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
- 1100 Hikifune
- 1120〜1300 Asakusa
- 1320〜1510 Tsukiji
- 1530〜1630 Kiyosumi-shirakawa
- 1650〜1700 Ochanomizu
What's a Full-Day Private Tour of Tokyo Like? A Licensed Guide's Report on Asakusa, Tsukiji, and Ochanomizu
The guests were a group visiting from North America.
They were staying at a two-story private lodging that had been converted from a traditional house. Inside, the first floor was a living room, and it looked very comfortable. One of the guests likes cleanliness and always brings a vacuum cleaner when traveling, but there was not a single speck of dust. This is one reason they love Japan.
At first we intended to head to Asakusa from Higashi-Mukojima Station, but we accidentally boarded a Hanzomon Line train that had just pulled in. I was momentarily flustered, but with a calm face we transferred to the subway at Oshiage and made our way to Asakusa.
At Tsukiji they had sushi, eel, and ice cream. "Once you know this taste, you can never eat sushi in the United States again, and the ice cream is completely different from what we have," they all said with excitement.
After that, we went into a coffee shop that was once a favorite of John Lennon. Since this year marks 60 years since the Beatles came to Japan, I shared the anecdote about how a flight attendant managed to get John to put on a happi coat with the JAL logo five minutes before landing.
One of the guests has experience in off-Broadway and streaming program production. Another of the guests specializes in theater history, and tomorrow they plan to watch "Kamahige" at the Kabuki-za.
Some of the guests are in a band and had brought empty guitar cases all the way from home. At the end we headed to Guitar Street in Ochanomizu. I explained, "This is the place where water was offered so that the shogun could have tea," and we parted ways. I hope they find the guitars they like.
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 | Train | Hikifune～Asakusa | 340JPY |
| Section 2 | Subway | Asakusa～Tsukiji | 290JPY |
| Section 3 | Subway | Tsukiji Market～Kiyosumi-shirakawa | 220JPY |
| Section 4 | Subway | Kiyosumi-shirakawa～Ochanomizu | 180JPY |
| Total | 1,030JPY | ||
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!…