Hello and how do you do?
My name is Nobuo Kokure, and please call me Nobby for short, if you want.
Let me introduce myself. I was born in Hayama, a beach resort area, Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo. And I’m now living in Saginuma, Kawasaki city.
When I was a university student, I had the opportunities of doing a home stay with a family In U.S.A., Australia, and England, as a youth exchange student.
After graduation from the university, I started working at American Life Insurance Company, Japan (Alico, Japan), which is a group member company of AIG, now MetLife Insurance Company. I could have a chance to visit the head office and the field offices of U.S.A., Wilmington in Delaware, New York, Boston, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale in Florida, Los Angeles, while I was working for Alico, Japan (Now, MetLife Insurance company).
I had been working for MetLife Insurance Company for about 38 years, in total.
After retiring from the life insurance company, I started working as a tour guide, because I wanted to become a tour guide to introduce culture, history, and manners and customs of Japan in English. It’s so different between my previous job and the guide business, but I like guide business a lot.
I can meet so many people from all over the world and the guide business has been thriving after the pandemic.
I have implemented the tour over 240 times, introduced Japan to more than 4300 tourists from 53 countries.
Not only Tokyo, but I have experienced touring around Nikko, Kamakura, Mt. Fuji & Hakone area, Takayama, Kanazawa, Nagoya, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, and Hiroshima, etc. which are all very famous as a tourist spot in Japan.
If you go on a tour in Tokyo, you must see and visit Asakusa Sensoji Temple which is the oldest Buddhist Temple in Tokyo with histories and Nakamise Shopping Street where you can buy the souvenirs and try to taste Japanese sweets, such as doll cake which is the sponge cake in various shapes filled with red bean paste and Japanese powdered tea ice cream. Another my recommendation in Tokyo to visit is Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, and Shibuya. Meiji Shrine is one of the biggest shrines in Japan with quiet and peaceful atmosphere and magnificent site.
Harajuku and Shibuya are both fun to visit for shopping and experience the Shibuya Crossing.
I usually propose my tentative itinerary and ask if my plan is all right with the customer or not. My hobby is traveling around Japan and foreign countries and going to the gym for exercise.
I would like to work as a guide as long as possible if I’m in good health and my legs are strong, because I love this job.
I put my importance on the mind of OMOTENASHI which means sincere hospitality, though safety during the tour takes precedence, number one priority, before anything else.
I’m very looking forward to seeing you and touring with you in Japan soon.
Thank you!
Best regards,
Nobuo Kokure (Nobby)
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
- 8:30 Guide (Kogure) arrives at Conrad Tokyo Hotel
- 9:00 Meet the guests in the hotel lobby, conduct briefing
- 9:05 Depart Conrad Tokyo Hotel, walk to Shimbashi Station
- 9:15 Arrive at Shimbashi Station, guests purchase PASMO
- 9:21 Depart Shimbashi Station, head to Asakusa Station via Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
- 9:40 Arrive at Asakusa Station, walk to Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center
- 9:45–9:55 Guide the 8F observation deck of Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center
- 9:55–10:45 Guide Senso-ji Kaminarimon, Nakamise Shopping Street, Hozomon, Five-Storied Pagoda, Giant Straw Sandals, Omikuji, Incense Burner, Chozuya, Main Hall, Asakusa Shrine, Chawawa Matcha Ice Cream shop
- 10:56 Depart Asakusa Station, head to Shibuya Station via Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
- 11:30 Arrive at Shibuya Station, walk to Shibuya Station 2F where the Shibuya Scramble Crossing can be seen
- 11:30–11:50 Guide Shibuya Scramble Crossing, Hachiko Statue, Dogenzaka Seven-Eleven
- 12:00–12:45 Lunch at Shibuya Hikarie (Rikyu Beef Tongue)
- 12:58 Depart Shibuya Station, head to Harajuku Station via JR Yamanote Line
- 13:00 Arrive at Harajuku Station, walk to Meiji Shrine
