Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day — Guide Minoruasai
November, 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
- 10:00 Meet at the lobby of Hotel Chinzanso. After re-confirming the visiting locations that had been discussed in advance, we decided on Imperial Palace Outer Garden → Sendagi → Yanaka Ginza → Nezu → Ueno Park → Shibuya Crossing, and departed. We walked to Edogawabashi Station and, since it is on the Yurakucho Line, got off at Sakuradamon Station.
- 10:30-11:30 From Sakuradamon, we walked through the Nijubashi area and the Imperial Palace Main Gate, explaining the history of the Imperial Family, the current situation, and so on. After finishing, we moved from Nijubashimae Station on the Chiyoda Line to Sendagi Station.
- 11:55-12:55 From Sendagi Station, we moved to Yanaka Ginza, strolled around Yanaka Ginza, and enjoyed some street food.
- 12:55-14:00 From Yanaka Ginza to Somei Cemetery, from Somei Cemetery to the SCI Public Bath Museum, and purchased a T-shirt at the Tokyo University of the Arts art shop.
- 14:00-15:15 In Ueno Park, we visited the Masaoka Shiki Memorial Baseball Stadium, the Kiyomizu Kannon-do branch temple, the grave of the Shogitai, and the statue of Saigo Takamori, then exchanged dollars into Japanese yen at Keisei Ueno Station. After that, they enjoyed takoyaki on Ameyoko Street.
- 15:15-15:45 We returned by subway to Iidabashi Station, where they requested to catch a taxi there and head back to Chinzanso, so we said goodbye.
Title: What's a Private Walking Tour of Tokyo's Yanaka, Ueno, and Ameyoko Like? A Licensed Guide's Report
The guests were a lively group visiting from North America, traveling together on a tour I led through [Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.)](https://www.j-g-a.org/). At first, they requested, "Please tell us as much as you can about Japanese history," so I focused on history and spoke at length on the subject. However, the moment we arrived at Yanaka Ginza, they eagerly began eating their way through the street, sampling skewered wagyu beef, three kinds of strawberries from Tochigi, banana, ice cream, matcha, coffee, and more. Watching this from beside them was a joy in itself. We had planned to go to Shibuya, but as we talked, I learned that they had reserved dinner at a sushi restaurant in Aoyama for 5:30, and they decided they could head to Shibuya afterward. This freed up some time, so we took a leisurely stroll through Ueno Park while I explained its highlights, and then spent time in Ameyoko, where the guests thoroughly enjoyed some takoyaki, saying it was "very delicious." It was a delightful trip with a truly unique and cheerful group, and guiding them made me happy 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 | Free Pass | Edogawabashi～Sakuradamon | 700JPY |
| Section 2 | Free Pass | Nijubashimae～Sendagi | 0JPY |
| Section 3 | Free Pass | Ueno-hirokoji～Iidabashi | 0JPY |
| Total | 700JPY | ||
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.
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…
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 first day in Tokyo so memorable and enjoyable! He shared his knowledge and love for the city as he showed us around. We now understand how to navigate the train system, and he even left us a list of how to explore other areas of the city by train. Our tour was a fun way to get acquainted with this amazing city!
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,…
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, history and
society. He picked and showed us more than We expected. Also he was good Company for
both me, my husbond and our son aged 22.
Jun 30, 2025
liammL2246HL
Amazing experience
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
We had an amazing private tour with Minoru Asai! We…
Jun 30, 2025
liammL2246HL
Amazing experience
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
We had an amazing private tour with Minoru Asai! We loved seeing all of the sights on the tour and Minoru was extremely knowledge about all things in Tokyo and else-wear in Japan. We were able to adjust the stops due to the heat (it was up to 35C!) and Minoru had great suggestions for things to check out. Highly recommend!
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…
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 to our needs (and the weather) and delivered so attentively by our guide Minoru Asai. He was in contact in advance of the day to understand our interests, and advised us on practicalities and remained flexible throughout the day as required. His knowledge, and passion, for the history of Tokyo made the day! Could not have asked for more.