:45 Guided around Asakusa. Sumida River → Masuda Tea Shop → Kaminarimon → Nakamise Street → Hozomon and the Five-Storied Pagoda → Main Hall → Koi carp at the stone bridge → Yogodo → Asakusa Shrine → Kannon Street. When we finished, I confirmed we would head to the Imperial Palace, but they said, "We will be staying in Tokyo for another 4 days, and the Imperial Palace is close to the Hotel, so we'll go there ourselves. Let's go to Meiji Shrine," so we moved to Meiji Shrine by subway.
  • 11:25 When we arrived at Harajuku and were about to go to Meiji Shrine, Mr. Marti requested, "I'm hungry, I'd like to sit down and eat something light." So we had lunch.
  • 11:40-12:25 Lunch. We walked about 2 minutes from Meiji Street to Omotesando and had a light lunch centered on shumai and spring rolls at "Shumai no Nakame" on the street to the right. After finishing, we walked to Meiji Shrine.
  • 12:40-13:30 Guided around Meiji Shrine. When we finished and were about to take them to Takeshita Street, Mr. Marti seemed tired from jet lag and requested to return to the hotel, so I accompanied them to the Oedo Line Shiodome Station, saw them off to the Conrad entrance, and said goodbye.
  • 14:15 Tour ended

What Is a Private Tokyo Walking Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Asakusa, Harajuku, and Meiji Shrine

The guests were visitors from North America. Getting in touch beforehand had been difficult, so I sent a fax to the hotel again the previous night, and I was relieved to meet them near the front desk at the Hotel at 8:00 a.m., exactly as arranged in the tour booking. They seemed to enjoy Asakusa very much, and since they still had four more days in Tokyo, they said they wanted to come back again to shop and enjoy an izakaya.

When we arrived in Harajuku, one of the guests suddenly said they wanted to sit down and have a light snack, so we walked toward Omotesando to a shop known for its delicious shumai. They ordered five different kinds of shumai and were delighted, saying it was very tasty, which made me happy.

Meiji Shrine was not too humid and we were able to walk very comfortably, so they were very fond of the forest. Unlike the oppressive extreme heat of recent days, the temperature had become pleasant, and I felt relieved that guiding in the city would soon be comfortable again.

As we were parting, they mentioned they were thinking of going to Golden Gai in Shinjuku that evening to visit an izakaya. Since Golden Gai is mainly made up of bars, I suggested that they first head to Omoide Yokocho near Shinjuku's west exit to enjoy some yakitori for dinner, and then walk about 15 minutes to Golden Gai to enjoy drinks afterward. They said they would definitely give it a try.

After we said goodbye, I received a message via a messaging app saying, "Thanks for the tour today. We really enjoyed it," so I believe they were satisfied.

Click here for more details: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide

Transportation cost per person

No.TransportationRouteFare
Section 1Free PassShiodome～Asakusa900JPY
Section 2Free PassAsakusa～Meiji-jingumae (Harajuku)0JPY
Section 3Free PassMeiji-jingumae (Harajuku)～Shiodome0JPY
Total900JPY

Tour Report by MINORUASAI

I acquired national guide license in 2014, and I have been doing guide work full fledged since 2016. In my career before starting guide work, I was a business man and made more than 1,000 business trips both abroad and in Japan, and that experience is my foundation as a guide because I came to know so many places both abroad and in Japan. I have been taking care of both group and individual tourists, and the number of foreign guests I have taken care is close to 2,500 so far. I am based in Tokyo, but I can cover guide work in many prefectures throughout Japan. When I take care of foreign guests, my major concern is to listen attentively to them, find out what they want to know and do in Japan, and give them appropriate guiding in accordance with what I heard from my guests. I would like to provide tailor made tour as much as possible for every precious guest who kindly chose Japan as the tour destination.

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Aug 1, 2025
8
898kendrap
Great first day in Tokyo!
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Asai, our tour guide, made our…

Jul 14, 2025
Anette_V
Perfect
Viator review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Our guide Minoru Asai was very friendly and knowledgeable about culture,…

Jun 30, 2025
liammL2246HL
Amazing experience
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We had an amazing private tour with Minoru Asai! We…

Jun 26, 2025
394milesd
Excellent guide making an excellent day in Tokyo
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
A perfect day, tailored…