- 13:00–13:35 Guide Meiji Shrine (First Torii, Sake Barrels, Second Torii)
- 13:40 Guide the entrance of Harajuku Takeshita Street
- 13:44 Depart Meiji-jingumae Station, head to Nijubashimae Station via Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line
- 13:57 Arrive at Nijubashimae Station
- 14:00–14:20 Guide the Imperial Palace Nijubashi
- 14:40 Depart Hibiya Station, head to Shimbashi Station via Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line through Higashi-ginza Station, then Toei Asakusa Line
- 14:49 Arrive at Shimbashi Station, walk to Conrad Tokyo Hotel
- 15:00 Arrive at Conrad Tokyo Hotel
Title: What's a Private One-Day Tokyo Tour Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Asakusa, Shibuya, and Meiji Shrine
The guests were visitors from North America who had arrived in Japan the day before, and it was their first time in the country. They thoroughly enjoyed today's tour. At Senso-ji Temple, they learned about the differences between temples and shrines, as well as the different ways of praying at each. They also happily enjoyed matcha ice cream (Chawawa) at Senso-ji. At the busy Shibuya Scramble Crossing, they took many photos with great interest. One of the guests mentioned wanting to see a Japanese convenience store, so I took them to a convenience store on Dogenzaka in Shibuya. (It seemed to be different from the convenience stores they had imagined back home.) When we arrived at Harajuku Station, it suddenly began to rain, and from that point on I guided them while using umbrellas.
During the visit to Meiji Shrine, the rain became heavy, and due to time constraints, I guided them as far as the sake barrels and the second torii gate. Takeshita Street in Harajuku was extremely crowded as it was a Sunday, and the guests said there was no need to go inside. They mentioned they had rarely seen a street with so many young people gathered, and they took photos at the entrance of Takeshita Street.
While holding umbrellas, I guided them to the statue of Kusunoki Masashige and the Nijubashi Bridge at the Imperial Palace, then returned to the Hotel on schedule, ending today's Tokyo sightseeing tour. It seemed they had a wonderful first day in Japan. They mentioned that starting the day after next they would travel by ship to Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Korea, Hiroshima, and the Osaka area. Since they planned to stay one more day in Tokyo, I informed them about the Tokyo sightseeing spots we did not visit today.
The guests and I enjoyed a good rapport, and our conversation flowed easily.
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 | Shimbashi～Asakusa | 210JPY |
| Section 2 | Subway | Asakusa～Shibuya | 260JPY |
| Section 3 | Train | Shibuya～Harajuku | 160JPY |
| Section 4 | Subway | Meiji-jingumae～Nijubashimae | 210JPY |
| Section 5 | Subway | Hibiya～Shimbashi | 290JPY |
| Total | 1,130JPY | ||
Hello and how do you do?
My name is Nobuo Kokure, and please call me Nobby for short, if you want.
Let me introduce myself. I was born in Hayama, a beach resort area, Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo. And I’m now living in Saginuma, Kawasaki city.
When I was a university student, I had the opportunities of doing a home stay with a family In U.S.A., Australia, and England, as a youth exchange student.
After graduation from the university, I started working at American Life Insurance Company, Japan (Alico, Japan), which is a group member company of AIG, now MetLife Insurance Company. I could have a chance to visit the head office and the field offices of U.S.A., Wilmington in Delaware, New York, Boston, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale in Florida, Los Angeles, while I was working for Alico, Japan (Now, MetLife Insurance company).
I had been working for MetLife Insurance Company for about 38 years, in total.
After retiring from the life insurance company, I started working as a tour guide, because I wanted to become a tour guide to introduce culture, history, and manners and customs of Japan in English. It’s so different between my previous job and the guide business, but I like guide business a lot.
I can meet so many people from all over the world and the guide business has been thriving after the pandemic.
I have implemented the tour over 240 times, introduced Japan to more than 4300 tourists from 53 countries.
Not only Tokyo, but I have experienced touring around Nikko, Kamakura, Mt. Fuji & Hakone area, Takayama, Kanazawa, Nagoya, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, and Hiroshima, etc. which are all very famous as a tourist spot in Japan.
If you go on a tour in Tokyo, you must see and visit Asakusa Sensoji Temple which is the oldest Buddhist Temple in Tokyo with histories and Nakamise Shopping Street where you can buy the souvenirs and try to taste Japanese sweets, such as doll cake which is the sponge cake in various shapes filled with red bean paste and Japanese powdered tea ice cream. Another my recommendation in Tokyo to visit is Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, and Shibuya. Meiji Shrine is one of the biggest shrines in Japan with quiet and peaceful atmosphere and magnificent site.
Harajuku and Shibuya are both fun to visit for shopping and experience the Shibuya Crossing.
I usually propose my tentative itinerary and ask if my plan is all right with the customer or not. My hobby is traveling around Japan and foreign countries and going to the gym for exercise.
I would like to work as a guide as long as possible if I’m in good health and my legs are strong, because I love this job.
I put my importance on the mind of OMOTENASHI which means sincere hospitality, though safety during the tour takes precedence, number one priority, before anything else.
I’m very looking forward to seeing you and touring with you in Japan soon.
Thank you!
Best regards,
Nobuo Kokure (Nobby)
Jul 20, 2026
JEFF_D
Viator review: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Tokyo In A Day Tour with Nobuo
The excursion…
Jul 20, 2026
JEFF_D
Viator review: Tokyo Customized Private Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide
Tokyo In A Day Tour with Nobuo
The excursion was excellent! It was a great way to introduce us to the many amenities of Tokyo. It was so helpful to have our excellent guide, Nobuo. This guy was great! He communicated with us in the weeks leading up to the tour to find out what we wanted to see. Then, he formulated a plan to see as many of those items as possible within our allotted time. He made it a priority to utilize our time together that suited us best. When we met up, we knew what we were doing and we were ready to go. Nobuo made it very easy for us to find him at our meeting point. Nobuo’s generosity, knowledge, sense of humor and trivia (of which I got 100%!) made our time together unforgettable. It was hard to say goodbye. We will always have a friend in Japan. I would highly recommend Nobuo as your tour guide, if he is available.
Apr 18, 2026
Traveler10250323486
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
We had a great day with a Japanese guide who seemed like…
Apr 18, 2026
Traveler10250323486
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
We had a great day with a Japanese guide who seemed like an old friend.
Nobby (Nobuo) was prepared, showing up early and had copies to give us of the railway lines and phrases that we will use on the rest of our trip. He was very knowledgeable and felt like family very quickly. We changed some things on the fly and he didn’t skip a beat. He took us to shrines and a temple and showed us customs to respect the culture. He took us to a restaurant for lunch, where we had the best noodles we’ve ever eaten. We thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent with him and highly recommend taking a tour with him.
Sep 23, 2025
johnsL7185LE
Brilliant family day trip with Nobuo
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Nobuo Kokure is a wonderful guide.…
Sep 23, 2025
johnsL7185LE
Brilliant family day trip with Nobuo
Tripadvisor review: Tokyo 4hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Nobuo Kokure is a wonderful guide. Very friendly, informative, kind, respectful and an all round great guy. Was very flexible with our itinerary, allowing us to change our plans on the day because one of our children wanted to go to a Hello Kitty shop, and the other to the One Piece shop. He graciously took it all in his stride. He also pre booked one of the best restaurants at the fish market because we all love sushi, and it didn’t disappoint. The whole family think Nobuo was fantastic. Couldn’t recommend him more. Thank you Nobuo.
Aug 4, 2025
leslie_w
Nobby was an awesome tour…
Viator review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Nobby was an awesome tour guide. Very…
Aug 4, 2025
leslie_w
Nobby was an awesome tour…
Viator review: Tokyo 6hr Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide
Nobby was an awesome tour guide. Very informative and considerate, we saw a lot in six
hours in a very hot day. Highly recommend!